Charged with DUI in Atlanta and need a lawyer?
Have you been charged with Driving Under the Influence and need a DUI lawyer near Atlanta?
Did you receive a City of Atlanta Driving Under the Influence charge while leaving the Atlanta United Game, Atlanta Falcons Game or Atlanta Hawks Game? Maybe you were enjoying a night out in Buckhead, East Atlanta Village, The Foundry, Midtown, Atlanta High Museum of Art, or the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.
Did the officer charge you for violations involving alcohol, drugs, prescription medication, marijuana, or the Violation of Georgia Controlled Substances Act (V.G.C.S.A.)?
Many people think that you can only receive a DUI for alcohol, but that isn’t true.
The statute for DUI has five different subsections and only two of them involve alcohol. The other three involve drugs (including prescription medications, glue, aerosol or toxic vapors, or any combination of them).
You need the assistance of a DUI law firm that is not only familiar with the Municipal Court for the City of Atlanta, but is also well known in that court system.
The law offices of Michael D. Barber & Associates have extensive experience defending clients from DUI charges in the City of Atlanta. Our office is well-versed in defending and navigating the DUI 30-day suspension letter, the Office of State Administrative Hearings, The Atlanta Municipal Court and many other complicated areas within representation for a DUI charge.
How do DUI charges (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391) work in Atlanta?
A DUI charge is one of the most heavily used and frequently received charges in the City of Atlanta. Because of this, the charge has its own special court assignments at the City of Atlanta Municipal Court. Many people receive a DUI charge who have never been in trouble.
This charge is also the most inadequately represented charge in criminal law for clients.
A criminal defense DUI attorney MUST have proper training to assure that the client receives the representation for which they are looking for and paying for. That is why you need to find a lawyer who has the proper training to help you.
If handled improperly, a DUI charge can affect your license, your criminal history, time spent in jail, community representation and many other issues with your life.
Police officer training for DUI charges
The most typical, and frequently used, charge for a DUI is alcohol. Officer’s should have extensive training to properly investigate this type of charge. YOUR attorney should have the same training (or more training) as the officer’s training in order to properly represent YOU.
- Proper training assures good and thorough representation for you in court and is another reason that YOU need an experienced DUI lawyer.
- Without experience YOU will not be able to properly defend against an Atlanta police officer who has not had the proper training and made errors in YOUR arrest.
Officers should have training under Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), or Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) or Drug Recognition Expert (DRE). These three different levels of training are provided to officers by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration so that any investigation into DUI is done properly and assures that citizens are properly arrested.
Prior to these tests crafted by the NHTSA, officers would have you recite the alphabet backwards, pick up coins off the floor and do many other tasks that were “unregulated” and not enforceable.
Whenever someone is arrested for a DUI in Atlanta, the officer is required by law to arrest them and retain their driver’s license. The officer then issues a DDS 1205 form. This form is the officer’s notice to you of the officer’s intention to suspend YOUR privileges to operate a motor vehicle.
You must write a 30-day response letter to stop the suspension.
Arrests for a DUI charge in Atlanta are made by either the City of Atlanta Police Department or a special division in the Georgia State Patrol called the Nighthawks. These DUI charges are heard at the Atlanta Municipal Court.
The Atlanta Municipal Court is located at 150 Garnett Street in the city of Atlanta.
The DUI charges will be heard in one of two courtrooms which are for Judge Gundy and Judge Bey. All charges in the Municipal Court for the City of Atlanta are prosecuted by the City of Atlanta Solicitor’s office.
Receiving the best legal representation for DUI charges in Atlanta
You need the help of an experienced Atlanta DUI lawyer to help you with these charges. Many people don’t realize that these charges can affect the rest of their life.
The charge will be a part of your criminal history when you apply to rent a house, a home loan, and even promotions at work, not to mention applying for a new job. This charge will follow you for the rest of your life and cause issues every time it “pops up.”
An experienced criminal defense lawyer can help you with this charge in how the court treats you and how it effects your future. As former prosecutors, our criminal defense attorneys know and understand that the prosecution (or in almost every case – team of prosecutors) are highly skilled and trained to get a conviction on your case.
That means it’s time to hire an experienced attorney who knows how to evaluate both sides of the case. Our team of lawyers are former prosecutors and know how to mount a proper defense for your DUI offenses.
For a FREE consultation and evaluation of your DUI charges, call our DUI law firm. Our firm has the knowledge and skills to make a proper defense for YOU.
Just because you have been charged with a DUI does not mean that you have to accept guilt. It means you need to hire an experienced attorney to mount a proper defense for your DUI charges.
Our offices have a 24-hour response line (404-445-8494) and someone is available to answer your call and help. Call us now for a FREE case evaluation.