Athens DUI Information
What to know if you've been charged with an Athens DUI
Heading home to the East Side after a couple drinks at a concert at the Georgia Theater and you’re stopped for speeding. Georgia Saturday in Athens and you’re heading downtown after the game and all of the sudden there’s blue flashing lights in the rear-view mirror. Drinks over dinner with friends at DePalma’s and now you’re stuck with a DUI. Do you need an accomplished, professional DUI Attorney who is familiar with the Athens-Clarke County Justice System?
With 20 years of experience defending DUI arrests, George C. Creal, Jr., P.C., Trial Lawyers is the Real Deal Athens, GA DUI Firm. We’re veterans of Athens-Clarke County Justice System. We know the Court, the Judge, the Prosecutor, and the Police, and more importantly, they know our Dawged determination to fight for every inch of our clients’ rights. If you need to contact an Athens-Clarke County court, judge or solicitor, Click Here.
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHSTA) manuals in Field Sobriety Evaluations are used by Athens-Clarke police and police departments all over the State of Georgia. These manuals are the foundation of your DUI defense. We know the procedures outlined in these manuals better than police and we use our knowledge to establish that DUI evaluations are unreliable, inaccurate, and abused by police. We expose the flaws inherent to Georgia DUI investigations in order to prove your innocence. For more information about DUI defense check out our Athens DUI Defense Guide.
Dedicated Athens DUI Lawyers Determined to Find Reasonable Doubt – Aggressive DUI Representation You Deserve:
We have handled thousands of DUI cases, had hundreds of DUI arrests reduced to reckless driving and/or other non-DUI traffic offenses, and have tried hundreds of DUI Jury Trials. Unlike many Athens DUI lawyers, we have valuable Not Guilty Jury Trial Experience. We never hesitate to give you our office and cell phone numbers. If you call, text, or email us about your case, we contact you as soon as possible and never in more than 24 hours. We understand you are nervous about your DUI arrest. We will take care of your case so you can focus on what matters in life: work, family, and friends. For our firm, customer service is priority number one.
Hiring an Athens DUI Attorney
You can meet us in person at our office or we can start your case over the phone or internet. We know your are busy and we value your time. Our first consultation is always free and we will send an ALS hearing request letter for free as long as you pa the Georgia Department of Driver Services’ $150.00 filing fee. We’ve handled all types of Georgia DUI cases including those with or without breath and blood test results, refusals of both blood, breath or urine, cases with or without Standardized Field Sobriety Evaluations. We have handled DUI accidents, fatalities drugs, fleeing and eluding the police, marijuana possession, and felony and misdemeanor obstruction. There is no set of facts our experienced Athens DUI attorneys haven’t seen at least once before. Our DUI defense system is highly refined and is a time-tested formula for winning DUI cases. We do not miss critical facts and work for even the most difficult DUI acquittals.
How to Hire a Lawyer for an Athens-Clarke County DUI
An Athens DUI is Serious and Can Result in Fines and Jail Time:
Under Georgia law, you can be fined up to $1000.00 with up to 40% tacked on as court costs. You can spend up to 12 months in jail for a first DUI, do 40 hours community service, be subject to drug and alcohol testing for one year and serve 12 months of reporting probation. Your license may be suspended anywhere from 120 days to 5 years. Do not try to handle your Athens DUI without an experienced Athens DUI Attorney.
Advice as to who you decide to hire as your Athens DUI lawyer: 1) Don’t hire a DUI lawyer based solely on price. Sometimes the cheapest lawyer–especially if they plea you to a DUI you don’t deserve at the first opportunity–can be the most expensive. Cost per hour is the best way to compare lawyers. If a lawyer charges $1000, but only spends an hour on your case, that’s $1000 dollars an hour! We, unlike bargain basement firms, spend an average of 10 hours on every DUI case. 2) Ask any attorney that you speak with whether he/she has tried any DUI jury trials and how many not guilty verdicts he/she has received in the past 2 years; 3) Ask any attorney that you speak with whether he/she has studied police field sobriety training manuals and breath test machine, owner’s and area supervisor’s manuals. If not, they cannot adequately cross examine DUI police officers or breath test operators. A DUI lawyer who can’t answer these questions is not ready for a real DUI jury trial and is not worth your time and money.
An Athens DUI lawyer is standing by. Call or email today, (404) 333-0706 or [email protected], for a FREE CONSULTATION.
The First 7 things you need to do for an Athens-Clarke County Georgia DUI Arrest:
- Bond out of Jail or post Bail
The Athens Clarke County Sheriff Department runs the County Jail. The Clarke County Jail is located at 3015 Lexington Rd., Athens, GA 30605. The jail phone number is (706) 613-3270. If you are arrested for a DUI in Athens you will usually be taken to the Clarke County Jail. When a person is arrested for DUI and taken to the Clarke County Jail, their bond is set by the Magistrate Judge either individually or based on a pre-determined bond schedule. Once the bond is set, there are three ways to get out of jail.- Present cash equal to the bond amount set by the Magistrate Judge to the Sheriff’s Department;
- Putting up real estate with a property value with enough equity to cover the bond by some amount such as for example three times the equity of the bond amount; or
- Contracting with one of the six bonding agents authorized by the Sheriff to post bonds for inmates.
The Six Bonding Companies authorized in Athens-Clarke County:
- Double O Bonding, 1938 Lexington Rd., Athens, GA 30605, (706) 353-6467,
- Bond James Bond, 3020 Lexington Rd, Athens, GA 30605, (706) 613-0007,
- Aaron Bonding Company, 675 Pulaski St., #1700, Athens, GA 30601, (706) 353-319 (“Where its always springtime” and you get a T-Shirt with every bond)
- Confidential Bonding, 805 Winterville Rd, Athens, GA 30605, (706) 353-1444
- Athens Bonding, (706) 549-7777
- Classic City Bonding, 121 Rowe Rd, Athens, GA 30601, (706) 354-8655
- Obtain a Police and Georgia State Patrol Incident Report:
Copies of Police Incident Reports can be purchased for $3.00 at the Athens-Clarke Police Downtown Substation from 8:00AM up to 1:15 PM and again from 2:15 PM until 5:00 PM, and also at the East Precinct from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM each business day. - Obtain Your Criminal and Driving History:
A seven year driving history from the Georgia State Patrol and criminal history record from the Georgia Criminal Information Center (GCIC) is important in deciding on an appropriate defense strategy. Information on how to obtain a Georgia Criminal history record. For further information regarding GCIC, contact: Georgia Crime Information Center
CCH/Identification Services
P.O. Box 370808
Decatur, Georgia 30037-0808
Fax: 404-270-8417Email: [email protected] for questions regarding criminal history updates/modifications. Or [email protected] for questions regarding employment, licensing, visa (travel), or any other non-criminal justice purpose.
Telephone Helpline:
- Option 1: Criminal History Inquiries regarding Expungement or Updates.
- Option 2: Applicant Background Information
- Option 3: Attorney or Public Defender
- Option 4: Livescan or Identification Inquiries
- Option 5: Internet Felon Criminal History
You can obtain a Seven Year Driving History from Georgia Department of Driver Services online, in person, or by mail. A seven year driving history costs $8.00.
In Person: At any customer service location listed here: http://www.dds.ga.gov/locations
Proper identification is required. If obtaining a motor vehicle record other than your own, the following is required:
- A signed authorization from the licensee naming the person authorized to receive the record. Form DDS-18(Request for Motor Vehicle Record [MVR]) available here: https://dds.georgia.gov/, is available for this purpose, but is not required.
- Authorization form or letter must be original. Faxes or copies are not acceptable.
- The full name, date of birth and Georgia driver’s license number of the licensee.
- The person receiving the report for another individual must show proper identification.
By Mail: You can obtain a copy of your Driving History (MVR) by submitting a letter (or Form DDS-18, available here: https://dds.georgia.gov/,) requesting a 7-year MVR. The request should include the following:
- Your full name as it appears on your driver’s license
- Driver’s license number
- Date of birth
- Complete mailing address
- Self addressed, stamped envelope
To obtain a copy of a Driving History (MVR) for someone else, please complete Form DDS-18 with all required signatures and information. Requests may be mailed to:
Georgia Department of Driver Services
MVR Request
Post Office Box 80447
Conyers, Georgia 30013The fee is $6.00 for a 3 year history, and $8.00 for a 7 year history. You may pay by personal or business check, money order, cashier’s check, or credit card. DDS accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express by mail. If paying by credit card, please complete this form: http://www.dds.ga.gov/docs/forms/CreditCardAuthForm.pdf and include with your request: Credit Card Authorization Form, Checks, money orders, and cashier’s checks should be made payable to the Department of Driver Services.
- Attend DUI School
For first time offenders, it is a good idea to attend DUI school. A DUI school certificate can be useful in the circumstances of an administrative license suspension. For repeat offenders, immediately attend and document Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and obtain a drug and alcohol evaluation from a qualified psychologist. Information concerning Georgia DUI alcohol and drug evaluations and how to set up an appointment for an evaluation can be found here: http://www.atlantapsych.com/article/georgia-dui-law. Our firm Recommends Darrell Grizzle, Ed. S. He provides all the required drug and alcohol evaluations at reasonable rates. - Revisit the Scene of Arrest.
Immediately return to the scene of your arrest to see if any businesses have video surveillance. It is usually deleted after 7 days so time is of the essence. Photograph the scene of the arrest in order to discover discrepancies in the police report regarding the initial stop and the reasonableness of the field evaluations like the one leg stand and walk and turn. - Request a hearing with the Department of Driver Services:
Requesting a hearing with the Department of Driver Services within ten business days of the arrest may prevent an administrative license suspension. We will prepare and send a license letter to the Department of Driver Services free of charge ($150 DDS processing fee not included) even if you do not retain our firm. - Hire our firm as your Athens DUI Lawyer:
Hire an experienced Georgia DUI lawyer. Never attempt self-representation in a DUI case. Georgia DUI law is very complicated, and to ensure a positive case result, is best left to experienced, professional lawyers. We are here to help you with your DUI arrest. Our mission is to represent you to the best of our abilities and after your case is concluded to make you want to give us a 5 star review on the internet.
Downtown Substation
265 College Ave
Athens, GA 30601
Phone: (706) 613-3705
East Precinct / Administration
3035 Lexington Rd.
Athens, GA 30605
Phone: 706-613-3330
Georgia State Patrol
959 E Confederate Ave Se
Atlanta, GA 30316
(404) 699-4368
Incident Reports from the Georgia State Patrol can be obtained in person or requested
Athens Clarke-County Court Information:
Athens Municipal Court is located at:
325 E. Washington St.
Suite 170
Athens, GA 30601
Telephone: 706-613-3690
Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 8:00AM – 5:00PM
JUDGE: Leslie Spornberger – (706) 613-3694
CLERK OF COURT: Rhonda D. Bolton
For further information visit: Athens Municipal Court
Athens-Clarke County State Court is located at:
325 E. Washington St.
Suite 425
Athens, GA 30601
Telephone: 706-613-3200
Fax: 706-613-3204
Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 8:00AM – 5:00PM
JUDGES: Ethelyn N. Simpson | Charles Auslander
For further information visit: Athens-Clarke County State Court
Athens-Clarke Solicitor General’s Office:
325 E. Washington St.
Suite 550
Athens, GA 30601
Telephone: 706-613-3215
Fax: 706-613-3229
Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 8:00AM – 5:00PM
SOLICITOR GENERAL: C.R. Chisholm
For further information visit: Athens-Clarke County Solicitor General
Athens-Clarke DUI Court:
The Athens DUI/Drug Court provides an opportunity for early treatment intervention and involves enhanced supervision, counseling and treatment for you the participant to function in the community with continuing support. The goal is to improve the quality of our participants’ lives and reduce repeat offenses to improve community safety.
The Athens DUI/Drug Court was originally designed and implemented in February, 2001 in the State Court of Clarke County under the direction of Judge Kent Lawrence. The Solicitor-General endorsed the specialized impaired driving program which was expanded to include Municipal Court offenders. In October 2002, the Program’s operational components were enhanced as a result of additional funding from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
The DUI/Drug Court is a Team concept involving Judges, the Solicitor-General, Law Enforcement, the local Bar Association, the Public Defender’s Office, the Court Coordinator, the Probation Officer, and licensed substance abuse treatment professionals. All Team members work together to support each participant in addressing and combating the substance abuse issues that brought them into the criminal justice system.
The Athens-Clarke DUI/Drug Court is located at:
DUI/Drug Court: 325 E. Washington St.
Suite 430
Athens, GA 30601
Telephone: (706) 613-3206
Fax: (706) 208-5236
Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 8:00AM – 5:00PM
DIRECTOR: Lee Rushton
The Program’s duration is a minimum of fourteen months and consists of five phases:
- Phase I: Intake, Orientation, NEEDS survey and level of care screening;
- Phase II: Extended assessment
- Phase III: Active treatment and early recovery
- Phase IV: Relapse Prevention
- Phase V: Recovery Management
All phases of the DUI/Drug Court Program encompass vocational and educational components in conjunction with providing substance abuse treatment with judicial oversight.
For further information and helpful links visit: Athens-Clarke DUI/DRUG Court
