I Just Got Arrested for a DUI. What Should I Do?
Many of my clients come into the office to talk about their recent DUI arrests, and they often say the same thing: I wish I had known what to do! When you are arrested for DUI, there are several things that you can and should do immediately:
- Get the best DUI attorney that you can find. Not all criminal attorneys are created equally, and you’re going to need one who is familiar with DUIs and knows the procedures well enough to beat them in court or at a preliminary hearing. Ask the attorney how much of their caseload is devoted to DUIs. DUIs make up at least 70% of my personal caseload, and if an attorney does not handle at least 50% of their caseload in DUIs, then they probably don’t have the experience necessary to handle them properly.
- Get your attorney to file your driver’s license appeal. In Georgia, if you are arrested for DUI, your driver’s license will be suspended. You only have 10 days to file an appeal in order to challenge the suspension and save your license. I file these appeals as soon as I am retained so that the 10-day deadline is never an issue.
- Get the police reports. If you hire an aggressive attorney, they will want to go speak to the arresting officer outside of court so that they can get an idea of what the officer is going to say when testifying. I try to do this as early as possible, as it is best to get to the officer before they are done with their report. Once the police report is done, you need to get a copy ASAP. It will often show what defenses may be open to you.
- Handle any employer/school repercussions. I don’t usually recommend informing your employer, school, or anyone else that you have been arrested for DUI. However, they will often find out, and I make it a point to make sure that my clients can get back to work or school as quickly as possible. This usually means that I sit down with my client’s employer or the school’s administration and tell them that I expect to beat the DUI.
When you are charged with DUI, you need to act fast. Contact The Turner Firm in Savannah for more information or to schedule a free, confidential review of your case.