Georgia DUI Driver’s License Suspension

If you have recently been arrested for a GA DUI and you refused to submit to a chemical blood, breath or urine test, it is important that you read the following information. While you will not go to jail or receive fines for refusing to take a chemical test, your driver’s license is at risk.

Starting the day after your arrest (and excluding weekends and state holidays), you will have ten days to request an administrative license hearing with the department of motor vehicles. If you fail to request a hearing within this time frame, your license will automatically be suspended for up to one year on the 31st day after your arrest.

It is in your best interest to hire an experienced DUI defense attorney to represent you in criminal court and during the administrative license hearing. Interestingly, the administrative license hearing offers a rare chance for your defense attorney to question the arresting officer under oath before your case makes it to criminal court. This allows you and your attorney to review the important facts of your case and also observe the officer’s manner of testimony. You may also decide to testify, which may be good practice for you before you are required to go to criminal court.

Even if you win your case during the administrative license hearing, that does not mean that you can’t lose your license in criminal court. Because one is a civil proceeding and one is a criminal proceeding, this is not considered double jeopardy (being charged with the same crime twice). If you are convicted of DUI in criminal court, you could lose your driver’s license for up to one year.

DUI is a complex area of law and it is important to carefully review every detail of your case with your defense attorney. And the sooner you contact your attorney, the better. He or she will need time to interview witnesses, review any testimony from the administrative license hearing, examine police reports and more to build you a solid defense.

If your attorney is successful, your DUI charge may be reduced to a non-DUI disposition or even acquitted.

Get a Free Case Evaluation Right Now!