So you’ve been charged with DUI.
A few considerations:

Key Takeaways

• The Atlantic Law Firm is led by Stacey M. Goad, a criminal defense attorney who is also a former prosecutor with over 15 years of experience in DUI cases.
• Georgia’s DUI law covers driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or toxic vapors, or having a BAC of 0.08 or more (or 0.02 for minors).
• To fight a potential license suspension for refusing a state-administered test, a challenge letter and a $150 filing fee must be sent to the Georgia Department of Driver Services within 30 days of arrest.
• DUI defense strategies often involve challenging the legality of the police stop/arrest, police errors in reading Implied Consent rights, and the reliability of field sobriety tests (FSTs) and the Intoxilyzer 9000 breath test machine.
• DUI offenses can be misdemeanors or felonies (a fourth conviction within 10 years is a felony) and carry serious penalties including jail time, fines, and mandatory license suspension.

You can avoid license suspension

If you refuse to take a breath or blood test for driving while impaired in Savannah, a license suspension is not automatic.

If you send a letter with the $150 filing fee to the Georgia Department of Driver Services within 30 days of your arrest a driver’s license hearing will be scheduled with your arresting officer at the Office of State Administrative Hearings.

Only after this hearing can a driver’s license be suspended for refusing a State-Administered Test.

Refusal suspensions are rare when represented by a Savannah DUI lawyer who can negotiate the suspension during the driver’s license hearing.

You Can Beat a Breath or Blood Test Result DUI – It is Not Hopeless

There are many opportunities for a strong defense in Savannah DUI cases with State-administered results. DUI cases with blood and/or breath tests as evidence are beaten every day.

For one, was the stop legal? Many cases can be dismissed because of illegal stops.

Second, was there enough evidence – probable cause – to arrest you for driving while impaired in the first place? If not, Savannah DUI lawyer Stacey M. Goad will file the pre-trial motions and fight to have your case dismissed long before it ever reaches a jury.

Third, did the police officer correctly read you the implied consent rights? This is the most common source of police error in DUI cases. By law, law enforcement officers must read your “Implied Consent” rights in the correct manner and at the correct time. DUI cases across the State of Georgia are thrown out because the rights were not read correctly or at the correct time.

Fourth, were the breath test machine or blood testing records maintained or functioning correctly? This is another excellent way to defeat a driving while impaired case.

Finally, inherent weaknesses exist in the science of breath testing that create doubt for jurors.