The Georgia First Offender Act is also known as Georgias second chance law. It was originally enacted in 1968 and allowed first-time offenders to avoid a charge going on their public record as long as they successfully completed their sentence. However, due to changes as of July 1, 2016, first o...

What happens when an officer starts a traffic stop in Washington and finishes it in Oregon? Thats the question the Oregon Supreme Court recently had to decide in the case of Oregon v. Keller. In this case, Washington State Trooper Thompson spotted the defendant, Keller, committing traffic viola...

There are many myths and misunderstandings about Georgias DUI Laws. Misinformation can lead to poor decision-making. Below are 10 things about Georgia DUI Law that you may not know. You are not drunk at .08:The legal limit in Georgia is .08. Many people charged with DUI are surprised becau...

With the legalization of marijuana in some states and the rise of the cannabis oil industry, it is important to know what you are allowed to do in Georgia. Illegal substance use is a serious crime and could have significant consequences to you if convicted. Therefore, it is vital that you underst...

Everyone knows that driving while intoxicated is against the law. How far this law stretches is something that the courts have been determining for years and will likely continue to wrestle with for years to come. A decision recently handed down by the Michigan Supreme Court added to the ever gro...

At first glance, the new Georgia Ignition Interlock law does allow for people to avoid a license suspension and still fight their case. However, after thirty days of evaluating its implications, the downside of having an interlock placed on our clients automobiles is significant. One problem w...

With the new changes to Georgias DUI laws and administrative procedures, many people may assume that Georgias Boating Under the Influence Laws may have also changed. The assumption is reasonable because in 2013 Georgia changed the BUI laws to parallel our DUI laws. The Boating Under the Influe...

For years when someone was arrested for a DUI in Georgia, they had 10 business days to file an appeal of their automatic license suspension. Georgia 10 Day Letter in DUI Cases: For any case that occurred before July 1, 2017, the 10 day rule still applied. For any case that occurred on or after...

College is an incredible experience. Anyone who has gone or is currently enrolled as a student at a Georgia University understands how wonderful the experience can be. However, unlike most colleges, the University of North Georgia is a dry campus. This means there is a strict no alcohol policy on...

A colleague recently told me that he was planning to retire at the end of the year. I met this gentleman in 1995 when I was a young attorney in the Lumpkin County Georgia District Attorneys office. I was a young ADA prosecuting his client. He was an experienced and respected criminal defense att...

Today I had the unpleasant duty to visit a client in jail. For obvious reasons, I cannot discuss the circumstances that led to the clients incarceration, but the reason involved a violation of probation. Probation is an alternative to jail: It is difficult for people to understand, but when a ...

Once again, we have had a rash of calls where people have already resolved their case and are suffering collateral consequences. Today someone called and was having trouble getting a job in his or her field. He wanted to see if there was anything we could do about his closed Gwinnett County DUI ...

In a tragic turn of events, a California teen has been jailed after live streaming an automobile crash that left her 14-year-old sister dead. Authorities and news media have indicated that Obdulia Sanchez, the 18-year-old driver, was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, however, further detai...

Recently Georgia judges have been attempting to change the courtroom access rules to prevent video and audio recording. As for with elimination of an independent judicial review committee, these proposals are a step in the wrong direction. The stated reason for the proposed change is to protect ...

As we explore the ramifications of the new Georgia DUI Law, several minor changes have come to our attention. The new law allows for a person charged with a first DUI to choose to install an ignition interlock device on their car. As I have examined the law, I have realized that the law applies ...

Several times a week I am told by a prospective client that the police cannot prove that they were DUI because they did not take a breath test or do field sobriety tests. When someone refuses to test in a DUI case, it can potentially make it harder for the State to prove its case. However, there...

One of the most frequently asked questions about Georgia DUI Law is whether a police officer must read someone their Miranda rights after a Georgia DUI arrest. The short answer is “generally no.” A more comprehensive discussion of Miranda rights and DUI arrests may shed some light on my answer....

Texting and driving - and the trend of states cracking down on it - are nothing new. The National Safety Council places the number of texting-related crashes at 1.6 million annually. This is on par with the 1.5 million annual DUI arrests in the United States. Research suggests alcohol-impaired cr...

In the American justice system, the prosecutor ultimately decides whether to prosecute someone and for what offense or offenses. When the police make an arrest, the arrest is a mere accusation of a crime. The standard of proof required to make an arrest is whether there is probable cause that so...

Perspective clients often tell me that the police cannot prove their case because they did not see someone drive. Driving is an essential element that must be established in any DUI case. However, many people misunderstand the rules of evidence. Indirect evidence can, in fact, prove a fact or f...

Generally, a justification defense will not be successful, but it is technically possible. In a justification defense, the accused must first admit that they violated the law; however, the violation of the law should be excused because there was a justifiable and compelling reason. You cannot h...

The question as to whether Georgia has a zero tolerance DUI Law has nothing to do with tolerance for people who drive while under the influence. The issue is when a person is considered to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A real "zero tolerance" law insofar as DUI is concerned would m...

The answer is that most likely a prosecutor can see an arrest from another state. There are many ways in which someone's traffic and criminal history may be revealed. When a person is facing a traffic misdemeanor offense, such as DUI, a record of that arrest and disposition is placed on that per...

This article is a statement of my opinion. I have not researched the statistical success and failure of Drug Courts, DUI Courts, and other Accountability Courts. I am not an expert; however, I have practiced law for 22 years and have represented thousands of people in substance abuse related char...

Thursday evening, an unlicensed 16-year-old driver in Santa Ana, CA was arrested on suspicion of DUI in his mother's vehicle. The teen allegedly struck two pedestrians, ultimately injuring a total of five people including the three passengers in tow. According to Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Sant...