Our experienced Norcross DUI attorneys are available to speak with you about your Norcross DUI case anytime, including after hours, on weekends, and holidays! Call Chestney & Sullivan today at 404.816.8777
If you have been arrested for a DUI in Norcross, experienced DUI trial attorney James “Skip” Sullivan is available to discuss your case anytime – including after-hours and weekends! Mr. Sullivan is a former prosecutor with the Rockdale District Attorney’s Office. Our Norcross DUI attorneys offer a free in-office consultation on how we can effectively defend your Norcross DUI charges. Call us today at 404.816.8777.
If you are charged with a DUI in Norcross, our experienced Norcross DUI Attorneys are prepared to fight your DUI charges to avoid a conviction. Being arrested for a DUI can be a stressful experience. If you have been charged with a DUI by the Norcross Police, Gwinnett Police, or Georgia State Patrol, speak to our experienced DUI attorneys today. We understand the anxiety you may be experiencing. You probably have many questions about your case, including what penalties you may face if convicted of DUI in Norcross Municipal Court or in Gwinnett County State Court. What is the court process for a DUI? What defenses are there in my Driving Under the Influence case? You may also have concerns about your ability to drive and a possible license suspension. We can put your mind more at ease as we explain the court and investigation process as well as how we successfully defend DUI charges in Norcross and in Gwinnett County State Court.
Norcross Municipal Court
Norcross Municipal Court is located in the same complex as the police department. The Norcross Police Department is located at 65 Lawrenceville Street, Norcross, Georgia 30071. Judge Kenneth Wickham is the Chief Judge in Norcross Municipal Court. The solicitors (prosecutors) of your Norcross DUI case are Gary Vey and Erica Dove.
Norcross Municipal Court is a court of “limited jurisdiction,” meaning that they do not have jury trials there. If you want a judge to decide your Norcross DUI case without a jury, that is called a “bench trial.” At a bench trial, the prosecution still has the burden to prove each essential element of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The judge then decides if the prosecution has met its burden. Sometimes a “bench trial” is a sound strategy—it depends on what an investigation reveals and what defense we have. Our attorneys at Chestney & Sullivan do not make a decision to opt for a bench trial without fully investigating your case and discussing our defense strategy with you.
Gwinnett County State Court
There are many times when a jury trial is the best possible option to avoid a DUI conviction on your Norcross DUI case. Because the Norcross Municipal Court does not conduct jury trials, your case would need to be transferred to Gwinnett County State Court for trial. Gwinnett State Court currently has six state court judges and two senior state court judges. Your case will be assigned to one of the six judges once the Gwinnett State Court Solicitor files your case with the Gwinnett County Clerk of Court. The current elected Gwinnett County Solicitor is Brian Whiteside. There are generally two prosecutors assigned to each of the six state court judges.
Can I just enter a guilty plea myself and avoid hiring an experienced Norcross DUI defense attorney?
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 Norcross Municipal Court or in Gwinnett 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 Norcross DUI attorney is better able to handle than someone representing him or herself. Here are some reasons why you may consider hiring our DUI lawyers 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 Norcross DUI officer (or any Georgia police officer), you should have been served notice of an administrative license suspension action. If you enter a guilty plea to DUI in Norcross 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 administrative action is conducted properly.
- If your license is suspended for refusing the Norcross 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 Norcross DUI arrest, your Georgia driver’s license or driving privileges will be suspended for a year with NO PERMIT. Properly coordinating and handling the Norcross DUI criminal charges and the license suspension action can improve your chances of being able to drive.
- Other charges in addition to your Norcross 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 DUI attorney who is familiar with Norcross Municipal Court as well as Gwinnett 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 and 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.
How our skilled Norcross DUI attorneys build a successful defense in your DUI case:
To build a strong DUI defense in Georgia, our experienced DUI lawyers start by meeting with you about your Norcross DUI case and learning as much as possible from you about what happened. Using this core information, our own in-house investigator will look for more evidence to help our defense by using specialized resources as needed to determine if all testing and other details of your Norcross DUI arrest were accurate and legal. Our investigator gathers information, videos, 911 calls, possible surveillance videos, police reports, documents, 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 DUI defense in your Norcross DUI case. Our Norcross 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 Norcross DUI attorneys meet as a group and then develop strategies on how to best conduct the license suspension hearings, preliminary/committal hearings, motion hearings, and trial. Our team approach is an effective way to ensure we are prepared to defend your Norcross DUI. All of our lawyers are involved in your case. Our DUI defense lawyers have regular meetings on all of our cases, so the lead Norcross DUI lawyer can get as much input as possible in developing a winning strategy in your Norcross DUI case.
Administrative License Suspension
Can I handle the license suspension action myself in my Norcross DUI case?
Because an administrative license suspension from a Georgia DUI arrest is a very complex subject that even many lawyers don’t understand, we strongly encourage you to contact our Norcross DUI attorneys right away to discuss your DUI case. There are simply too many variables that can impact your driving privileges to be discussed 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.
Call our experienced Norcross DUI attorneys today:
If you are facing a Norcross DUI charge, or license suspension action, or have been ticketed for a serious traffic offense, contact our experienced Norcross DUI attorneys today. We will meet with you free of charge to discuss your options, and provide advice based on our years of experience in aggressively fighting DUI cases. Call us today at 404.816.8777.