The following constitutes a summary of Georgia's Driving Under the Influence (DUI) laws.  It is provided for educational and informative purposes only.  The information provided is current as of July 1, 2008, and reflects the most recent changes in Georgia's DUI laws.  As of July 1, 2008, the "look-back" period for counting the number of DUI convictions within a time frame for purposes of enhanced punishment changes from five years to TEN years.  All arrest dates must be on or after July 1, 2008 to begin the 10-year look-back period.

There are many laws governing DUI

Alcohol has been around for a long time.  Cars have been around since the turn of the century.  For the past eighty years or so, the American legal system has had to deal with the problem of intoxicated drivers.  As cars have gotten bigger and faster, the dangers associated with drunk driving have increased, and the laws have frequently changed.  Recent political trends have caused a rise in the conviction rate for DUI, the severity of punishment, and the intensity of enforcement efforts.

The laws governing DUI in Georgia are as follows:  (1) the Constitution of the United States, (2) the Constitution of the State of Georgia, (3) the Georgia Code (O.C.G.A.),  (4) the Georgia Administrative Code, and (5) appellate decisions on DUI and criminal procedure by the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Georgia.  No lawyer should ever take on a DUI case without being familiar with all of the laws governing DUI.

The state and federal constitutions guarantee DUI suspects the same rights granted any American
accused of a crime, including the presumption of innocence, the right against self-incrimination, protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to fully confront witnesses at trial.

The Georgia Code contains the actual laws against DUI, the criminal procedure rules applicable to DUI trials, the license suspension and scholarship disqualification rules triggered by a DUI plea or conviction, the mandatory punishment and alternative incarceration rules, and the rules of evidence applicable to all criminal trials.  These are the laws enacted by the Georgia state legislature.

The Georgia Administrative Code contains rules and regulations pertaining to the methods of scientific testing of breath, blood and urine in DUI cases, the certification of qualified police officers to operate breath screening devices, and license suspension regulations.  These rules are enacted by the executive branch of our state government, subject to structured public debate under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Decisions from the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Georgia interpret all of the above laws and contain rulings on individual DUI cases that have been appealed.  The Supreme Court can also declare a law or rule unconstitutional and strike it down.

Whew!  That's legalese for "the law of DUI is complex and ever changing - that is what makes it a specialized, difficult area of legal practice."

There are six types of DUI

1. Driving Under the Influence - Less Safe

O.C.G.A. §40-6-391(a)(1) makes it a crime to be in "actual physical control of any moving vehicle" while under the influence of alcohol to the extent that it is "less safe" for the person to drive.  This is the basic DUI law that makes drunk driving illegal.  Through the years, politicians have made it easier for prosecutors to win cases by expanding the definitions of "drunk" and "driving".

"Drunk" is really defined as being under the influence of alcohol to the extent that it is less safe to drive.  Judges and prosecutors liberally assume a driver is in a "less safe" condition from the existence of any traffic violation, such as speeding, weaving, improper backing, or failure to signal.  Juries often assume that if there are any physical manifestations of drinking, i.e., bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, unsteady walk or order of alcohol that the accused was in a "less safe" condition if he was pulled over for a traffic violation.  On the other hand, the appellate courts have held that a driver can be in a "less safe" condition even if he or she was not driving poorly - "less safe" refers the condition of the driver, not the quality of his or her driving.

"Driving" has been given a broad meaning as well.  If you are intoxicated and are sitting in a parked car with the motor running, coasting in neutral in your own driveway, or simply starting a car, you may be lawfully convicted of DUI.  DUI can be committed on private property and in any kind of moving vehicle, including go-carts, golf carts, and boats.

2.  Driving With Unlawful Blood Alcohol Level

O.C.G.A. §40-6-391(a)(5) is Georgia's  "per se" DUI statute.  Anyone caught driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 grams % or more is assumed to be so intoxicated that he or she cannot possibly be a safe driver.

Under this section of DUI law, there is no need to prove that a driver was driving poorly or even that he or she was feeling the effects of intoxication.  If you were over the limit and were behind the wheel, and the test result is admitted against you, a jury may convict you, period.  Don't despair if your test was over the limit; a skilled and knowledgeable DUI attorney can persuade the court or jury to disregard the test result in many instances.

Georgia's original DUI law set a 0.15 grams% limit for intoxication, which was endorsed by the American Medical Association at the time.  Since then, lobbying groups funded by big insurance companies have forced the federal government to "strong-arm" state governments into lowering their  "per se" DUI levels.  The U. S. Congress denied states highway construction money until each state passed laws lowering the legal intoxication limit.  Georgia bowed to this federal pressure twice, first lowering the legal limit to 0.12 grams%, and then, in 1994,  to 0.10 grams%. Georgia's limit has been lowered to 0.08 grams%, due to additional federal legislation enacted during the Reagan administration.  Many more drivers will be sent to jail for DUI who were never drunk.

Consider also that all breath tests and blood tests following a DUI arrest are taken an hour or two after driving.   Therefore, the test does not show the blood alcohol level at the time of driving at all.

Legislators think they cured this defect by changing the law to make it a crime to have a 0.08 grams% BAC at any time within three hours of driving.  A similarly worded Pennsylvania law was declared unconstitutional in 1995.  Currently, Georgia law interprets any test given within three hours of driving to be admissible.

Most accused drinking drivers submit to chemical testing of the breath, blood or urine and are charged under both (a)(1) and (a)(5), "DUI less safe" and "DUI per se."  Charging in the alternative is a strategy that makes it easier to convict you.  Prosecutors who do not understand the science of breath or blood testing can argue the importance of the breath test, and, at the same time, argue that the test is unnecessary because the driver was obviously "less safe."

For drivers under the age of 21, the law makes it illegal, for all practical purposes, to drink any amount of alcohol and then drive a car.  The "per se" level for drivers under 21 years old is 0.02 grams%.  This reflects "zero tolerance" policy on youthful offenders.  The problem is that the breathalyzer is not calibrated and the calibration is never checked to detect low levels of BAC.  A good number of young people are being unfairly stigmatized at a crucial period in their lives because of inaccuracies in the breath machines. 

Drivers holding a commercial driver's license (CDL) are subject to a per se level of 0.04 grams% while driving a commercial vehicle.  There are also automatic punishments for CDL holders who are shown to have any amount of alcohol on their breath.

3.  Driving Under the Influence of Drugs

O.C.G.A. §40-6-391(a)(2) makes it illegal for any person to drive while under the influence of any drug, legal or illegal, to the extent that it is less safe for the person to drive.  Drugs other than alcohol can and do impair motor skills and cognitive capability necessary to safely drive a car.  This "catch-all" DUI statute allows a conviction for driving under the influence of any drug whatsoever, be it Tylenol or crack cocaine; however, the prosecution (government lawyer) must still prove that the drug impaired the person's driving ability at the time he or she was driving.  Breath tests and most of the roadside coordination tests are specific to alcohol impairment, so drug impairment is harder to prove.

4.  Driving Under the Combined Influence of Alcohol and Drugs

O.C.G.A. §40-6-391(a)(4) makes it illegal to drive under the combined influence of alcohol, drugs, and/or toxic vapors to the extent that the driver is "less safe".  This law was passed to account for situations in which the driver had both alcohol and a drug in his or her system, and the government could not truly determine which drug impaired the driver more.  It is required that the prosecutor prove the driver to have been "less safe" under this code section.

5.  Driving Under the Influence of Toxic Vapors

A relatively rare provision, O.C.G.A. §40-6-391(a)(3), makes it illegal to drive under the "intentional" influence of any glue, aerosol, or other toxic vapor to the extent that the driver is "less safe."  This law was enacted to counter the defense that a toxic vapor is not a "drug."  As you might imagine, it is infrequently used, as glue sniffing or "huffing" is not particularly popular among those old enough to drive.

6.  Driving Under the Influence of Illegal Drugs

DUI - MARIJUANA LAW STRUCK DOWN BY CLARK & TOWNE

O.C.G.A. §40-6-391 (a)(6) makes it illegal to drive with any amount of an illegal drug in your blood or urine or with any amounts of metabolites of an illegal drug in your blood or urine, as long as that drug is NOT MARIJUANA.  The Georgia Supreme Court in Love v. State, a case argued and won by our firm in 1999, declared this subsection unconstitutional.  All prosecutions for DUI - marijuana must now be brought under subsection (a)(2), which requires the government to prove that the driver was incapable of driving safely due to marijuana use.  Prosecutions for DUI-cocaine or other illegal street drugs are routinely brought under this section.

The Penalties for DUI in Georgia

The mandatory minimum penalties for DUI get progressively worse depending on how many DUI convictions, or guilty or nolo pleas you have had within the past ten years.  The crucial events within the ten-year look back period are the dates of arrest, not the dates of convictions or pleas.  All DUI arrests resulting in a conviction or a nolo plea or a guilty plea"count" for purposes of determining how many DUIs in ten years you have.  The ten years before your current arrest may count toward the minimum penalties that must be imposed and the availability of a nolo plea.  The judge can and will consider your entire lifetime record for the purposes of sentencing and in considering whether to allow a nolo plea (even if you are lawfully "entitled" to one).

The best way to avoid the penalties of a DUI conviction is to avoid conviction.  An experienced DUI attorney will do everything ethically possible to help you win your case.  When you win, you no longer have to worry about insurance rates, jail, fines and fees.

Most DUIs are misdemeanors.  A misdemeanor is defined in Georgia as a crime punishable by no more than 12 months in jail and a $1,000.00 fine.  A felony is defined in Georgia as a crime punishable by more than one year in prison.  Other states have different definitions of misdemeanors and felonies; only Georgia law applies when you are arrested in Georgia.

FIRST DUI IN THE LAST TEN YEARS (all arrests after July 1, 2008)

* Fines: $300.00 minimum to $1,000.00 maximum, plus $200-300 in mandatory surcharges And $30-50 per month probation supervision fee; AND

* Jail:  24 hours minimum if BAC is over 0.08 grams%, otherwise 10 days to 12 months.  As of 1997, judges have no discretion but must sentence first offenders registering 0.08% or above to at least 24 hours in jail.  This jail time is mandatory, and most judges will not permit "weekend-only reporting" or other alternatives.  The mandatory portion may not be probated, suspended or deferred; AND

* Community Service:  40 hours mandatory minimum; AND

* DUI School:  Level I Risk Reduction program; AND

* License Suspension:  the Department of Driver Services will suspend the driver's licenses of all first offenders for one year, regardless of whether the offender pleads guilty or nolo contendere; AND

* Ignition Interlock Device:  After a DUI conviction, the court may make the driver buy or rent an ignition interlock device that will not let the driver's car start if alcohol is on the breath.  Installation and maintenance of the device may be made a condition of probation and must be at the driver's expense.

* There is no First Offender Treatment for a DUI conviction.  Georgia law provides that a person can avoid conviction of many criminal offenses (even felonies!) by requesting a sentence under the First Offender Act.  The Act specifically states that no one convicted of a DUI may be sentenced under the First Offender Act.

Additional Penalties for Illegal Drugs

In any case involving illegal drugs, including DUI, a "drug surcharge" of fifty percent (50%) is collected in addition to the fine.  A driver may be accused and convicted of drug possession along with DUI.

Possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is a misdemeanor in Georgia; however, if the amount is more than an ounce, it is a felony. 

Possession of cocaine, crack, methamphetamine, LSD, MDA, steroids, or any other controlled substance, now including "ecstasy" and gamma hydroxybutyric acid (the so-called "date-rape drug") is punishable as a felony regardless of the amount.  A driver's license can be suspended for possession of drugs even if the suspect was not driving when arrested and was not convicted of DUI.  College scholarships and other legal benefits are imperiled upon conviction for possession of illegal drugs.

Any person who has been convicted of unlawfully manufacturing, distributing, possessing or using a controlled substance or other controlled substance cannot obtain a gun permit.  "Conviction" includes a plea of nolo contendere and first offender treatment.  The penalties for possession of illegal drugs are as follows:

Marijuana less than an ounce: up to 12 months in jail and up to $1,000.00 fine, 180-day minimum license suspension, with no work permit.  This is a misdemeanor.

Controlled substances other than marijuana, and marijuana more than one ounce: Punishable by 2 to 15 years in jail with intensified penalties for distribution, manufacturing, possession with intent to distribute, subsequent simple possession convictions, or hiring an individual under 17 to manufacture and distribute and trafficking (possession of large quantities of drugs).  Upon the second conviction of possession of a controlled substance or marijuana there is a one-year minimum license suspension.  These crimes are felonies.

Any conviction for possession of drugs requires completion of DUI School in order to gain reinstatement of your driver's license at the end of the suspension period, even where driving was not involved in the arrest.

If This is Not Your First DUI in 5 Years

SECOND DUI IN TEN YEARS (all arrests after July 1, 2008)

* Fine:  $600.00 minimum, to $1,000.00 maximum, plus mandatory surcharges and probation supervision fees; AND

* Jail:  90 days to 12 months, all but 72 hours of which may be suspended, stayed or probated.  In reality, judges often impose 30 to 90 days in jail on a second DUI in ten  years.  If the sentencing phase of your trial is prepared and conducted correctly, the judge has the discretion to permit all of part of the jail time be served as "alternative incarceration" that is, in a halfway house, a drug or alcohol rehab, in home confinement, or in work release which allows you to go to work during the day.  In order to get alternative incarceration, the attorney must know the judge's history in sentencing DUI cases, and must be familiar with the prosecutor, and must carefully prepare a good defense so that there is a viable threat by the accused of going to trial and gaining an acquittal.  Alternative incarceration is extremely difficult to get for DUI cases.  Probation cannot be terminated early; AND

* Community service:  30 days mandatory minimum; AND

* Alcohol & drug clinical evaluation:  Mandatory completion of mental health evaluation and treatment at the offender's expense; AND

* Publication in newspaper:  Upon the second conviction within ten years, a notice of conviction is published in the local legal newspaper.  The notice includes the driver's photograph taken at the time of his or her arrest, the driver's name and address, the date, time and place of arrest and disposition of the case.  The driver must pay $25.00 to the Clerk to cover the cost of publication.  The size of the photo and written notice is one column wide by two inches high; AND

* Ignition Interlock Device:  After a second DUI conviction, a driver can petition the DDS for a limited driving permit one year after conviction, conditioned upon completion of alcohol treatment and completion of DUI school.  DDS will require the driver to buy or rent an ignition interlock device that will not let the driver's car start if alcohol is on the driver's breath.  Installation and maintenance of the device must be made a condition of probation and must be at the driver's expense.  The recommended time for the IID is six months, but there is no reason why a judge cannot order a driver to keep the IID on his car for the full term of probation.  After a second DUI conviction, a driver cannot obtain a reinstated driver's license until he or she provides proof that an ignition interlock device has been "maintained" for 6 months; AND

* License plate surrender:  After a second conviction in ten years for DUI, a driver must surrender all license plates for all vehicles owned by the driver, until the driver is eligible for a limited driving permit, a probationary license, or is eligible for reinstatement.  There are limited hardship exceptions to this provision, but few car owners will qualify; AND

* License suspension:  A 3-year suspension is mandatory.  There is no immediate "work permit" available for any driver.  The sentencing judge can order that there be no license for 18 months, or for a limited permit in 12 months if the driver has already met the conditions listed above in the Ignition Interlock section.  Reinstatement may be applied for after 18 months, provided the driver has complied with all conditions.  The reinstatement fee is $210.00 at the DDS offices and $200.00 through the mail.

THIRD DUI IN TEN YEARS (all arrests after July 1, 2008)

* Fine:  $1,000.00 minimum to $5,000.00 maximum, plus surcharges and probation supervision fees; AND

* Jail:  120 days to 12 months, all but 15 days of which may be served on probation.  In real life, the jail sentences are from 120-180 days; more for multiple lifetime  offenses.  A driver with three DUIs in ten years is pretty much going to have to show  the judge that he is going straight into a residential alcohol rehabilitation program in order to get out of jail time.  AND

* Community Service:  30 days mandatory  minimum.   AND

* License Revocation:  5-year license revocation (not suspension).  The driver is declared a HABITUAL VIOLATOR.  After two years, the driver may apply for a probationary license, which is discretionary with the Department of Driver Services.  There are stringent reinstatement requirements.
There are never any "work permits".  AND

* Ignition Interlock Device:  A driver must buy or rent an ignition interlock device that will not let the driver's car start if alcohol is on the breath, as a condition of a probation license requested two years after revocation.  The Ignition Interlock Device must remain on the licensee's car for a minimum of six months.  Installation and maintenance of the device must be at the driver's expense; AND

* Publication in newspaper:  upon the third conviction, a notice of conviction is published in the local newspaper.  The notice includes the driver's photograph taken at the time of his or her arrest, the driver's name and address, the date, time and place of arrest and disposition of the case.  The driver must pay $25.00 to the Clerk to cover the cost of publication.  The size of the photo and written notice is one column wide by two inches high.  AND

* Special license plate:  Anybody declared a habitual violator must surrender the license plates from his or her car and apply for special license plates containing a code of numbers and letters that will tell police that the driver is a habitual violator.  The law provides that when the police see such a license plate, they cannot stop or detain the driver based solely upon the habitual violator code in the license plate, but don't count on it.

A FOURTH DUI IN TEN YEARS is a FELONY.

Expungement

I get hundreds of calls each year asking how a driver gets a DUI conviction expunged.  In Georgia, an expungement is reserved for those who are arrested for a crime but never prosecuted for some reason.  If a formal charge is filed against you (an indictment or accusation), you cannot legally have that arrest expunged from your criminal record.

If you are originally charged formally with DUI and your attorney convinces the prosecutor to dismiss the DUI by entering a plea to Reckless Driving or some other violation, you cannot legally have the DUI arrest expunged from your record.

If you have been arrested and later acquitted by a judge or jury for that offense, you may have the arrest removed or pardoned by application to the Board of Pardons and Paroles.

There is no way to legally remove a DUI charge from your criminal record.  Your record will be supplemented with the information of what happened in court:  dismissed, acquitted, convicted, pled guilty.

Driving on a suspended license

FIRST OFFENSE OF DRIVING ON A SUSPENDED LICENSE

If you drive (even when sober) while your license has been suspended for any reason, there is a mandatory minimum $500.00 penalty and a jail sentence of two days to six months.  The crime is a misdemeanor and the fine may be up to $1,000.00.  Once you plead guilty to, or are convicted of, driving on a suspended license, there is an additional license suspension of at least six months from the date of the conviction or the plea, with no work permit or other exceptions.  If you are still on probation for a DUI when you are arrested for Driving with a Suspended License, a judge can require you to go back to jail for the rest of your DUI sentence.

SECOND OFFENSE OF DRIVING ON A SUSPENDED LICENSE

Upon conviction of, or a guilty plea to driving on a suspended license for a second time within five years, the jail time is ten days minimum, up to one year and the fine is $1,000.00 minimum up to $2,500.00.  This crime is a high and aggravated misdemeanor.  The DDS will also automatically suspend the convicted driver's license for at least another six months.

SUSPENDED LICENSE DUE TO DRUG OR DUI-DRUGS CONVICTION

The license of anyone who pleads guilty to or is convicted of drug possession (including misdemeanor marijuana possession) or a more serious drug offense will be suspended regardless of whether he or she was driving while using drugs. 

Upon the first conviction or guilty plea to drug charges, or a DUI-drugs conviction (O.C.G.A. §40-6-391(a)(2), (4), or (6) in a given 5-year period, the suspension is for a minimum of 180 days.  There is no provision for a limited driving per during the 180 days.  O.C.G.A. §40-5-80(e).  Reinstatement of a driver's license is conditioned upon completion of DUI School, even if no driving was involved. 

Upon the second conviction or nolo plea in five years to drug possession, the suspension is for three years with possible reinstatement after one year.  Upon the third conviction or nolo plea in five years to drug possession, the suspension is for five years with the possibility of a limited driving permit after two years.  If a judge accepts a nolo plea to a drug charge, the driver must submit completion of DUI School to DDS within 120 days of the sentence or the driver's license is suspended "by operation of law," and no further notification has to be sent to the driver. 

You'll note that there may not have been a change in the look-back period for these offenses. 

Anyone arrested for driving after a drug-related suspension is subject to a minimum fine of $750.00 up to a maximum of $5,000.00, and a separate 12-month jail sentence.  If the driver is still under sentence for the case for which the driver's license was suspended, the first sentence may be revoked in addition to any new sentence for driving while suspended.

A Note on Searches and Seizures

DUI cases involve automobiles, and the law has long held that the police have the right to search an automobile without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe that either weapons or illegal contraband (drugs) may be found inside.  Upon walking up to your car, the police are allowed to shine a flashlight into the passenger's compartment and look around, ostensibly for "officer safety."  This is not considered a "search" because you have rolled down your window and you are offering the officer the opportunity to observe things in "plain view" inside your car.  If you have passengers, the officer is permitted to order them out of the car if he feels it is necessary for officer's safety.  If you are pulled over in a "high crime area" or under circumstances where the officer reasonably believes that you may have a weapon or that you pose a threat to his safety, he may be permitted to "pat you down" (feel your body by running his hands over your clothing) under the justification of officer safety.

The police will often ask for your consent to search the car even if there is no probable cause to believe that you have drugs or weapons in the car.  This is because they believe that traffic stops often involve people who are criminals.  The fact is, if the police gain your consent to search your car, they have the right to search everything in the car, including closed containers, until they are satisfied or you tell them to stop searching.  You are never required to give your consent to search.  Please go to our sister site, dontconsenttothesearch.com for more information.

In the context of a DUI, a driver is often placed under arrest at the scene and once he or she is arrested, the police have the right to search the driver's car and person "incident to the arrest." 

Once arrested, a driver should be asked about disposition of the car, that is, whether someone can come and pick it up or whether it has to be towed.  If the car has to be towed, it will be "impounded" and brought to a local wrecker lot.  Whenever a car is impounded, the police are allowed to conduct an "inventory search" of the car to see if anything in the car belonging to the owner is of value and will be at risk in the car while it is stored.  In reality, this is an excuse to conduct a thorough search of everything in the car including the door panels and floors.

In most cases, the police will make mistakes in conducting searches; the law is just too complicated.  The attorneys at Clark & Towne have studied Fourth Amendment law and the complex requirements of a legal search; we will be of great help to you if the police have seized any embarrassing or incriminating evidence from your car.  Evidence seized as a result of an illegal search can be excluded from use at trial.  Once key evidence is suppressed, your case may be dismissed.

If your case involves drugs, a carefully argued motion to suppress evidence is crucial.

Open Container Laws

A driver who permits anyone to possess an open container of an alcoholic beverage in the car may be fined up to $200.00 with two points put on his or her driver's license.  While this is a relatively minor offense and carries no license suspension penalties, open container evidence in a DUI case is damaging and prosecutors will usually add this charge to the formal accusation whenever possible in order to remind the jury of the open container.  The open container is usually a beer.  It can even be an empty beer can rolling around in the bed of a trash-filled pickup truck.  If it is a mixed drink in the console or other drink holder, the police officer usually pours it out and does not save any amount for testing, so the contents of the cup become difficult to prove unless the driver admits to drinking.  Penalties for underage drivers with open containers are more severe and include a driver's license suspensions of 120 days, DUI School and no early reinstatement of driver's license.

Child Endangerment

A driver may be found guilty of the separate offense of child endangerment where he or she is DUI with a passenger-child under 14 years of age in the car.  Punishments vary depending upon whether it is the driver's first DUI conviction, and whether the child was injured or killed.  For a first DUI where the child was simply a passenger and was uninjured, an additional fine, more probation or a jail sentence should be expected.  These offenses are treated like DUIs:  if you are convicted of DUI, and convicted of Child Endangerment for two children in the car at the time of driving, you will be declared Habitual Violator.  The government attorney cannot dismiss or "merge" child endangerment charges into the underlying DUI as a plea bargain.

School Bus Drivers

A conviction or guilty plea to DUI while driving a school bus is a felony and carries a one-year minimum jail sentence up to five years, and a $1000.00 minimum fine up to $5,000.00.

DUI and Drug Courts

Many courts have DUI and Drug Courts.  Drug Courts are generally voluntary and reserved for people charged with felony drug possession where no weapons are involved, or no violence is involved.  To convince people to participate in Drug Courts, prosecutors and judges dismiss the cases of those who successfully complete the program.  The program costs each participant about $3,000 and takes 18-36 months to complete.

DUI Courts are mandatory in some courts for drivers with a prior DUI conviction.  A driver is required to enter a guilty plea to DUI and another offense (like speeding) before starting the program.  The DUI is not dismissed upon successful completion of the $3,000 program that takes 18-24 months to finish.

I will say no more.

Conclusion

Be forewarned - - - there are many lawyers who do not know what you have just learned by reading this summary.

This summary has been provided for educational and informative purposes only.  This is not legal advice, and unless you hire Clark & Towne, we will not advise you how to proceed with your case.  No lawyer should give you advice until you hire that lawyer; you should try not to hire a lawyer without meeting the lawyer and talking about the details of your case. 

While we may not be able to offer you a free consultation (we charge a nominal fee), we encourage you to spend some time to consult with us about your case.  Remember, there is no substitute for meeting with an experienced DUI attorney if you want to learn what the consequences will be for you and to assist you in making the decision whether or not to fight your DUI.

You have probably already guessed that a DUI conviction may adversely affect your career, your personal life, and your driving privileges.  There are many ways it will affect you that you do not know about until you talk to an experienced attorney.