Columbus GA DUI, Georgia State Patrol Refusal: Reduced to Lesser Charge

In a must win situation to avoid a DUI conviction in Columbus, Georgia, James “Skip” Sullivan – partner with Chestney & Sullivan Law Firm, was able to successfully navigate an administrative license suspension action and avoid a DUI conviction  for his client.  Our client was stopped for speeding by a Georgia State Patrol Trooper in Muscogee County, Georgia.  A DUI investigation followed where our client did not perform well.  He was arrested and refused the state breath test after the implied consent notice was read.  An administrative license suspension action was initiated by the trooper, were our client faced a one year suspension of his Georgia driving privileges for refusing the state breath test.  There is no permit if his license was suspended.  Mr. Sullivan was able to avoid the one year suspension of his client’s driving privileges and the trooper was not going to get in the way of negotiations with the prosecution.  We developed a plan for our client to but him in the best possible light for negotiations with the prosecution and Mr. Sullivan was able to negotiate a plea to Reckless Driving.  The DUI and Speeding charges were dismissed. 

If you are facing a DUI in Columbus or anywhere in Georgia, call Chestney & Sullivan today at 404.816.8777

Atlanta DUI, Wrong Side of the Roadway (Dismissed)

Our client was stopped for driving on the wrong side of the roadway in Atlanta.  An Atlanta DUI Task Force officer was called to the traffic stop to conduct an investigation.  The Atlanta officer asked our client to complete field sobriety evaluations, which our client voluntarily did.  Although there were some balance issues, our client otherwise did well on these tests.  The Atlanta DUI Task Force officer arrested our client for DUI and read the Georgia Implied Consent Notice to him.  Our client refused the state-administered breath test and was served a notice of an administrative license suspension action for refusing the state’s breath test.  Mr. Sullivan was able to successfully avoid a one year administrative license suspension for his client and persuade the Atlanta Municipal Court prosecutor to dismiss all charges in exchange for a plea to Reckless Driving. 

Forsyth County DUI (Not Guilty)

Our client made a wide turn onto another road and almost collided with another vehicle (caught on camera by the Forsyth County DUI Deputy).  Our client immediately pulled into a Waffle House and was detained by the deputy for a Forsyth County DUI investigation.  Our client agreed to perform field sobriety evaluations and was subsequently arrested for a DUI in Forsyth County.  He refused to submit the state administered breath test and was served a notice of an administrative license suspensionMr. Sullivan conducted a hearing for the the administrative suspension and was able to use a transcript from that hearing to his client’s advantage at his DUI jury trial in Forsyth County.  the Forsyth County jury found our client Not Guilty of the DUI, but did convict him on minor traffic offenses.  The DUI acquittal enabled our client to get his license reinstated.  

Atlanta DUI Refusal (Dismissed)

An Atlanta DUI Task Force Officer was on patrol when he saw our client run a red light (on video).  He initiated a traffic stop and conducted a DUI investigation.  Our client looked reasonably well on the video, but the Atlanta DUI officer made a DUI arrest anyway.  Our client refused to submit to the state breath test.  Mr. Sullivan was able to successfully avoid a one year administrative license suspension for our client and negotiated an outright dismissal of the DUI charge in exchange for a plea to minor traffic offenses with the Atlanta Municipal Court DUI prosecutor

Lilburn DUI, Speeding, Failure to Dim Headlights (DUI dismissed)

Our client was stopped by Lilburn Police for travelling 61 mph in a 40 mph zone.  She also had her brights on.  Our client agreed to perform field sobriety evaluations and based upon the results of the evaluations, she was arrested for DUI in Lilburn.  She refused to submit to the state administered breath test and faced a one year license suspension of her driving privileges due to the refusal.  Mr. Sullivan was able to navigate the administrative license suspension action while the DUI case was pending in Lilburn Municipal Court.  Mr. Sullivan was able to negotiate a dismissal of the DUI charge in exchange to a plea of Reckless Driving and 

Sandy Springs DUI, CDL driver (Not Guilty)

In a must win case, Skip Sullivan and Bob Chestney were able to avoid an administrative license suspension for our CDL holder while his DUI case was pending and got a Not Guilty verdict from a judge in Fulton County State Court.  Our client was asleep in his vehicle alongside a roadway in Sandy Springs.  While on patrol, a Sandy Springs police officer came upon our client’s vehicle parked on the side of the road with the two driver’s side tires over the solid while fog line.  Our client was asleep in the back seat of his car with throw up in the back of the car as well as outside on a door handle and on the ground.  Once awoken and out of his car, client was very disoriented and showed visible signs of impairment.  During the course of the investigation, the Sandy Springs officer had client sit back in his car.  Client then proceeded to start up his car and revved the engine multiple times.  The officer then turned off the car, grabbed the keys and got the client out of the car.  As Sandy Springs DUI officer was called to the scene to assist in the DUI investigation.  After performing field sobriety, client was arrested for DUI in Sandy Springs, Improper Parking, and Failure to Change Address within 60 days.  At trail, Mr. Sullivan crossed examined the officers on their observations and argued the the judge that the prosecution had not met its burden of proving that defendant moved his vehicle at any point and if the prosecution was able to prove that the vehicle moved at some point, the prosecution had no evidence whether client was impaired at the time the vehicle was parked at that location.  The Fulton County State Court judge agreed and found our client Not Guilty of DUI, Not Guilty of Failing to Change Address within 60 Days, but Guilty of the Improper Parking charge (Georgia DDS assesses no points for this offense).  Client was able to save his Georgia CDL and his career.   

Georgia State Patrol DUI refusal, CDL driver: case dismissed

A must win for our CDL client who was stopped by Georgia State Patrol for an illegal U-Turn and Failure to Maintain Lane.  Our client smelled of an alcoholic beverage and admitted to drinking at a club.  He agreed to perform field sobriety evaluations which lead to his arrest for DUI in Atlanta.  Our client refused the state blood test and his license was administratively suspended for a year.  We rejected a plea offer to Reckless Driving in Atlanta, and Mr. Sullivan pressed for a speedy trial in Fulton County State Court.  The prosecution dragged its feet in filing our case in Fulton State Court even after Mr. Sullivan asserted his client’s right to a speedy trial multiple times.  Mr. Sullivan filed a motion to dismiss due the speedy trial violation and won the case – all charges dismissed!  Our client was very happy CDL was reinstated and his record remained clean.