There are many times when a jury trial is the best possible option to avoid a DUI conviction on your Conyers DUI or traffic ticket case. Because the Conyers Municipal Court does not conduct jury trials, your Conyers DUI case would need to be transferred to Rockdale County State Court. Once you demand a jury trial, Conyers Municipal Court loses jurisdiction over your case and it is automatically transferred to the Rockdale County court system for the prosecution of your Driving Under the Influence case, located in the Rockdale County Courthouse. Sometimes preserving your right to a jury trial is the best option if the prosecutor in Conyers Municipal Court refuses to negotiate an acceptable resolution in your case.

If your case is either bound over for a jury trial from Conyers Municipal Court or begins in Rockdale County State Court, the Rockdale County District Attorney’s Office is then responsible for the prosecution of your City of Conyers or Rockdale County DUI. The District Attorney’s Office will open up a file and investigate the DUI charges before filing an accusation or indictment in court. Once an accusation or indictment is filed and assigned to a judge, then the Rockdale County Clerk of Court will place your case on an arraignment calendar, which may be followed by a motion hearing date, a calendar call date, and finally a trial date. Our Conyers DUI lawyers are familiar with the process as to how your DUI case progresses in the Rockdale court system. Mr. Sullivan was the lead Assistant District Attorney (prosecutor) in Rockdale County State Court before he went into private practice in 2006.

The elected District Attorney of Rockdale County is Alisha Adams Johnson. Currently, there are two elected State Court judge positions. Other judges may fill in from time to time, but that is a rare occurrence in Rockdale County. If your Rockdale DUI either begins in Rockdale County State Court or is transferred to Rockdale State Court from Conyers Municipal Court, Former Chief Judge Clarence Cuthpert resigned in order to run for an open seat in Rockdale Superior Court. Judge Richard Read will be presiding over both courtrooms until another judge is appointed by Governor Kemp. Your state court judge will preside over your case unless there is a felony charge associated with your case. Richard Read was the long-time District Attorney of Rockdale County before retiring and then worked as an assistant district attorney for Rockdale County. Jude Read was appointed to Rockdale County State Court by Governor Kemp in 2022. If you have a felony charge, your case will be randomly assigned to either Chief Superior Court Judge Robert Mumford, or Judge Nancy Bills. In most cases, the assigned judge will preside over your case until a final resolution is reached. The majority of DUI cases that our Conyers DUI lawyers send over for jury trial are treated as misdemeanors (like any traffic offense) and go to the Rockdale County State Court.

Sometimes the facts of a particular DUI may be best suited for a “bench trial” (a trial where the judge decides the case instead of a jury). A bench trial can be a sound strategy, but sometimes it is not. When a bench trial is not a viable option, then a jury trial may be the best possible option to avoid a DUI conviction in your Conyers DUI case, especially if the prosecution refuses to negotiate an acceptable resolution in your case.

When our Conyers DUI lawyers prepare your case, we do not decide on whether to have a bench trial or a jury trial until we have a complete investigation into the facts of your Conyers DUI case. Additional factors may come into play once we know which judge will be presiding over your case when deciding whether to have a bench or jury trial. When evaluating your case, our Conyers DUI lawyers investigate the facts of your DUI arrest as if your case is going to trial. Once an investigation is complete, our experienced Conyers DUI lawyers review your case to come up with a comprehensive plan on how to proceed forward with the best possible defense. We are well known as DUI trial lawyers and we are prepared to go to trial if that is what it takes to avoid a conviction in your Conyers DUI.

Our DUI attorneys know how to challenge a Conyers DUI case. Our DUI attorneys are trained in Standardized Field Sobriety evaluations and have also received training on the operation and limitations of the Intoxilyzer 5000 and 9000. We currently own three Intoxilyzer 5000 breath testing devices. Mr. Sullivan was certified in Standardized Field Sobriety evaluations by members of the Conyers Police Department and Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office. One of the benefits of investigating a City of Conyers DUI arrest is that most of the Conyers Police Department patrol vehicles are equipped with video and audio. Their video equipment has some features similar to a DVR or TVO that many people have at home for their TVs. Their video equipment is continuously recording, but will not preserve anything until the officer either manually activates the recording, or the officer activates his or her emergency equipment (lights). Then the video will preserve somewhere between 30 and 60 seconds before activation and typically Conyers DUI officers will run their video until their investigation is complete. Some will run their videos until they reach the jail. Videos can be obtained through the court process.

How our skilled Conyers DUI lawyers build a successful defense in your Conyers DUI case:

To build a strong DUI defense in Georgia, our Conyers DUI lawyers start by meeting with you about your Conyers DUI charges and learn as much as possible from you about what happened. Using this core information, we look for more evidence to help our defense by using specialized resources as needed to determine if all testing and other details of your arrest were accurate and legal. We gather information, videos, 911 calls, possible surveillance videos, police reports, documents of road/scene conditions, and more. There are also times when we use the services of toxicologists, accident reconstructionists, private investigators, breath test/field sobriety experts, medical professionals, and video illustrators, to name a few, to help build a solid defense in your Conyers DUI case. Our Conyers DUI lawyers then analyze your case starting with whether the initial stop or reason why the police were involved was legal. We also look for suppression issues with the admissibility of field sobriety tests or state chemical tests (breath, blood, or urine tests). Our DUI attorneys develop strategies on how to best conduct the license suspension hearings, preliminary/committal hearings, motion hearings, and trials. This approach is an effective way to ensure we are prepared to defend your Conyers DUI. 

Can I just enter a guilty plea myself and avoid hiring a Conyers DUI defense lawyer?

There is a saying that “a person who represents himself has a fool for a client.” DUI cases are one of the most serious cases that are prosecuted in Conyers Municipal Court or Rockdale County State Court. Even if you think you are guilty and may not want to fight your case all the way, there are matters that a skilled Conyers DUI lawyer is better able to handle than someone representing him or herself. Here are some reasons why you may consider hiring us rather than representing yourself:

• You can put your driving privileges in jeopardy if you simply go to court and enter a guilty plea by yourself. If you have been arrested by a City of Conyers DUI officer (or any Georgia police officer), you should have been served notice of a license suspension action. If you enter a guilty plea without properly addressing the license suspension action, you will not be able to get a limited permit (if you are eligible to get one at all) until and unless the suspension action is conducted properly.
• If your license is administratively suspended for refusing the Conyers DUI officer’s chemical test from losing a license suspension hearing or failing to address a license suspension action within 30 days from the date of your arrest, your Georgia driver’s license or driving privileges will be suspended for one year with NO PERMIT. Properly coordinating and handling the Conyers DUI charges and the license suspension action can improve your chances of being able to drive.
• Other charges in addition to your Conyers DUI charge may be more serious and carry more punishment than the DUI charge itself.
• Sometimes the prosecutor gives a bad plea offer. Even if you decide not to contest your case, an experienced Conyers DUI attorney who is familiar with Conyers Municipal Court, as well as Rockdale County State Court or Superior Court, can assess a plea offer to determine if it is worth taking or moving your case to state court, or you may decide to take your case to trial.
• If you decide to represent yourself at trial, the Georgia Rules of Evidence still apply to you. Lawyers go to law school for years to learn these rules and you will be at the mercy of a skilled prosecutor and judge if you are not careful.

Administrative License Suspension

IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE WHILE YOUR CONYERS DUI CRIMINAL CHARGES ARE PENDING IN COURT

Besides your DUI criminal case pending in Conyers Municipal Court or Rockdale County State Court, you are likely facing a license suspension action. There is only a limited time to request this separate hearing with the Office of State Administrative Hearings to preserve your driving privileges. Whether you refused your Conyers DUI officer’s request for a chemical test, or the breath test results indicated an alcohol concentration above the legal limit, Georgia law requires your Conyers DUI officer to serve you notice of an administrative license suspension. The form that is used is called a DDS-1205 form. This form is either yellow or white and the officer may have had you sign it. Sometimes this paperwork gets lost (you may have received it, but may have been misplaced, or it may have been lost at the jail).

• Our Conyers DUI lawyers strongly suggest that you set up an online account with the Georgia Department of Driver Services to monitor the status of your driver’s license.

Regardless of whether you have received a DDS-1205 form, you need to understand that you only have 30 days to request a hearing to preserve your driving privileges or waive your hearing through the Georgia Department of Driver Services by opting for an ignition interlock device permit. 

Three tracks you can take [beware of choosing without the advice of an experienced Conyers DUI lawyer]:

1. Do nothing within 30 days of the date of your Conyers DUI arrest:

   In most cases, our Conyers DUI lawyers do not recommend that you do nothing within 30 days of the date of your Conyers DUI arrest. If you do nothing and your Conyers DUI officer initiated an administrative license suspension action, then on the 46th day after the date of your Conyers DUI arrest, your driving privileges will automatically be suspended by the Georgia Department of Driver Services for one year with no permit to drive. Even if you did not receive the DDS-1205 form, our Conyers DUI lawyers still recommend that you take some sort of action instead of doing nothing. However, there are limited circumstances where we recommend our clients do nothing regarding a license suspension action, but those circumstances are very rare.

2. Request an administrative hearing:

   This is the traditional track that has been the law for many years now, except now there are thirty days instead of ten business days to take action. This track is where a request for an administrative hearing is submitted to the Georgia Department of Driver Services challenging the Conyers DUI officer’s decision to administratively suspend your driver’s license for testing above Georgia’s “per se” legal limit for alcohol concentration, or for refusing the Conyers DUI officer’s request for a state-administered chemical test of your breath, blood, urine, or other bodily substances.

3. Properly waive your right to an administrative hearing and have an ignition interlock installed:

   This track came into effect July 1, 2017. This allows you to properly waive your right to an administrative hearing and have an ignition interlock device installed. This is available for first DUI arrest in five years for Georgia licensed drivers to be able to drive in the state of Georgia and fight their Conyers DUI criminal case without losing the privilege to drive. It comes with a cost of course. It involves you waiving your right to an administrative hearing through the Georgia Department of Driver Services and you will need to install an approved ignition interlock device on your vehicle by a certified ignition interlock provider for a minimum of 120 days if you tested over the “per se” legal limit, or one solid year of having the ignition interlock device installed in your vehicle (and driving under the confines of an ignition interlock permit) if you refused the officer’s request for a state-administered chemical test. If you choose this track, we highly advise that you install the ignition interlock first, then go to DDS within 30 days from the date of arrest to obtain the permit. There are obvious concerns and pitfalls in choosing this track. For many people, the stigma of having the ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle is just not worth it. The ignition interlock device is also expensive: it requires an installation fee as well as a monthly monitoring fee. And if you remove it while under your ignition interlock permit, tamper with it, or it tests positive, your permit to drive may be revoked for six months – meaning no driving at all. In addition to waiving your right to an administrative hearing and having an ignition interlock device installed on your vehicle, you must also meet the following conditions:

• An Application for the permit must be made with DDS within 30 days of the person being served notice of the ALS by the Conyers DUI arresting officer through the DDS-1205 form (usually 30 days from the date of arrest), or—in the event of a DDS-1205S form—within 30 days of receiving such notice of the ALS from DDS (from a blood test result that was not procured by a search warrant);
• The ALS cannot stem from a motor vehicle accident involving fatalities or serious injuries;
• A driver must be licensed in Georgia and not have any other suspensions, cancellations, or revocations against his or her Georgia driver’s license;
• If the person holds a Georgia commercial driver’s license (CDL), he or she must downgrade to a non-commercial Georgia driver’s license to obtain and maintain the permit;
• A driver cannot have any prior convictions for DUI in the 5 years preceding application for the permit. If there is a DUI arrest with a DUI conviction within 5 years of the current Conyers DUI arrest, the person can still opt for track 2 – requesting an administrative hearing, or track 1 – do nothing at all;
• The person must surrender his or her Georgia driver’s license, either to the arresting officer at the time of the Conyers DUI arrest or to DDS before issuance of the permit; and,
• There is a $25.00 permit fee to the Georgia Department of Driver Services. 

The period a person must successfully maintain the ignition interlock device on their vehicle will be based on whether he or she consents to or refuses the state-administered chemical test requested by the Conyers DUI arresting officer. 

A person who consents to the state-administered chemical test and opts for the new permit will be required to successfully maintain the ignition interlock device on their vehicle for 4 months. If he or she is subsequently acquitted of the underlying Conyers DUI charge, or the underlying Conyers DUI charge is dismissed or reduced, the ignition interlock device may be removed at no cost and the driver’s license may be replaced. A person who refuses the state-administered chemical test and opts for the new permit will be required to successfully maintain the ignition interlock device on their vehicle for 12 months, regardless of the outcome of the underlying Conyers DUI charge.

Successful maintenance of the ignition interlock device must be evidenced by the permit holder to DDS through the production of satisfactory monthly monitoring reports before DDS removes the ignition interlock restriction from the permit. A permit may be renewed for a fee of $5.00 if additional time is needed for the permit holder to comply with the terms of the ignition interlock device, but it may only be renewed one time once the permit holder becomes eligible to reinstate his or her driver’s license. Following the designated term of successful compliance, the ignition interlock device restriction may be removed from the limited driving permit in person at a DDS customer service center for a fee of $100.00 (or $90.00 if removal of the restriction is requested by mail or other approved alternate means). The removal fee is in addition to any reinstatement fee that may be required.

Contact us today to discuss your DUI case with our dedicated Conyers DUI lawyers at 404.816.8777. Our Conyers DUI defense lawyers are experienced in handling license suspension actions. We can review your case and prepare a strategy for your Conyers DUI charges and your license suspension action.

So I made a proper request for a license suspension hearing in my Conyers DUI case, what happens next?

The license suspension action is a civil action separate from your Conyers DUI criminal case and only deals with your license or privilege to drive in this state. The administrative license suspension action is litigated by a completely separate court from your Conyers DUI criminal case. Once the Georgia Department of Driver Services processes your request for a hearing, your case is then sent to the Georgia Office of State Administrative Hearings (OSAH) where a hearing will be scheduled in front of a judge from that agency. Typically a hearing date is set roughly 60 days from the date of your Conyers DUI arrest. Once a hearing is requested, the Department of Driver Services will extend your driving privileges until there is an order entered from an OSAH judge.

The scope of the hearing is very limited:

At a hearing, the OSAH judge has a very limited role in deciding your case. The judge is bound by law to only look at certain statutory factors to determine whether or not those statutory factors were met based on the evidence presented at the hearing. That is it. The judge does not look at your criminal or driver’s history. The judge is not concerned about your job, transportation issues with your children’s school or daycare, or any other hardship you may have if your license is suspended. The judge’s only role in a license suspension hearing is to determine if the following factors were met:

• Whether the Conyers DUI law enforcement officer had reasonable grounds to believe the person was driving or in actual physical control of a moving motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance and was lawfully placed under arrest for violating Code Section 40-6-391 (the DUI statute); or
• Was the person was involved in a motor vehicle accident or collision resulting in serious injury or fatality; and
• Whether at the time of the request for the test or tests the Conyers DUI officer informed the person of the person’s Implied Consent rights and the consequences of submitting or refusing to submit to such test; and
• Did the person refuse the test; or whether a test or tests were administered and the results indicated an alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams or more or, for a person under the age of 21, an alcohol concentration of 0.02 grams or more or, for a person operating or having actual physical control of a commercial motor vehicle, an alcohol concentration of 0.04 grams or more; and
• Whether the test or tests were properly administered by an individual possessing a valid permit issued by the Division of Forensic Sciences of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on an instrument approved by the Division of Forensic Sciences or a test conducted by the Division of Forensic Sciences, including whether the machine at the time of the test was operated with all of its electronic and operating components prescribed by its manufacturer properly attached and in good working order, which shall be required. A copy of the operator’s permit showing that the operator has been trained on the particular type of instrument used and one of the original copies of the test results or, where the test is performed by the Division of Forensic Sciences, a copy of the crime lab report shall satisfy the requirements of this subparagraph.

How is the OSAH hearing conducted?

The judge will enforce the Georgia Rules of Evidence, similar to other court proceedings. Because the burden is on the Conyers DUI officer to establish that the statutory factors were met, the Conyers DUI officer testifies first. Some jurisdictions allow the officer to have help from the prosecutor’s office, or if the officer is a Georgia State Trooper, an attorney paid by the State of Georgia assists the officer on direct examination. The officer is then subject to cross-examination. There are times when our Conyers DUI lawyers may decide to place our clients or other witnesses on the stand for direct examination. Our witnesses would then be subject to cross-examination from the other side. Once the testimony and presentation of the evidence are finished, each side can make a closing argument. The judge will then make a decision typically within 5 business days and will transmit that decision to the parties and the Georgia Department of Driver Services. The decision is also posted online. If there is an error in how the judge ruled, there is an appellate process available to review the court’s decision.

What happens if I win the hearing?

If the judge finds that one or more of the applicable statutory factors above are not met, then the judge will issue an order reversing the suspension action, transmit it to the Georgia Department of Driver Services, and then Georgia DDS will delete the license suspension action off your driver’s history (no administrative license suspension). This does not mean that the Conyers DUI charges are being dismissed, but an OSAH hearing can be a great tool for a Conyers DUI lawyer to gain an advantage in your Conyers DUI criminal case.

What happens if I lose my hearing?

If the judge finds that all of the applicable statutory factors were met by a preponderance of the evidence (a lower standard of proof than beyond a reasonable doubt), then the judge will issue an order affirming the license suspension action and will transmit the order to the Georgia Department of Driver Services, who will then impose the license suspension. Again, because the burden on the Conyers DUI officer is so low to meet in these license suspension hearings, there is a good possibility that your license may be suspended. However, we still may be able to gain an advantage in the Conyers DUI criminal case based on testimony from the license suspension hearing. If the judge committed an error in a ruling, the decision can be appealed. Also, if your Conyers DUI charge is reduced, or dismissed, or you are found not guilty, the suspension is lifted and deleted from your driver’s history as a matter of law.

Can I handle the license suspension hearing myself in my Conyers DUI case?

Because a license suspension hearing from a Georgia DUI arrest is a very complex subject that even many lawyers don’t understand, our Conyers DUI lawyers strongly encourage you to contact us right away to discuss your City of Conyers DUI case. There are simply too many variables that can impact your driving privileges to be discussed here without knowing the specific facts of your case and your prior criminal history. Remember, you only have 30 days to request a license suspension hearing through the Georgia Department of Driver Services.

Don’t let your drive home become a cautionary tale. It’s never safe to get behind the wheel after drinking. Designate a sober driver before the party. #BuzzedDriving is drunk driving pic.twitter.com/w5ivKq8qvd

— Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (@gohsgeorgia) April 6, 2024