Of course, the last thing you may want is for a driving under the influence (DUI) charge to be permanently added to your driving record, criminal record, and follow you around in your personal life indefinitely. This is why you must do everything in your power to fight it when you still have the opportunity. Without further ado, please read on to discover the chances of getting your DUI charges reduced or dismissed and how a seasoned Cobb County DUI lawyer at Miller Law Practice, LLC, can work on your behalf to negotiate a better outcome.

What are the possible penalties if my DUI charge can be reduced?

Typically, a criminal defense lawyer will fight to reduce their client’s DUI charge to a reckless driving offense. While both are considered misdemeanors in the state of Georgia, a DUI offense may carry more significant mandatory penalties than a reckless driving offense.

For example, both offenses have a maximum jail sentence of 12 months. However, there is a statutory minimum jail time of 24 hours for a first-offense DUI. Similarly, a probationary period for a DUI conviction cannot be shortened. 

Then, reckless driving does not require a mandatory license suspension for drivers over 21, while a first-time DUI may impose this for up to one year. The most these reckless drivers may receive is four points on their driving record. With this, there is a reduced impact on insurance.

How can I get my DUI charges reduced in Georgia?

You must understand that prosecutors do not have to agree to a proposed reduction of your criminal charges. But this does not mean that your legal representative will not make their best efforts to make a case for it. 

Namely, your lawyer may point out critical factors like your blood-alcohol content (BAC) at the time. A law enforcement officer can still arrest you with a BAC level below the legal limit of 0.08 percent due to your exhibited behavior of impairment. But still, your lawyer may capitalize on this fact, combined with the consideration that this may have been your first driving infraction, to lower the charge to reckless driving.  

However, if there were aggravating circumstances that contributed to your arrest, this negotiation may be less viable. That is, if law enforcement discovered you were intoxicated after being called to the scene of an auto accident you caused, which resulted in another party’s bodily injuries or property damages. Or, in the moments before getting pulled over, you were seen racing other vehicles, driving at an excessive speed, making erratic lane changes, etc.

How can I get my DUI charges dismissed in Georgia?

The ideal scenario, though, is if your lawyer can successfully dismiss the charge altogether. This may be possible if you can collect evidence that gives the prosecution reason to believe they will not win in a trial. Just to name a few, your constitutional rights may have been violated during the arrest, the arresting officer may have improperly instructed on field sobriety tests, the breathalyzer used at the scene may have been faulty, etc.

Regardless, if you are up against a first-offense DUI charge, you may only have 30 days from the date of your arrest to schedule an administrative license hearing. At the very least, you should fight to protect your driver’s license from an automatic suspension. So please do not hesitate to call a competent Cobb County criminal defense lawyer at Miller Law Practice, LLC. We look forward to hearing from you.