HAVE YOU BEEN ARRESTED FOR DUI IN BIBB COUNTY GEORGIA?
Bibb County DUI Attorney - Bibb County DUI Lawyer
Getting arrested for DUI can be an extremely frightening and troubling experience. Those of us who may never have even gotten so much as a traffic ticket can find us in a world of trouble and aggravation due to a DUI arrest. Dealing with the police, courts, probation officers, embarrassment, and even jail time can make one feel like there is no hope.
ANYONE CAN BE ARRESTED FOR DUI IN BIBB COUNTY GEORGIA:
Driving Under the Influence or DUI occurs EVERYWHERE. No little corner or niche of the country is immune, and it crosses all social-economic groups. The underlying theme of a DUI is the same: operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content (BAC) over a specified legal limit. In Georgia, a DUI can also involve being under the influence of illegal drugs and even prescription drugs. One can be arrested for DUI even if the drugs did not cause impairment but is still in their system when tested. What most people do not know is that marijuana's inactive metabolites, for example, can remain in the blood for up to 30 days after usage.
IF YOU'VE BEEN CHARGED WITH DUI IN BIBB COUNTY GEORGIA YOU NEED EFFECTIVE, PROFESSIONAL REPRESENTATION!
Having a seasoned Bibb County DUI attorney is a good way to navigate the confusing and oftentimes scary experience of getting arrested for DUI. Hiring a Bibb County DUI lawyer who was previously a prosecutor is even better. Richard Lawson is a former prosecutor and knows the ins and outs of the legal system and puts that knowledge and experience to work to the advantage of his clients every day.
For over 25 years, Richard Lawson has been protecting the rights of those of those arrested and charged with DUI in Bibb County and throughout Georgia. As a former DUI Prosecutor, he knows both sides of a DUI case. You can find his reviews on Avvo.
WHAT MANY PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW IS THAT THERE ARE TWO CASES AGAINST THEM WHEN THEY ARE CHARGED WITH DUI: A CRIMINAL CASE AND THE CIVIL CASE REGARDING YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE AND PRIVILEGE TO DRIVE:
GEORGIA DUI LICENSE SUSPENSION - THE 30-DAY LETTER
The State of Georgia expects drivers to abide by certain rules and regulations when they issue a person their driver's license. Remember, your ability to drive in Georgia is a PRIVILEGE not a right, and can be taken from someone who violates State DUI laws. A license suspension for DUI will be automatic if a hearing is not requested in a timely manner.
The officer that arrests you for DUI has two cases against you: a court case AS WELL as an Administrative License Suspension (ALS) case. The court case begins on the court date on the DUI citation. The ALS case begins as soon as the citation is filed, and there are only THIRTY (30) days to file a request for a hearing, or your driver's license will automatically be suspended! Richard Lawson and his team will file the request for a hearing to KEEP YOUR LICENSE FROM BEING SUSPENDED. The State of Georgia requires a $150 fee to set the ALS hearing. Let an experienced Bibb County DUI Attorney protect your ability to drive in Georgia.
If you do not request a hearing before the 30 day deadline, your driver's license will automatically be suspended. If you refused testing of your blood, breath, or urine, your license will automatically be suspended for a FULL YEAR, with no opportunity for a restricted license or limited permit. If you submitted to testing during the investigation, you could only have a 30-day suspension. If so, you may be eligible for a limited permit or a restricted license that would allow you to drive to and from work or school. However for second ALS suspensions you are facing far longer than 30 days of suspension.
Remember, the ALS process is separate and apart from your DUI case and is often confusing and complicated. Having a competent attorney to assist with it makes everything easier. (No traffic to get to the courthouse, no long lines, sometimes unhelpful court employees, etc.) All these things can be avoided by having your well-qualified attorney handle it for you.
The Bibb County DUI Attorneys in our office have much experience with ALS hearings and will appear on your behalf so you will not have to arrange for time off from work or school, or to secure childcare to be able to attend the hearing yourself.
However the officer that arrested you will attend the hearing, and will have to testify just the same if it were a trial. Each ALS case is different and an experienced lawyer will research possible defenses to saving your license from suspension. The Bibb County DUI Lawyers in our office are experts with handling driver's license hearings.
An advantage of an ALS hearing is that the officer's testimony is recorded and can be obtained and used in your criminal case to compare his/her testimony at later hearings. If the statements differ from one hearing to the next, he/she can be shown to not be a credible witness, therefore damaging the State's case against you. That is why we transcribe all of our hearings.
Our office will also appear on your behalf in the court case to fiercely defend your rights and make sure you get treated fairly.
COURT PROCESS IN BIBB COUNTY GEORGIA:
Your first court appearance will be at an initial hearing, or arraignment. If our office is representing you, we will file the necessary paperwork with the court to let them know that you have legal representation and that you intend, at least for the time being, plead not guilty. This means you will not have to attend the arraignment and not have to worry about rearranging your whole life to attend.
After one of our Bibb County DUI Attorneys files a Notice of Appearance, we will begin analyzing your case and search for possible defenses. We will obtain copies of police reports and videos, any recorded statements that were taken during the DUI investigation, as well as copies of officer testimony at the ALS hearing, if you had one.
Once we begin to make your case, we will have more of an idea of what evidence the State does/does not have against you and what the odds are for a favorable outcome. We will sit down and go through every minute detail of your case will make sure you understand everything and what you could possibly expect. We value our clients and try to communicate often and effectively so they will understand the court system and what it means to their case. We want our clients' input and opinions on our representation. We will not win your case without this valuable information!
Your court case will proceed through many different stages from arraignment, pretrial, and lastly, trial. We will be in contact with you often, whether in person, or by phone and will be available anytime to answer questions about the details of your case such as hearings, pleas, negotiations, evidence, and other pertinent information.
We understand that dealing with the consequences of a DUI is a complicated and stressful time. How do you know which lawyer to hire?
The Law Office of Richard Lawson offers a free consultation to discuss the facts of your case and help you decide. Our website is a wealth of information with frequently asked questions (FAQs) that can answer many of your burning questions. We are available day or night, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer your call. We know that it isn't always feasible to make appointments with an attorney during regular business hours and that is why we can set up phone conference calls and evaluate your case without the hassle of getting to an in-person meeting. We know your time is precious and we want to make your experience with us as easy as possible.
TOP-RATED BIBB COUNTY GEORGIA DUI ATTORNEYS:
The Law Office of Richard Lawson exclusively handles DUI and DUI-related cases. Do not hire an attorney that is not familiar with Georgia's many DUI laws. If the attorney you hire is not kept up-to-date with the many changes that can occur in DUI law, your very freedom could be in jeopardy! Also, when there are changes in DUI law, sometimes cases are lumped together in one or more hearings to resolve a particular issue.
Richard Lawson is a renowned DUI defense expert and has attended and even taught seminars throughout Georgia and the United States. He has taught other attorneys how to defend clients in DUI cases. Hire an attorney that has trained other attorneys on how to best represent clients in DUI cases. Richard is THE premier DUI attorney in Bibb County.
CHALLENGING EVIDENCE:
Defending actual impairment is usually done by challenging field sobriety tests and the State's test of your blood, breath, or urine. The defense is that you were NOT driving under the influence, you were not impaired, and the test(s) are wrong. The breath-testing machine could not have been working properly, or was incorrectly calibrated. These defenses need expert witness testimony to explain why you were not impaired. Richard Lawson has developed many relationships with experts over the years that can be used to challenge the State's evidence against you and can play a vital role in your defense.
CHALLENGING PROCEDURES AS A DEFENSE:
Procedural defenses can be critical and possibly the most important part of your case. Procedural defenses question the manner in which the investigation was conducted and what happened when you were arrested. Police officers are required to follow certain procedures during arrests that are consistent with the United States Constitution, The Georgia Constitution and Georgia law.
Procedural defenses are typically presented to a judge BEFORE a trial is scheduled. Our Bibb County DUI Lawyers will raise questions about how your DUI investigation was conducted and if your rights as a citizen of the United States were violated. Our team of attorneys will file written motions with the court stating why we believe your rights were violated during the DUI investigation.
There are many possible procedural defenses. An important one is “reasonable suspicion.” Did the officer have a reasonable, articulable suspicion to suspect and subsequently stop you for DUI? Police officers cannot stop you just because they “feel like it.” If he had a reason, he must be prepared to come to court and testify to that suspicion under oath. Typically DUI stops are the result of the driver violating a traffic law. Breaking a traffic law is regularly considered to be reasonable suspicion to make a stop. But if the officer had no reasonable reason to stop you, your case may be dismissed.
A lack of probable cause is also a powerful defense in DUI cases. For you to be placed under arrest, an officer must have probable cause. He/she must be able to say that he had sufficient evidence that you had committed a crime. Whether the evidence collected is enough for an arrest is up for a judge to decide. If we are successful in convincing the judge that the officer did not have sufficient evidence, the DUI case against you cannot proceed.
Other procedural defenses are whether or not a DUI roadblock was constitutional and implied consent rights violations. The Law Offices of Richard Lawson gets many cases dismissed every year due to these procedural challenges.
THE BIBB COUNTY COURT SYSTEM EXPLAINED:
When a person is arrested for DUI in Bibb County, there are a few different courts that may have jurisdiction over the case. If the arrest occurs within the city limits of Macon, the case will originate Macon Municipal Court, the only incorporated city in Bibb County with its own court system.
Map to Macon Municipal Court:
If you were arrested for a DUI within the city limits of Macon, your case will originate in the city court of Macon. To pay a citation or to ask general questions, contact the Director of the Municipal Court, John Pattan at 478-751-7154. Other court officials can be contacted through the staff directory.
In municipal court, you can negotiate a plea with the city solicitor (prosecutor), or you can have a bench trial in front of Chief Judge Bobby Faulkner. A bench trial is a trial where the judge decides both the legal issues and guilt or innocence. If you want to have a jury trial, your case will be sent to the State Court of Bibb County for a misdemeanor prosecution or the Superior Court of Bibb County if your case is charged as a felony. You have an absolute right to a jury trial for any criminal offense in Georgia. You can only be denied a jury trial when charged with local or county ordinance violations.
If your misdemeanor DUI case originated in the unincorporated areas of Bibb County, the case will have it's initial arraignment in the State Court Bibb County. The Solicitor General prosecutes all misdemeanor cases in Bibb County. The State Court Solicitor General is Rebecca L. Grist. Her office is in the Bibb County Courthouse. Further information can be found online here.
The Chief Judge of the State Court of Bibb County is William P. Adams. The other State Court Judge is Jeffrey B. Hanson. The Clerk of the State Court is Patti Graves, who can be reached at 478-621-6676. The State Court of Bibb County is located at 602 Mulberry Street Macon, GA 31201
Map to State Court of Bibb County:
For more information on the State Court of Bibb County, consult the State Court homepage. On their website you will find court calendars, rules of court, several standing orders of the court, the criminal and civil dockets, the court calendar for the current year, and several useful court forms.
If you are charged with a felony DUI case, the Superior Court of Bibb County has exclusive original jurisdiction. Erica Woodford is the Clerk of Superior Court. The Clerk of Court home page contains valuable information on court calendars, jury duty, frequently asked questions, the civil and criminal dockets, and trial week information.
District Attorney K. David Cooke Jr. prosecutes all felony cases in Bibb County. His office is in the Bibb County Courthouse. More information about the District Attorney's office can be found on the District Attorney's home page.
There are 5 Superior Court Judges in Bibb County. The Chief Judge is S. Phillip Brown. The other judges are Edgar W. Ennis, Tilman R. Self III, Howard Z. Simms, and Philip T. Raymond III. Their offices are at the Bibb County Courthouse. For more information visit the Bibb County Superior Court home page. The main telephone number to the Bibb County Superior Court is 478-621-6400.
WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DUI LAWS IN GEORGIA?
This website has been created to give up-to-date DUI information around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is updated on a daily basis. We also have daily Georgia DUI News in our Georgia DUI Information Blog. The Law Offices of Richard Lawson is a statewide DUI defense law firm. Our office is ready to take your call at any time, night or day, and even holidays.
WE ARE THE MOST REVIEWED DUI FIRM IN BIBB COUNTY, GEORGIA:
Choose the Law Office of Richard Lawson today for professional, experienced DUI representation. We are ready to take your call and discuss your case 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You have everything to lose by hiring an inexperienced DUI attorney. Do not make that mistake. Contact us today. We are here to help!
Our Attorneys
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Richard Lawson
Managing Partner at Lawson & Berry:
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Kimberly A. Berry
Partner at Lawson & Berry:
Bibb County DUI Resources:
Office of State Administrative Hearings
Georgia Alcohol and Drug Treatment Centers
