Legal Question in DUI Law in Georgia

Re: Any advice good

Assuming that you are a Georgia resident over 21 years of age and that you took the state's required breath test at the time of your arrest, you are looking at the following:

1) A period of probation of 12 months

2) A fine of between $300.00 and $1000.00 (+

costs and state surcharges)

3) Not less than 40 hours community service

4) Required completion of a DUI risk reduction

course

5) A period of imprisonment of not less than 10

days nor more than 12 months (Note: The judge

is authorized to suspend or probate all but

24 hours of the jail time and some judges

will give you credit for the time you spent

in jail following your arrest or will allow

you to perform work as a trustee (similar to

community service) in lieu of actually going

to jail. However this depends on your

particular judge and the court you are

appearing in.

6) A one (1) year suspension of your license.

You can get your license reinstated after

120 days but the state (Dept of Driver

Services) will only allow you to reinstate

at that time if you can show proof of having

completed the DUI risk reduction course. (Note: The court is authorized to issue you a "first offender affidavit" at the time of your conviction which would allow you to obtain a

limited driving permit. As such, you would not be totally prohibited from driving for the

suspension period).

Because of your high blood alcohol level there is the possibility that you will be ordered by the court to undergo a Drug and Alcohol evaluation as part of your sentence. This is mandatory for 2nd offense DUI's but many courts order it for a first offense DUI if the individual's blood alcohol level was high.The marijuana charge, like the DUI charge, is a misdemeanor. The maximum penalty would be

12 months in jail and a $1000.00 fine. You shouldn't expect anything quite this severe though. This charge could possibly be prosecuted as a city ordinance violation if the prosecutor wishes to handle it as such. If you are charged with a "state" possession charge you could lose your license and end up with a criminal record, so if you can get the charge reduced to something other than a state possession charge it would be to your advantage. It would probably be to your advantage to discuss your situation with an attorney who has some familiarity with the court you are to appear in so that you will have a better idea of what you might expect when you do go to court.