Johns Creek DUI Lawyer - Johns Creek DUI Attorney
Johns Creek DUI Defense
If you have been arrested for DUI in Johns Creek, you need top-rated DUI Defense Counsel to help protect your rights and your freedom. Our office exclusively handles DUI law. We are committed to DUI Defense and our client's needs. Richard Lawson is a former DUI Prosecutor with over 25 years' experience handling DUI Cases throughout Georgia. You can read reviews about our office on AVVO, where you can see some of our results for people in Johns Creek and throughout Georgia. You can read his full bio and work experience here.
30-Day Warning For DUI in Johns Creek
If you have been arrested for DUI in Johns Creek, you only have thirty days to file an appeal to save your driver's license. This appeal is called an ALS Hearing. Your Johns Creek DUI Attorney will file this appeal and make sure your license is saved. Without this appeal, your license will be suspended up to 12 months; and in some cases that suspension is without a permit to drive.
DUI Cases Heard in Johns Creek Georgia
The City of Johns Creek is an affluent suburb located north of Atlanta. Located in North Fulton County GA, Johns Creek was incorporated in 2006 and in 2008 formed a police department. As of today, Johns Creek operates its own Municipal Court system. The municipal court system handles many traffic offenses and tickets such as speeding and stop sign violations can usually just be paid, but more serious traffic offenses require a court appearance. Johns Creek officers routinely make DUI arrests. For misdemeanor DUI cases, the case begins in Johns Creek Municipal Court and a court appearance is required. Generally, a DUI is a misdemeanor when it is a first or second offense and there are no aggravating factors like wrecks, injuries or DUI Child Endangerment. Misdemeanor DUI is a serious offense that can cause loss of license, job, and time in jail. These things do not have to happen because there is hope and there are alternative outcomes that can happen in your DUI Case.
Johns Creek DUI Process and Procedures
When you are charged with DUI in Johns Creek, in addition to the court case, you will also have an administrative case against you. The Georgia Department of Driver services can seek to suspend your GA license for DUI when you test over the legal limit or you decline to take a test when requested by the officer. Generally, 30 days following your Johns Creek DUI arrest, your license will become suspended unless you file an appeal letter to Driver Services within thirty days. This appeal letter must state the basis for your appeal, your contact information, pertinent facts like your license number and the date of the arrest as well as include a $150 appeal fee.
Our Johns Creek DUI attorneys routinely do these appeals for our clients. They stop the clock on the suspension and allow you to have a hearing on the matter before an administrative law judge. These hearings are known as ALS hearings. For Johns Creek DUI arrests, the ALS hearings are once a month in the city of Roswell. Speak to a DUI lawyer in Johns Creek as soon as possible following a DUI arrest to ensure the appeal is timely and properly filed and to discuss what happens at the ALS hearings. Typically, if you are a first offender and you took a breath test, you are entitled to a limited driving permit. If you refused to take a chemical test as requested by the officer, you face a more serious suspension, but there are often things that can be done to keep you driving.
Johns Creek prosecutors are harsh on DUI accused drivers and will usually only allow a reduction to reckless driving if they feel that they have a losing case. If you tested over the limit or performed poorly on field sobriety tests, your chances of getting a reduced or amended charge are limited. You could receive up to one year of jail even for a first DUI in Johns Creek as well as probation, a license suspension, fines and fees, community service, DUI school, drug, and alcohol counseling, MADD impact panels and be subject to random drug and alcohol screens while on probation. A DUI lawyer can help you negotiate with the court and achieve the best possible results on your case.
In most Johns Creek DUI arrests, there is a video tape taken from the officers' car that show the stop, field sobriety tests and the arrest. This is valuable evidence and can be used to refute the argument that you were too intoxicated to drive safely. (Of course, if you look intoxicated on the video, the prosecutors can use that evidence against you as well. Being sick, tired or nervous are all reasons why someone may not look great on the video that the officer usually overlooks.)
Your Johns Creek DUI lawyer can request this video and review it with you to look for defenses. Generally, the other key evidence in the case against you are the police report (which is the basis for the officer's testimony against you) and the breath, blood or urine test results. It is more and more common these days for Johns Creek officers to make DUI arrests based on drugs only. Even if there is no alcohol in your system at all, you can still be arrested for driving under the influence of drugs. Be very careful as even prescription drugs that your doctor gave you can be the source of a DUI arrest. If the officer suspects that you are driving under the influence of drugs, he usually asks for a blood test following field sobriety tests. If you are charged with DUI-drugs, call our Johns Creek DUI defense office today to discuss how to fight and beat your charges. It is important to have the best Johns Creek DUI Lawyers on your side when you need it most. Only Johns Creek DUI Attorneys know the ins and outs of the system and can put that knowledge to work for you.
DUI Prosecution in Johns Creek Georgia
A private firm is responsible for the prosecution of offenses in the Johns Creek Court. These prosecutors are tough on DUI offenders as well as offenders of other serious traffic offenses such as hit and run and fleeing and eluding. A Johns Creek DUI Attorney can negotiate with these prosecutors on your behalf to reach a favorable plea bargain. If one cannot be reached, then the case is transferred or “bound over” to the State Court of Fulton County or Gwinnett County for prosecution. The prosecutors in State Court are different and the plea offer may be better or worse. However, you cannot have a trial by jury in Johns Creek, so if you know you want to have a jury trial in your case, it needs to be transferred to State Court to initiate the process.
Felony DUI in Johns Creek Georgia
If the DUI is a felony, the case will not begin in the Johns Creek City Court, but will instead go straight to the Superior Court of Fulton County or Gwinnett County. In addition, other serious offenses, even if the arrest was by the Johns Creek police department, will go straight to Superior Court including drug offenses (other than small amounts of marijuana) and vehicular homicide. The Superior Court of Fulton County handles all Felony DUI Offenses throughout Fulton County.
Attorney Richard Lawson and his team of DUI attorneys routinely help clients charged with Johns Creek DUI's get their best possible results and navigate the license suspension issues. Call us today to see how we can help you. We also help clients with the common offense of Minor in Possession of Alcohol (commonly known as MIP) offenses, possession of marijuana cases and underage DUI offense. CDL drivers face particular challenges with DUI and traffic offenses and we have helped many CDL drivers win their cases and subsequently keep their jobs.
Johns Creek Municipal Court holds court twice each week. Johns Creek Court Services can be reached at 678-512-3444 during regular M-F business hours. Donald Schaefer serves the city of Johns Creek as Chief Judge and Scott Carter is a part-time judge. From time to time, other attorneys fill in as acting judges. This is because the court is a part-time court, where many of the judges actually have their own law practices.
Map to Johns Creek Municipal Court is located at 11445 Johns Creek Parkway, Johns Creek, GA 30097
Our Attorneys
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Richard Lawson
Managing Partner at Lawson & Berry:
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Kimberly A. Berry
Partner at Lawson & Berry:
Map to Johns Creek Attorney Richard Lawson's Johns Creek Office:
Johns Creek DUI Resources:
Title 40 of Georgia Criminal Code
