Top Five DUI Defenses
Drinking and driving is deeply embedded in our society. About half of Georgians admit they have driven under the influence of alcohol. The actual percentage is probably much higher. Many people drink and drive and don’t admit it. Furthermore, peace officers aggressively enforce DUI laws. These offenses feed the beast. They keep many police officers, […]
Seven Breathalyzer Flaws in Georgia
A valid chemical test result significantly increases the chances of a DUI conviction. However, the result is inadmissible, unless the gadget met certain legal and technical requirements, and it produced an accurate result. Some common legal, scientific, and technical flaws are outlined below. The Breathalyzer, or rather the Drunk-O-Meter, its predecessor device, and the television […]
What Happens if I Refuse a Breathalyzer in Georgia?
Several things happen if you refuse a Breathalyzer in Georgia. To encourage, or rather force, more people to take breath tests, many states, such as neighboring Florida, have refusal-to-consent laws. Refusing a Breathalyzer test is a criminal offense independent of DUI. Georgia doesn’t have such a law as such, but it does have similar ones, […]
Successfully Challenging Chemical Test Results in DUI Cases
“Do you agree to provide a chemical sample” is often the biggest DUI arrest question. The conviction rate in test cases is much higher than the conviction rate in non-test cases. In fact, many defendants assume that if they provide a breath or blood sample, they are automatically guilty. Fortunately, that’s not true, especially in […]
Special DUI Issues: Remote Arrests
Recently, we have received several calls from people who were almost literally asleep at the wheel, and before they knew what was happening, they were arrested for DUI. Officers are very aggressive in this area, and their aggression is increasing. The DUI arrest rate in the Peachtree State is one-third higher today than it was […]
Georgia Lawmakers Change Breathalyzer Rules
Several months after the Supreme Court ruled that DUI arrest procedures violated the state’s constitution, the legislature changed the procedures. In February 2019, the state’s highest court ruled that, under Georgia’s self-incrimination law, refusal to take a chemical test cannot be used against a defendant at trial. So, going forward, Georgia peace officers will no […]
Beating the Breathalyzer in a Marietta DUI
Can you beat a Breathalyzer As part of an extended crackdown, Georgia and other states began passing much tougher DUI laws in the mid-1990s. Reducing the BAC level from .10 to .08 got most of the attention. Utah recently became the first state to lower the BAC limit again, to .04. Another, under-the-radar change put […]
