The penalties that come with a first-time drunk driving conviction in Atlanta can be severe. You may face incarceration, a one-year suspended license, 40 hours of community service a year of probation, fines, and DUI school. All this is in addition to the thousands you'll spend on extra car insurance premiums. With all that at stake, it is important to consider what pleading guilty can mean for your future, and your criminal record.
Many people don't think about the defenses available in their case. Some people think that just because they had a drink, they are guilty of driving under the influence, but that is not what the law says. Others worry that it will just be their word against that of the arresting police officer. This is why you can really benefit from having someone represent you in your criminal and administrative hearing, to fight for your rights.
Atlanta Drunk Driving Defenses
Before you give up on your case, you need to know that the police make mistakes all the time. So do prosecutors. If their mistakes resulted in you getting arrested, you should not be convicted because they didn't follow the rules. There are a number of avenues to pursue for a legal defense against a DUI conviction, from the moment you are pulled over all the way through a trial, if it goes that far.
The police need a reason to pull you over. The law protects you from unreasonable stops, searches and seizure, but if you don't have someone who understands the intricacies of the law, the police won't likely be willing to tell you they messed up. If the police didn't have a reasonable suspicion to justify a traffic stop, their actions were unlawful, and your case could be dismissed.
After being stopped, the police will try to get the driver to do field sobriety tests, and give a field breath test. Whether or not you submitted to these tests, the results are often faulty. There are any number of reasons why a one-leg-stand test, or a walk-and-turn test can be “failed” even if the driver was sober. If you don't know what the proper instructions are for the test, how the test should be observed, and how the test is inaccurate, the prosecutor won't volunteer this information for your benefit.
Even after arrest, when blood or breath samples are taken, those results aren't 100% guaranteed to be accurate. The machines testing for alcohol or drugs need to be kept up to date, calibrated, and taken care of. They also need to be operated by someone properly trained in conducting chemical tests. If there are any problems with the machine or how it was operated, those results should be thrown out. Again, the prosecutor isn't there to help you out, but your Atlanta DUI defense lawyer will.
Every case is different, and any available defenses will depend on the specific situation and individual facts surrounding the arrest. A top Atlanta DUI lawyer will be able to investigate your case, ask all the right questions, and get to the heart of your case. When a DUI defense lawyers exclusively handles DUI cases, they will be up to date with the latest developments in state and national DUI law, alcohol and drug detection technology, and undergo some of the same DUI training as the police officers in the field.
Atlanta DUI Defense Lawyer
Call an experienced Atlanta DUI lawyer who has dedicated their career to successfully defending clients charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. I will do an in-depth investigation of the individual facts of the case, and develop a strategy to best defend your rights. You deserve the knowledge and courtroom experience of a qualified DUI lawyer. Call now so I can fight to keep your record clean.