Gwinnett County DUI Defense
For a free consultation on your Gwinnett County DUI case call our office at
770-530-1164 We also meet with prospective clients for in-office consultation.  Georgia Supreme Court
State v. Frost
DUI cases in Gwinnett County
What court will I be in? Your Gwinnett County DUI case may be in Gwinnett Recorders Court or in Gwinnett County State Court. Also, if you have bound your case over for trial from any municipality in Gwinnett County, your case may be in Gwinnett County State Court. Bill Hardman has represented many clients for DUI cases in Gwinnett County. As with every court, Gwinnett Courts have their own operating procedures so it is helpful to have an attorney who is familiar with the court. If you have been charged with DUI in Gwinnett, it is important to speak to a lawyer who specializes in DUI cases so that you can aggressively defend your case from the start. One of the very first deadlines that you may encounter in your DUI case is the 30-day letter deadline. You may have read about the 10-day letter online. Now, you have 30 days to appeal the administrative suspension of your license. NOTE**- You actually have more time to file an appeal and save your license due to rule changes related to the pandemic. See our article on appealing license suspensions here: DUI License Suspensions. Make sure that you speak with attorney to see if you may appeal your license suspension. You may also be able to get an ignition interlock device work permit. Generally, you must choose to either appeal the suspension of your license or the interlock device. The 30-day letter is the letter that you need to send to the Georgia Department of Driver Services so that you may request the appeal of the administrative suspension of your license. Usually a driver that is arrested for DUI will receive a document entitled "Temporary Driving Permit." At the bottom of the document it should be noted as the GA DDS FORM 1205. One of the most common errors made by individuals that have been charged with DUI in Georgia is to wait until the end of the 45 day temporary permit to speak with a lawyer. Once 30 days have passed after the date of your arrest, it is usually too late to file for an appeal of your administrative driver's license suspension or request an ignition interlock device limited permit. Challenging your DUI case You need to have a lawyer who is familiar with the DUI law. It is an area of the law that is constantly changing. Much of the law concerning limited permits and administrative suspensions to your driver's license changed on July 1, 2017. There have been multiple decisions by the Georgia Supreme Court on DUI laws almost every year. Bill Hardman has written appellate briefs in the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court in DUI cases. Bill also appeared in the Georgia Supreme Court as co-counsel where defense counsel argued that a defendant's prior DUI conviction should not be admissible in a current DUI case. |
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Below is a brief snapshot of events that occur after being pulled over for DUI:
Reasonable Articulable Suspicion for the Stop in your DUI Case
The first issue in most DUI cases is whether or not the officer had a legal reason to stop the vehicle or person in question. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures. If you've been stopped by an officer, the officer must have had reasonable articulable suspicion for the stop or the stop violates your Fourth Amendment rights. Officers usually base their decision to conduct a traffic stop because of an alleged violation of the law. Some common reasons for traffic stops in DUI cases are failure to maintain lane, failure to dim headlights, not using a turn signal, improper lane change, failure to obey a traffic control device. There are multiple legal challenges to "the stop" itself. Your lawyer should be familiar with these legal challenges which are typically raised in a motion to suppress any illegally obtained evidence.
Field Sobriety Tests
Once you have been stopped by the police, you may be asked to submit to field sobriety tests. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sponsored the research which led to the development of the roadside tests that are supposed to indicate whether or not someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. THESE ARE VOLUNTARY TESTS. You are not required to submit to any field sobriety tests. The three most common field sobriety tests are the Horizontal-Gaze Nystagmus Test, the Walk and Turn Test, and the One-Leg Stand Test. Officers are looking for certain "clues of impairment" which are usually unknown to the person taking the test. This is the reason that many people are surprised to see in a police report that the officer claims that they have failed some or all of the field sobriety tests. The roadside Portable Breath Test (PBT) is also a field sobriety test as it is not admissible in court as to the blood-alcohol reading that it provides. It is only admissible as to the positive or negative presence of alcohol. There are multiple flaws with field sobriety testing that your lawyer must know so that he/she can adequately challenge your DUI case. Field sobriety tests must be performed according to the approved methods and procedures or any results that they may produce can be highly inaccurate.
State Administered Tests of Blood, Breath and Urine
After someone is placed under arrest for DUI, the arresting officer may read the Georgia Implied Consent law to the person and ask them to submit to a State-administered chemical test of their blood, breath or urine. This test is also voluntary! Although the test is voluntary, a driver may be subject to a one-year suspension of his/her driving privileges in the State of Georgia for simply refusing to submit to the requested State-administered chemical test under the Georgia Implied Consent Law. In Gwinnett County an officer may also obtain a search warrant for the search of a person's blood and they may be forced to submit to a blood draw. Whether or not a person has voluntarily submitted to a State-administered chemical test is based on a review of the totality of the circumstances of the events that occur prior to/during the submission to any test. It is crucial that you have an experienced Georgia DUI attorney review all of the facts in your case so that he/she may raise any potential legal challenges to any test results. The breath test is the most common of these tests. As stated above, the "breathalyzer" that you take on the side of the road is not admissible as to the amount. Because the breathalyzer is not admissible, arresting officers may ask someone who has already been arrested for DUI to submit to a second breath test on the Intoxilyzer 9000. The arresting officer may also ask for a blood test. In my experience, I believe that the arresting officer will ask for a blood test when the person has "blown" a low blood-alcohol level on the breathalyzer. An officer may be requesting a blood test because he/she believes that the person is under the influence of drugs that did not show up on the breathalyzer test. There are also multiple challenges to the machines that are giving the blood alcohol readings (Intoxilyzer 9000). Errors in the administration of these tests or failure to follow the training manuals and procedures can produce completely inaccurate readings. A prime example of this is mouth alcohol. If someone burps, belches or vomits prior to submitting to these tests, their blood alcohol readings may be completely inaccurate.
The first issue in most DUI cases is whether or not the officer had a legal reason to stop the vehicle or person in question. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures. If you've been stopped by an officer, the officer must have had reasonable articulable suspicion for the stop or the stop violates your Fourth Amendment rights. Officers usually base their decision to conduct a traffic stop because of an alleged violation of the law. Some common reasons for traffic stops in DUI cases are failure to maintain lane, failure to dim headlights, not using a turn signal, improper lane change, failure to obey a traffic control device. There are multiple legal challenges to "the stop" itself. Your lawyer should be familiar with these legal challenges which are typically raised in a motion to suppress any illegally obtained evidence.
Field Sobriety Tests
Once you have been stopped by the police, you may be asked to submit to field sobriety tests. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sponsored the research which led to the development of the roadside tests that are supposed to indicate whether or not someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. THESE ARE VOLUNTARY TESTS. You are not required to submit to any field sobriety tests. The three most common field sobriety tests are the Horizontal-Gaze Nystagmus Test, the Walk and Turn Test, and the One-Leg Stand Test. Officers are looking for certain "clues of impairment" which are usually unknown to the person taking the test. This is the reason that many people are surprised to see in a police report that the officer claims that they have failed some or all of the field sobriety tests. The roadside Portable Breath Test (PBT) is also a field sobriety test as it is not admissible in court as to the blood-alcohol reading that it provides. It is only admissible as to the positive or negative presence of alcohol. There are multiple flaws with field sobriety testing that your lawyer must know so that he/she can adequately challenge your DUI case. Field sobriety tests must be performed according to the approved methods and procedures or any results that they may produce can be highly inaccurate.
State Administered Tests of Blood, Breath and Urine
After someone is placed under arrest for DUI, the arresting officer may read the Georgia Implied Consent law to the person and ask them to submit to a State-administered chemical test of their blood, breath or urine. This test is also voluntary! Although the test is voluntary, a driver may be subject to a one-year suspension of his/her driving privileges in the State of Georgia for simply refusing to submit to the requested State-administered chemical test under the Georgia Implied Consent Law. In Gwinnett County an officer may also obtain a search warrant for the search of a person's blood and they may be forced to submit to a blood draw. Whether or not a person has voluntarily submitted to a State-administered chemical test is based on a review of the totality of the circumstances of the events that occur prior to/during the submission to any test. It is crucial that you have an experienced Georgia DUI attorney review all of the facts in your case so that he/she may raise any potential legal challenges to any test results. The breath test is the most common of these tests. As stated above, the "breathalyzer" that you take on the side of the road is not admissible as to the amount. Because the breathalyzer is not admissible, arresting officers may ask someone who has already been arrested for DUI to submit to a second breath test on the Intoxilyzer 9000. The arresting officer may also ask for a blood test. In my experience, I believe that the arresting officer will ask for a blood test when the person has "blown" a low blood-alcohol level on the breathalyzer. An officer may be requesting a blood test because he/she believes that the person is under the influence of drugs that did not show up on the breathalyzer test. There are also multiple challenges to the machines that are giving the blood alcohol readings (Intoxilyzer 9000). Errors in the administration of these tests or failure to follow the training manuals and procedures can produce completely inaccurate readings. A prime example of this is mouth alcohol. If someone burps, belches or vomits prior to submitting to these tests, their blood alcohol readings may be completely inaccurate.
Our office will be able to answer many questions you may have about your case. Submit your free DUI consultation on our ask us about your case page in the green box below or fill out the contact form below.
DUI Courts in Gwinnett County
If you have received a DUI in Gwinnett County, your criminal case will likely begin the the Gwinnett Recorder's Court. This courthouse is located at:
115 Stone Mountain St.
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
(877) 794-0988
If you are unable to resolve your case in the Gwinnett Recorder's Court, or you make a demand for a jury trial, your case will be bound over to the Gwinnett State Court located at:
75 Langley Dr.
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
(770) 822-8100
The Gwinnett State Court has jurisdiction (ability to hear and rule) on jury trials for cases involving misdemeanor criminal offenses in Gwinnett County.
If you have received a DUI in Gwinnett County, your criminal case will likely begin the the Gwinnett Recorder's Court. This courthouse is located at:
115 Stone Mountain St.
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
(877) 794-0988
If you are unable to resolve your case in the Gwinnett Recorder's Court, or you make a demand for a jury trial, your case will be bound over to the Gwinnett State Court located at:
75 Langley Dr.
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
(770) 822-8100
The Gwinnett State Court has jurisdiction (ability to hear and rule) on jury trials for cases involving misdemeanor criminal offenses in Gwinnett County.
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Map to Gwinnett Recorders Court
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Map to Gwinnett State Court
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Gwinnett County Map
