Our out of state client was stopped for speeding in Braselton going 90 mph in a 70 mph zone. A license check determined that our client’s out of state license was suspended. Mr. Sullivan was able to convince the prosecutor to dismiss the Braselton Driving While License Suspended charge and the Speeding charge (which would have resulted in a super speeder assessment by Georgia DDS if convicted). A plea to Basic Rules and a city ordinance was negotiated, where the charges would not be reported to Georgia Department of Driver Services and would also not be reported on client’s criminal history.
Recent DUI Defense Successes in Georgia Courts
Gwinnett DUI refusal: Reduced to Reckless Driving
Mr. Sullivan’s client failed to maintain her lane to the point that she struck a curb and blew two tires out, observed by a citizen who called the Gwinnett Police. Client was visibly intoxicated and had very thick, slow, and slurred speech. Our client also could not keep balance while walking. After a DUI investigation, she was arrested for DUI in Gwinnett County. The Gwinnett DUI case began in Gwinnett Recorder’s Court, but after plea negotiations failed, the case was sent to Gwinnett State court to preserve our client’s right to a jury trial. On the day of trial when the case was called, the prosecution offered a reckless driving disposition that our client accepted.
Atlanta DUI Refusal: Dismissed
Our client clearly did not stop at a red light in Atlanta (on video) and a Georgia State Patrol Trooper made a traffic stop. Client looked good on the video and had no slurred speech. Performed reasonably well on field sobriety evaluation. Client refused a portable breath test and was arrested for an Atlanta DUI. Mr. Sullivan rejected a reckless driving plea offer in Atlanta Municipal Court as it may affect travel to Canada and sent the case to Fulton County State Court for a jury trial. Mr. Sullivan successfully negotiated a plea to running a stop sign (which our client clearly did) and a basic rules violation (does not get reported to the Georgia Department of Driver Services).
Atlanta DUI Combination Drugs/Alcohol Quashed in Fulton County
Client was arrested in Atlanta by Trooper Tarpley in 2014, blew .069 but admitted taking some Rx medication, so blood test was requested but refused. Reckless Driving was offered in Atlanta, but client declined the onerous conditions. In Fulton County filed a last-minute accusation charging DUI Alcohol Less Safe. Case was set for trial, and State amended accusation to DUI Combination Drugs/Alcohol. Partner Bob Chestney moved to quash the amended DUI count, and the Court granted the motion. Client entered a plea to Reckless Driving with much more reasonable terms than those offered in Atlanta.
Chamblee – DUI Per Se 0.105 – Reduced to Reckless Driving
Our young bartender client had just gotten off work. Naturally, she and her colleagues had an end-of-shift drink. She decided to follow a friend home. As the two were pulling through the parking lot to leave, rather fast, her friend braked when she shouldn’t have, causing a rear-end collision with our client listed as the at-fault driver. We discovered that the other driver had a suspended license, though, and was not prosecuted because the accident technically happened on private property. We were also able to show the Chamblee prosecutor that our client’s performance on field sobriety evaluations was also not as terrible as the report described, despite the .105 breath test. When the State refused to offer any reduction, we took the case up with the arresting Chamblee DUI officer, who later advised the State that there was no objection to a reduction in charges. As a result of getting the officer on board, the Chamblee prosecutor agreed to reduce this over the limit case to reckless driving.
DeKalb County DUI, .154 breath test; Hit and Run: DUI charges dismissed
Our client rear-ended a car while exiting the expressway in Dunwoody, GA. He decided not to stop at the scene, but eventually stopped in Chamblee, Ga. A Chamblee officer responded to the scene, but called in Dunwoody police to come to the scene as the Hit and Run charge occurred in Dunwoody. A DUI investigation was conducted and our client was arrested for DUI by Dunwoody police. He agreed to take the state-administered breath test and blew a .154 – almost twice the legal limit in Georgia. Mr. Sullivan moved the case from Dunwoody Municipal Court to DeKalb County State Court to challenge the DeKalb DUI arrest and the admissibility of the breath test on constitutional and police jurisdiction grounds. Mr. Sullivan was able to convince the DeKalb State Court prosecutor that the state breath test would not be admissible at trial, and without that, the rest of the prosecution’s DUI case was weak. The DeKalb DUI charges were dismissed, and Mr. Sullivan negotiated a plea to the Hit and Run charge (which our client admitted to doing) and minor traffic offenses.
Clayton County DUI, Improper Parking on Interstate: Dismissal of all Charges
In a must-win situation, our medical professional client faced a nightmare situation, where the incident report looked awful at first glance. Our client was found in a compromising situation on I-75 late one rainy night. Her car suddenly lost power while driving on I-75 in Clayton County, Georgia. She was able to navigate her disabled car almost fully into the left emergency lane of I-75. Naturally, someone called 911 and claimed that a driver was all over the road, was partially parked in the fast-lane, and was likely drunk. Unfortunately, at that same time our client urgently needed to urinate. Because of her location on the interstate she was unable to get out of her car, so she grabbed a cup and did her best. Adding insult to injury, the cup of urine spilled all over her pants. Instead of pulling up her soaked pants, she decided to sit with her pants down until help arrived. While waiting, she fell asleep. What occurred next is a prime example of why it is important to investigate your Clayton County DUI case.
- The Clayton County officer documented that he tried to wake our client up for five minutes. Our investigation revealed that to be a gross exaggeration.
- The officer documented that he was able to simultaneously observe our client’s front and rear private areas—while she was sitting down.
- The officer documented that our client had difficulty standing up while walking. Our investigation yielded dash-camera footage showing she walked fine.
- The officer documented that our client admitted to drinking “2-3 drinks,” despite that statement being nowhere on the video.
- The officer documented that he did not ask our client to perform any field sobriety evaluations due to “safety concerns.” Our investigation revealed that he moved our client to a much safer location where the evaluations could have been performed, and we also uncovered the likely real reason—that the arresting officer was not trained in field sobriety testing.
- Lastly, when the officer arrested our client for her Clayton County DUI, the officer failed to properly read the Georgia implied consent notice—twice—which resulted in the suppression of our client’s refusal to take the state administered breath test.
We prepared for a jury trial in Clayton County State Court on the seven-count accusation, and planned to call multiple rebuttal witnesses to tell the real version of events. When the Clayton County Police officer failed to show up on the morning trial, the prosecutor had no choice but to dismiss the entire case.
Johns Creek DUI Refusal of Breath Test: Reduced to Reckless Driving
Our client with a prior Georgia DUI conviction was late for work and driving in the emergency lane during rush hour traffic. Sadly for her, she drank alcohol the night before, and the Johns Creek officer smelled it upon pulling her over. Our client was unable to complete any field sobriety testing due to severe vision impairment and “bad knees.” Our client refused to blow on the alcosensor, and later refused the state’s breath test. Our investigation revealed a lack of evidence to support probable cause to arrest for DUI in Johns Creek, and because of that, we persuaded the Johns Creek prosecutor to offer a quick non-DUI resolution to Reckless Driving in Johns Creek Municipal Court.
Atlanta DUI, speeding: Reduced to Reckless Driving
Our software engineer was pulled over by the Georgia State Patrol in Atlanta for driving fast in a convertible Porsche. Unfortunately for her, while speeding she did not use her turn signals. According to the State Trooper who pulled her over, she was going 53 m.p.h., then 65 m.p.h., and then 70 m.p.h. Her performance during field sobriety testing was not great, but her one leg stand performance was not indicative of impairment. Although she performed the field sobriety exercises, she refused the State’s test. Despite marginal evidence, she was arrested for DUI in Atlanta under five different sections—essentially, the Trooper couldn’t formulate an opinion as to what she was under the influence of. We were able to point out the major holes in the case, and the State offered to dismiss all DUI counts, in exchange for a plea to reckless driving.
Atlanta DUI, Speeding; Georgia State Patrol: DUI dismissed
Our out of state client was stopped for speeding in downtown Atlanta by a Georgia State Patrol Trooper. Client agreed to perform field sobriety evaluations. The trooper was a big officer, who stood uncomfortably close to our client during the evaluations on the side of a busy highway. He was arrested for DUI and when the Georgia Implied Consent Notice was read to our client to submit to the state breath test, our client asked if the results may prevent him from being arrested (no matter what the results were). The trooper said he was under arrest no matter what happens. Our client refused to take the breath test. Mr. Sullivan conducted an administrative license suspension hearing and was able to successfully cross-examine the trooper. The audio recording of the hearing was presented to the prosecutor, who subsequently dismissed the Atlanta DUI in exchange for a plea to Reckless Driving in Atlanta Municipal Court.