Cartersville Criminal Defense Attorney

The Criminal Defense Team at Cobb Criminal Defense Will Help You Navigate The Criminal Justice System. 

It’s a sobering fact. The criminal justice system of Cartersville is hard at work. They arrest, prosecute, put on trial, and convict offenders. You do not want yourself or your loved one to be a statistic. Call the criminal defense attorneys of Cobb Criminal Defense. They can help you navigate through the arrest, trial, and sentencing process. They can work toward getting the best possible result. Your lawyer should question the arrest process. Your lawyer should inquire if the police complied with procedure. 

Georgia DUI and Zero-Tolerance DUI

Georgia has a zero-tolerance policy for drunk driving under the age of 21. A driver younger than 21 years old will be arrested if their blood alcohol concentration is 0.02%. Their license will also be automatically suspended. 

Help to Determine Legality of The Arrest

Your lawyer should look if the police performed a lawful traffic stop. Your lawyer should answer your questions and explain why it’s a bad idea to ever perform the alcohol breath test or sobriety examination. Your lawyer should advise you to also refuse the confirmatory blood test also. You do have the right to refuse the test and your driver’s license will be automatically suspended because you refused but thats okay! We will submit for your license to be reinstated immediately once you hire us as your legal defense team!

Help You Choose the Best Course of Action

You should not plead guilty right away or even speak to the police without an attorney present. This won't end the nightmare, in fact it will likely make it a whole lot worse! You may think that since this is your first offense, you will only pay a fine, this is not always true. If your blood alcohol level does not exceed 0.08%, you may get away with a few hours’ stay in jail until you sober up. You may also pay a $300 fine. It’s true, a first DUI conviction is only a misdemeanor. One year after you successfully serve your sentence, you can have the arrest and the conviction restricted from view from most employers (not government agencies).

Consider other Consequences of a Criminal Conviction

But you must understand. Even a first misdemeanor DUI conviction can raise the insurance premium on your car. If you fail to get the first DUI misdemeanor charge dismissed, you may end up paying court costs and surcharges. And just the same, the court may still end up sentencing you to jail time of 1-10 days or render community service for 40 hours.

You may shrug and think, well, the sentence may be waived, right? That is true, too. But if you get a second misdemeanor DUI conviction, the penalties will be more severe. The court may sentence you to 90 days up to 12 months of jail. The court may also order you to go on 12-36 months’ probation. You may pay up to $1000 fine, plus court costs and surcharges, and 240 hours of community service. 

This is not even the worst of it. Your driver’s license may be red-striped after it is reinstated. The court may also order an ignition interlock device may be installed in your car. The court may even order mandatory substance abuse counseling for you. 

 Expert Defense for Multiple Prosecutions

For example, let’s say that while you were driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you hit another car. Or, maybe, you drove your car into someone's parked car. Or worse, you hit a pedestrian and caused bodily injury.

What then? Well, the police and the District Attorney may charge you with other offenses, as well. You must defend yourself against a DUI charge because the stakes are high.

The police will charge you with DUI. But you might also be charged with battery because you hurt a pedestrian or the other driver. Consider yourself lucky if you only cause a black eye or a swollen lip. What if the pedestrian you hit lost an arm or a leg? What if the pedestrian becomes paralyzed? You may be charged with aggravated battery, too. 

Aggravated battery is a serious felony that carries with it jail time from 1-20 years. If the pedestrian is a pregnant woman or a person over the age of 65, the minimum jail time will be 5 years. 

You see, the stakes are high and you should not face criminal justice all by yourself. You need a criminal defense lawyer to protect your freedom and ensure that you get the best outcome.

Enable You to Mount a Convincing Defense

You may say, well, I’m a minor. Don't courts consider the age of the offender when imposing a sentence? That is true. But, in the state of Georgia, the age of criminal responsibility is 13. That means that only crimes committed when you are under the age of 13 are safe from prosecution. If you were driving a motor vehicle, you must at least be 16 years old. You can no longer hide behind your youth to protect you from criminal prosecution. 

Don’t think that you cannot be held responsible for any bodily harm or property damage to others because you were drunk at the time. In a DUI charge, intoxication is not an excuse. You can use the defense of intoxication if you did not know that you ingested a harmful substance. You have to prove that you did not know that you were swallowing alcohol or a drug that would impair your driving. You may need to prove that someone forced you, duped you, or pranked you into ingesting alcohol or a drug. If you are thinking of using those defenses, you will definitely need the services of the Cobb Criminal Defense criminal defense team. 

Enable You to Present Evidence

Perhaps you are reading this after you have already been found guilty. Don't think to yourself, there is nothing more to lose because you’ve already been found guilty. You still need a criminal defense attorney to help ask the court to lower the sentence that can be imposed on you. You can still prove that you deserve a lighter penalty. You can still prove that you deserve not to go to jail but render community service instead.