Hall County DUI Process

If a Georgia Department of Public Safety Officer, Georgia State Patrol Officer, Hall County Sheriff, or police officer of one of the many municipalities within Hall County arrests you for DUI, your case may be heard in the State Court of Hall County.  Traffic violations, DUI, and drug offenses occurring within Hall County and those bound over from Municipal Courts for jury trials may be heard in the State Court. It is important to hire a Hall County DUI Lawyer that understands the Hall County DUI Process.

The legal process in defending a DUI charge requires several court appearances. After you are bonded out of jail, you will be given a notice of your arraignment date. At arraignment you will be formally accused of the charges against you and expected to enter a plea to those charges.  Your Hall County DUI Attorney can advise you about arraignment and whether you can be excused from your arraignment.

Arraignment is the first chance your attorney will have to speak with the prosecutor about your case and negotiate a plea offer. The most convincing reason to reduce a charge is if there is some legal issue that exists in your case because the prosecutor may be more willing to negotiate a favorable plea to avoid the risk of taking a weak case to trial. Certain discovery motions and motions to suppress need to be filed at or before your arraignment date. a DUI Attorney in Hall County will have a chance to see if a reduction to reckless driving or even a dismissal.

Discovery motions allow your attorney to receive all of the State's evidence against you prior to trial and any motion hearings which includes copies of your citations, the incident report written by the arresting officer, a list of witnesses, and copies of the results of any blood alcohol tests you submitted to.  This will also enable your attorney to understand what the best defenses are in your case and the overall strengths and weaknesses of the State's case against you. A DUI Lawyer in Hall County will investigate your case and any possible Hall County DUI Defenses.

If an acceptable offer has not been made, your case will be put on a Motion Calendar Call.  The Motion Calendar Call date allows the judge to determine which cases are still open and are likely to go forward with hearings on motions filed at your arraignment.  The prosecutor must provide your attorney with all discovery prior to the Motion Calendar Call and they will discuss and try to resolve your case.  If all discovery has been received, you and your attorney will be excused from attending the Motion Calendar Call and your case will be scheduled for a motion hearing if there are any outstanding issues to be heard by the judge.  As you can see, a Hall County DUI Arrest can be daunting and complicated.

Motion Hearings are used to challenge and suppress the evidence to be used against you at trial.  If your motion is granted after a motion hearing, any evidence suppressed cannot be used against you at trial. This can make or break a case and impact any future plea negotiation with the solicitor or potentially resolve your case completely if the motion results in a dismissal of your charges. Hall County DUI Lawyers always file motions in every case.

All cases that remain open will then be scheduled for a Calendar Call, which is used by the judge to schedule trial dates.  In a typical DUI case, you can have a bench trial heard only by a judge or a jury trial decided by six jurors. A jury trial should only be attempted with the Best Hall County DUI Attorneys.

If you have been arrested for DUI in throughout Hall County, contact Hall County DUI Lawyer Richard Lawson.  Put his over 20 years of experience to work for you. As a former DUI Prosecutor, he is available 24/7, 365 days a year.