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.

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