After obtaining the necessary information from the State, a DUI attorney must then have the experience and background to determine whether you have any defenses or not.
The best DUI attorneys are constantly attending seminars to not only hone their trial skills, but also learn the same things about DWI detection as law enforcement does.

Ask your lawyer if he has attended any seminars where he/she actually learned how to administer field sobriety evaluations; have they been to seminars to actually learn the mechanics of how the breath machine works; do they have education on drug detection? There are hundreds of ways to win a DUI, but if your attorney only looks as a DUI case as another “guilty plea and fee”, why bother paying that attorney? Might as well represent your self! And you know what they say about a person who represents themselves in a legal manner!

One of the most common questons I get is, “What happens if I am convicted of a 2nd DUI?” (more…)

The State of Florida used the Intox 5000 breath testing machine until a couple of years ago, when It started using the Intox 8000. The State of Georgia still uses the Intox 5000, but you have to wonder why. (more…)

This month’s Case of the Month shows just how very careful you have to be if you are on probation. Probation allows a person to keep from going to jail, but as a condition of not going to jail, the probationer must do certain things, including not violating any other laws, including the DUI laws. (more…)

For many folks, one DUI arrest is enough; for others, it just seems that they can’t stop drinking then driving. Maybe 20 years ago a single or even a 2nd DUI arrest would not be much of a problem:  a person paid their fine, did some community service, then moved on; Today, our society is seemingly hellbent on NEVER forgiving and forgetting.   (more…)

By the end of the week I will have attended 2 very important meetings; The first meeting was this past Sunday. (more…)

On July 1, 2008, Georgia’s law changed the “look back” period for punishment purposes on DUIs. Formerly the period was 5 years. Now it is 10 years. That means that a person who was arrested on July 2, 2008, can be punished as a 2nd DUI offender if he had a DUI conviction on August 1, 1998! This means instead of receiving a minimum sentence of 24 hours in jail and 40 hours community service, he is looking at 72 hours in jail and 240 hours of community service as a minimum.

Other changes in law include:

1. A 1st DUI conviction nows requires a clinical alcohol evaluation and treatment as recommended (very expensive!!), although the judge can waive that provision.

2. A 2nd DUI conviction in 10 years must get a clinical alcohol evaluation and treatment as recommended PRIOR to license reinstatement. (THIS IS IMPORTANT: A PERSON WHOSE DUI CONVICTION OCCURED 6 YEARS AGO IS STILL ENTITLED TO A LIMITED PERMIT; HOWEVER, UNDER THE NEW LAW, NO LIMITED PERMIT IS AVAILABLE UNTIL HE HAS COMPLETED THE ALCOHOL EVALUATION AND TREATMENT; THIS COULD TAKE AS LONG AS 6 MONTHS TO COMPLETE!

3. The minimum jail times for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd DUI convictions in the 10 year period remain the same as under the old law.

4. A fourth DUI conviction in 10 years is a felony, punishable up to 5 years in prison.

interestingly, the 10 year look back provision applies only to punishment, not driver licenses. So, a person who has a 1st DUI conviction in 6 years is still eligible for a limited permit(subject to provision in paragraph 2 above), and is still treated for license purposes as a 1st offender! I don’t know if this ”loophole” was mistakenly left in the law by the Legislature or not, but I bet they will try to change it next year!

Hello, and welcome to the Blog! This blog is devoted to all things related to traffic law. While some of the blog will cover issues on Georgia Traffic Law, I will also cover a wide range of general topics including DUIs, MADD, politics, forensic and scientific evidence, and philosophy! I hope you enjoy the blog!