Articles Posted in DUI

If you have heard the term ‘DUI Less Safe’ and wondered what it means in Georgia, this article will educate you. A DUI less safe charge can happen even if your blood alcohol level is unknown. A forensic breath test, like the Intoxilyzer 9000 used in Georgia, can reveal a BAC below the legal limit, and yet you still face DUI charges.

The focus of DUI arrests is on whether that driver is impaired. In this article, you will learn what “DUI less safe” means, the implications of such a charge, and how it differs from a D.U.I. arrest where the driver is “over the legal limit.”

Atlanta DUI lawyer Larry Kohn has handled thousands of criminal cases including first DUI, felony DUI, repeat DUI, and DUI drugs. Larry has over 600 AVVO 5-star reviews.
However, any DUI crime arrest is at least a serious misdemeanor crime. “Less safe” DUI citations only apply when law enforcement does not collect a post-arrest forensic test after your DUI arrest, whether at the police station or another location (e.g., for a hospital blood draw). If you were cited for a “refusal to submit” to post-arrest blood or breath testing, the Prosecutor will argue that this is proof of your “consciousness of guilt.”

If you are fighting criminal charges, it is vital to comprehend the intricacies of the many criminal defense procedures and tactics. Within Georgia’s legal framework, offenses are differentiated into felonies and misdemeanors, and each statutory enactment will provide the range of the potential penalties if convicted.

Georgia criminal lawyer Larry Kohn has over 25 years of courtroom experience where he defends clients accused of DUI, sex crimes, assault and battery, and theft.
The commencement of this process is marked by charging the accused party, which then leads to their arraignment and initial hearings in court. Retaining a competent Atlanta criminal defense attorney is instrumental in guiding defendants through these proceedings while meticulously managing all necessary documentation and minimizing errors.

Enlisting an Atlanta criminal attorney can facilitate swifter case settlements and more favorable results due to their proficiency in maneuvering through the legal labyrinth, and adapting strategies that align with that individual client’s “best case” scenarios. These legal professionals play a key role in ensuring that clients exercise their right to remain silent and learn what judicial expectations will be (if a client testifies, which is rare) and to know which experts may be needed to cast doubt on the reliability of the State’s evidence against our client.

If you’ve been arrested for DUI in Georgia, you are likely feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about your immediate future. Larry Kohn, an Atlanta criminal attorney with many positive client reviews, understands the overbearing worry and fear of facing a 1st offense DUI in Georgia. Larry’s clients want to know, “What is the penalty for first offense DUI in Georgia?”

Atlanta DUI attorney Larry Kohn has over 25 years of courtroom experience representing first DUI cases in Cobb, Fulton, DeKalb, Forsyth, and Cherokee counties. He is very highly rated by clients and his fellow lawyers.
This guide will explain all possible penalties if convicted. The most common penalty for a first-time DWI or DUI conviction is a sizable court fine. But an arrest is not always a conviction! We will fight your charges together.

Understanding First-Time DUI Penalties in Georgia

Georgia DUI less safe lawyer Cory Yager has defended hundreds of clients against driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs charges in Atlanta. Cory is an ex-cop who is an expert in field sobriety tests and their unscientific results.
DUI less safe in Georgia means being charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs to the extent that it is less safe for the person to drive, even if their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is below 0.08%.

For drivers under 21 years of age the BAC limit is 0.02 grams percent, and for commercial driver’s license CDL holders, the legal limit is 0.04%. If you don’t take the roadside breathalyzer test, the officer can still arrest you for impaired driving. This can be based on slurred speech, admitting to drinking, or failing field sobriety tests.

In Georgia, there is another type of DUI offense called DUI per se. This occurs when the officer collects a breath sample at the roadside and again at the police station. O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(a)(1) defines less safe DUI in the state of Georgia.

Atlanta GA DUI lawyer Cory Yager worked nearly 10 years in police work before becoming a DUI Lawyer GA. Next, he passed the Georgia Bar in 2007, and was working as criminal attorney a week later. He was then trained for years by renowned Georgia DUI lawyer Bubba Head.

Bubba Head is the State’s top DUI defense lawyer. The pair of defense attorneys successfully handled many high-profile clients, in their DUI arrest cases.

Yager, the lawyer, obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the State University of New York. He moved to Georgia in 1999 for police training. After that, he went to law school and earned his Juris Doctorate from John Marshall Law School-Atlanta.

If you are stopped in Georgia and then arrested for driving under the influence (or any other serious traffic offense) this cuffing and jailing can be a very jarring and disruptive experience. Over 95% of arrests are made by an officer with the Smyrna Police Department Georgia, and the balance handled by the Cobb County Police Department, or Georgia State Patrol (when accidents have occurred).

The City of Smyrna Municipal Court House is located in Smyrna, Georgia 30080, at 2800 King Street. This is the same building that houses City Hall, so don’t think that you are in the wrong place.

(Photo of the Smyrna Court House shown below)

By: Atlanta DUI lawyer and Ex-Police Officer Cory Yager, and one of the best DUI lawyers near me in metro Atlanta Georgia

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A DUI arrest for a first offense DUI in Georgia is a disruptive, frightening, and unsettling event. Because the plastic driver’s license is almost always confiscated, the arrested DUI driver’s right to drive becomes questionable, and finding an easy summary of the law on driving under the influence in the Peach State is quite challenging.

Once the arrested person has access to a computer again, he or she begins searching for a DUI law firm with highly rated lawyers for DUI near me. Checking each lawyer ratings, and learning more about Georgia DUI laws, the search for the top Georgia DUI attorney is underway.

Atlanta DUI Lawyer: What to Do at a GA DUI Traffic Stop

At no time have the schools in Georgia given their students information on what to do or NOT do, if confronted by police. This is true for high schools, colleges, and technical schools. This maxim is particularly critical to traffic cases, as well as being valid if approached on foot by an officer.

This blog posting covers traffic stop encounters in which a driving under the influence case is suspected. Because you will never be permitted to delay a police investigation to call the best DUI lawyer Atlanta, knowing this information can save your driver’s license. Furthermore, it may prevent a lifetime conviction for a DUI charge from blemishing your criminal history.

By: Larry Kohn, Georgia Super Lawyer, AVVO Superstar DUI Attorney and member of Best Law Firms in America

Starting in 1970, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal government began doling out funding equal to today’s equivalent of about $5 million during a 28-year period. The impetus for doing this came to them after receiving a young woman’s California Ph.D. student’s psychology thesis on this topic in 1970.

Their goal was to come up with some simple-to-do, roadside standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs). The federal agency’s goal was to create a method of standardizing these police officers’ roadside tests, by conducting research and gathering statistical studies on group performance of sober and drinking subjects.

Court-related GA DUI Consequences

1. DUI Convictions in Georgia are FOREVER – no expunction law in GA (can’t be removed from record and a conviction will NOT “age” off). You take it to the GRAVE.

2. Mandatory probation which will be for one year minus any days in jail for misdemeanor offenses; five years of probation required for felony 4th (or more) offense in 10 years (minus any prison time served).

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