After an arrest for a DUI, you may not know what will come next. You'll want to put the incident behind you and move on with your life as quickly as possible. A DUI arrest may result in jail time, fines, and a suspended license. After a DUI, you may be wondering how you will be able to drive to court for your first appearance. It will all depend on if and when your license gets suspended.
Driver's License Suspension
In most cases, after a DUI arrest, the arresting officer will take your license away, and give you a yellow piece of paper. The yellow paper is a Georgia Department of Driver Services form, DS 1205. This serves as a temporary driving permit, good for 30 days. After 30 days, the temporary permit will no longer be good, and your driving privileges will be suspended for a year. Unless you fight the automatic suspension, this will usually mean you can drive to court or anywhere else for the first 30 days after your DUI, but after the temporary permit expires, you will not be allowed to drive anywhere, even to court, until your license is reinstated or you are granted a limited permit. Contact a local Atlanta DUI defense lawyer to help you fight the automatic suspension, so you can keep your driving privileges.
You can stop an automatic suspension. In order to prevent the administrative license suspension (ALS), you will have to request a hearing within 10 business days from your date of arrest. An ALS hearing is not automatic, and you have to formally request one in writing and pay the associated fees. Once a hearing is formally requested, then the ALS will be suspended until you have a chance to defend your case before the hearing.
If you fail to request an ALS hearing, or if you lose your ALS hearing, your license will be suspended. You will not be able to drive anywhere, including to your first court appearance. However, you may be able to apply for a limited driving permit. Limited driving permits allow driving to address the hardships that a driver may face if they could not drive at all. This is limited to driving to and from work or school, for substance abuse treatment, DUI school, driving a family member to work, school or for medical care, and to attend court. But if you were arrested for a DUI and refused to submit to a chemical test of your breath, blood or urine, you may be prevented for applying for a limited driving permit.
ALS and Criminal Court DUI Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been arrested for driving under the influence in Atlanta, you don't have to let the state automatically take away your license. Losing your driving privileges will mean you can't drive to work, to school, or even to your court appearances. As an experienced Atlanta DUI lawyer, I will make sure you are treated fairly by the courts and the state. Call me today, so we can stop your license from being automatically suspended. We will fight the charges against you, to make sure the DUI remains in the past.