What Are the Penalties for a First-Offense DUI?

When being tried for a driving under the influence (DUI) offense, your lawyer can defend that this is your first time committing a criminal offense and that you are deeply remorseful for it. This may be their key strategy for minimizing the consequences imposed on you. But at the end of the day, Georgia criminal law does not take DUIs lightly, and you are likely to face some backlash after being found guilty of one. Without further ado, please continue reading to learn the potential penalties for a first-offense DUI and how an experienced Cobb County DUI lawyer at Miller Law Practice, LLC, can help you avoid them if possible. 

What are the penalties for a first-offense DUI in Georgia?

First of all, after being arrested on suspicion of a DUI, you may only have 30 days to schedule an Administrative License hearing to attempt to protect your driver’s license from a suspension. If you fail to do so on time, or if the hearing does not go in your favor, you may lose your driving privileges for 12 months. This is unless your lawyer can negotiate for a 120-day suspension after you attend and complete a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program. 

This is, unfortunately, not the worst consequence you may be up against. That is, even as a first-time offender, you may be sentenced to jail for 10 days to one year. This may be in addition to community service of up to 40 hours, and mandatory clinical evaluation and treatment. Lastly, in addition to the legal fees you may incur, the Georgia criminal court may order you to pay fines of anywhere between $300 to $1,000. 

What might heighten the criminal consequences?

You must understand that the aforementioned are the general criminal consequences for a standard first-offense DUI. This is to say that the Georgia criminal court may evaluate the details of your case and use its discretion to heighten your penalties as they see fit. The most common example of this is if, at the time of your arrest, your blood-alcohol content (BAC) level was 0.15 percent or higher, instead of between 0.08 percent and 0.14 percent. With this, you may face increased mandatory jail time and stricter probation conditions. 

In another example, you may have refused to submit to a breathalyzer test at the time of your traffic stop. When violating your implied consent as a registered Georgia driver, you may lose your eligibility for a limited permit during your driver’s license suspension period. Or, your intoxicated driver may have prompted an auto accident, and then you may have fled the scene prematurely. A hit-and-run is considered a separate criminal charge in Georgia, which may mean additional jail time, fines, and other penalties. 

You most certainly should not enter your criminal trial proceedings without being properly represented by a skilled Cobb County criminal defense lawyer. So please retain the services of Miller Law Practice, LLC at your earliest possible convenience.