Experienced DUI Defense Lawyer In
Madison, Georgia

Yes! DUI laws in Georgia do not distinguish between public, and private property. You may not drive any moving, motorized vehicle anywhere in Georgia while impaired. That includes golf carts, 4-wheelers, and even lawnmowers. Where you drive is not important. Therefore, police can arrest you for DUI on private property, even sitting behind the wheel in your own driveway.

The per se blood alcohol level for drivers over the age of 21 is 0.08. For young drivers, under the age of 21, the per se blood alcohol level is 0.02. For drivers of commercial vehicles, the per se blood alcohol level is 0.04. A per se blood alcohol means that once established, it is assumed that the driver is impaired.

Less safe driving can be charged even if the blood alcohol readings do not reach per se levels. Less safe driving can be charged with blood alcohol levels of 0.05-.08. The offense is proved by the officer’s observations, any accident report, and witness testimony, along with any blood alcohol test results. Below 0.05, as an adult, non-commercial driver, you are not likely to be charged with less safe driving, but might be open to other charges.

You probably won’t be able to call your lawyer! However, you are under no obligation to submit to a roadside field sobriety test or handheld breath test. The field sobriety test is subjective, and not evidence of impairment. The handheld breath test is unreliable as an indicator of legal intoxication. Therefore, you should refuse, although know that a refusal might result in an arrest. Once at the police station you are under a legal obligation, as a condition of your driver’s license, to submit to an Intoxilyzer 9000, blood, or urine test or else face a suspension of your driving privileges.

Yes, in Georgia, you will lose driving privileges for some period of time even for a first DUI conviction or plea. The maximum sentence is 12-month suspension. However, once you complete DUI school, and pay a reinstatement fee, you can apply for reinstatement after 120 days.

A driver over the age of 21 can apply for a limited use driving permit for the duration of the suspension that will allow you to drive to work, school, counseling, DUI School, for medical care, and treatment, to pharmacies, court appearances, probation appointments, and community service. This limited driving permit may also include driving an unlicensed, family member to their work, school, medical appointments, and to pharmacies.

If you are under 21, your license will be suspended for 12 months without any limited driving permits.

You do not have to submit to a field sobriety test or roadside breathalyzer test. Field sobriety tests are notoriously subjective. Roadside breathalyzer tests are also not reliable. However, both tests act as screening evaluations.

Do know that if you refuse to take a field sobriety test or breathalyzer, you will most probably be arrested.

Once at the police station, you will be asked to submit to an Intoxilyzer 9000 test, blood, and/or urine test. If you refuse any of these, your driver’s license will be automatically suspended. You must be informed of the consequences of refusing these tests. If you still refuse, the police can get a warrant, and force submission to blood, and urine tests, depending on the circumstances. Again how you act when confronted with these options provides police with opportunities to determine your mental, and physical capacity.

Police must tell you that you will lose your driver’s license if you refuse to take the Intoxilyzer 9000, blood and/or urine tests. You can request the right to call your lawyer before submitting to the test. You must file a request for an ALS hearing within 30 days of arrest in order to preserve your right to contest the driver’s license suspension.

First, you will have your license suspended for 12 months, with an opportunity to file a request for an ALS Hearing to appeal the decision within 30 days of arrest.

Next, the police might seek a warrant to compel you to take a blood or urine test. It takes time to get the warrant, in which time, your alcohol levels will continue to decline. A refusal to take required Intoxilyzer 9000, blood, or urine tests negates your opportunity to request an independent blood test at the station.

However, refusing to take these tests does not mean the prosecution will drop its case against you. The prosecutor can still pursue the DUI charges by showing impairment through evidence of slurred speech, bloodshot or dilated eyes, fumbling for your driver’s license or registration, reactions to police questions, odor of alcohol, open containers in the vehicle, admissions of drinking or drug use, and of course, your manner of driving. If the stop was recorded by a patrol car camera or the questioning by a body-camera, those tapes are admissible as evidence of driving under the influence, too.