Can I fight my traffic accident ticket in Atlanta Municipal Court?

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When you are involved in a traffic accident in Atlanta, the investigating agency (often Atlanta Police Department) will issue a ticket to both drivers.  If no one has been seriously injured, very few measurements, or technical procedures are involved in the accident investigation.  A report is generated that includes a diagram (not drawn to scale) and a summary of what the drivers reported.

You may disagree with the conclusions in the accident report.  In fact, it is common for both drivers to disagree with the investigating officer’s report.  This can be quite frustrating because insurance companies often rely, at least in part, on that report.

When you challenge an accident ticket in Atlanta Municipal Court, you will be assigned to a Judge who may, or may not decide to schedule your bench trial on the first appearance.  Unless you are familiar with each Judge and their regular scheduling practices you likely will not know whether this will happen until you appear.

The primary witness in many accident cases is the other driver.  You may assume that the officer who issued the traffic ticket will have to appear.  This is not necessarily the case.  Unless the officer actually witnessed the driving, he may not be needed in order for the prosecutor to go forward with the case.  However, the prosecutor will need a witness.  If the other driver is not there, it may be a good opportunity to move forward with the trial.  Depending on the Judge and the facts of your case, you could be successful.  Keep in mind though, that the prosecutor can always request a reset to get the witness to court.

If you would like to have the officer present, you can secure his/her presence by serving him/her with a subpoena.  The Clerk’s office at the court can provide you with such a subpoena, but you will need set that up in advance of your court date.

If you truly want to contest your ticket, you would be best served to consult an attorney.  You may be eligible for a court-appointed attorney if you cannot afford to hire your own.  Almost all offenses are punishable by some jail sentence, and you should proceed with extreme caution before electing to go forward with trial.

How do I apply for a DUI Ignition Interlock permit in Georgia?

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If you have been convicted of a second DUI within five years, you may be eligible, as of January 1, 2013, for a special limited Ignition Interlock permit. Under the old law, drivers would have to wait a full twelve months before being eligible to drive. Now, there is a new provision in the law that permits those same drivers to receive a limited permit.

ONLY CERTAIN DRIVERS QUALIFY
There are three requirements that must be satisfied before you can apply for this new permit.

First, 120 days must have elapsed from your plea/conviction date.

Second, you will have to be in either a DUI Court program, or be enrolled in clinical treatment as defined in O.C.G.A. §40-5-1. Prior to enrollment, you must complete a clinical evaluation from a provider approved by the DUI Intervention Program of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities prior to enrolling in clinical treatment. Information about approved evaluation and treatment providers can be found on the DUI Intervention Program’s website, www.mop.uga.edu, which can also be reached via the DDS’ website, www.dds.ga.gov.

Third, you will have to complete a DUI School program.

DRIVING RESTRICTIONS
Once you have received the Ignition Interlock permit, O.C.G.A. §40-5-64(c.1)(2) permits you to drive for the following purposes:
(A) Going to your place of employment;
(B) Attending a college or school at which you are regularly enrolled as a student;
(C) Attending regularly scheduled sessions or meetings of treatment support organizations for persons who have addiction or abuse problems related to alcohol or other drugs, which organizations are recognized by the commissioner; and
(D) Going for monthly monitoring visits with the permit holder’s ignition interlock device service provider.

Related information: What you should know about ignition interlock devices in Georgia

What will happen at my Georgia ALS hearing if I do not have an attorney?

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slides for web - FTA.009Depending on where your ALS hearing takes place, the procedural practices may vary.  Most ALS hearings are time sensitive, which means that the Judge will call the calendar right at the designated time of the court appearance.  If you are not present when your name is called, the Judge may enter a default judgment against you.  Give yourself ample time to find the courthouse and the assigned courtroom, as often it can be difficult to know whether your are in the right spot if it is your first time attending an ALS hearing.

Once your name is called, if your officer is not present, the Judge will likely offer to rescind the license suspension – which means you win.  Thereafter, once DDS has received notice, you should be able to reinstate your regular license (if you have a Georgia license and there are no other holds on reinstatement).

If your officer is there, the Judge may invite you to have a conversation with the officer.  Many officers are willing to take some time to explain a few of your options, and try to help you figure out the best possible solution.  However, you are at an extreme disadvantage during this conversation, so you should proceed with caution.

The officer may suggest that you enter into a withdrawal agreement that requires you to sign off on a guilty plea to DUI.  You will likely not know what those terms will include, whether jail will be part of the deal, or how long you may have to be on probation.  The officer is NOT the prosecuting attorney, and it is only the prosecuting attorney who has the authority to make an offer regarding the DUI terms.  It is very dangerous to make such an agreement at this early stage without the assistance of an attorney.

If you don’t know what to do after speaking with the officer, you may want to approach the Judge and request a reset to give you an opportunity to speak to an attorney.  Depending on the Judge, and the officer, your request may be granted.  You should know that there is no requirement that the Judge reset the hearing, and in many cases the Judge will refuse such a request.

At this point, you may feel pressured into going forward with the hearing.  If you are not an attorney, or you are not familiar with the rules of evidence and the scope of an ALS hearing, it may be nearly impossible for you to prevail at the hearing.  More often, what will happen is you actually reveal information that will hurt your chances in court.  If you are sure you want to represent yourself, you should consider observing ALS hearings at prior calendars to give you an idea of what will happen and what will be expected of you at that hearing.

If your license is critical to your job or necessary for your daily routine, it is important that you DAEMON_1405317_9664-3bdo your best to make sure you are well represented at your ALS hearing.  Talk to an experienced DUI attorney before attempting to represent yourself.

Why did the officer write more than one ticket for DUI?

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In Georgia, it is common for an officer to write more than one ticket for a single arrest.  Just because you got more than one DUI ticket does not automatically mean you could, or would be convicted of more than one DUI.

Normally, a person can be convicted of only one DUI at a time, however, there are multiple ways the State can try and prove that one DUI.  The multiple tickets you received typically refer only to the manner in which the State may try to prove the single act.  For instance, if you submitted to the officer’s breath test, he may have given you a ticket that references “DUI less safe” as well as a “DUI per se” ticket.  Or, the tickets may reference A(1) and A(5).

Click here to learn more about the DUI references on your ticket.