Probation Will Follow You After Your DUI Conviction
After hearing from the prosecutor, who may make it sound like you don't really have a chance to fight your DUI charges, you may be tempted to take a plea deal. But the prosecutor doesn't really have your best interests at heart, they just want to get a conviction. You should really talk to someone who will fight for you, stand up for your rights, and make sure you get treated fairly by the courts and by the state. Your Atlanta DUI lawyer can look at your case, and give you a fair and honest evaluation of your chances to fight back against a conviction.
Many people decide to fight their drunk driving charges. After all, the penalties can be pretty severe. A lot of people don't think they'll get jail time for a 1st time DUI, but any DUI conviction carries a mandatory minimum jail sentence. For a first offense, the judge may only make you spend 24 hours in jail. For a second or third offense, you'll be spending more time behind bars. But after you get out of jail, don't think your DUI will be over. Most of the time, you'll be facing probation for a year, or in the case of multiple DUIs, probation can last for years.
Even though you'll be out of jail while on probation, you'll still have all kinds of rules and restrictions placed on you. If you make a mistake, and break one of the rules, you may be facing jail time. You may be surprised by how many rules there are, and how easy it is to slip up. The judge may impose a lot of requirements during your probation. This includes:
- 40 hours of community service
- Clinical substance abuse evaluation, at your cost
- Substance abuse treatment, at your cost
- Driver's license suspension
- A fine of $1,000
- DUI risk reduction program (DUI school)
However, a judge really has a lot of discretion when it comes to your DUI probation. They may subject you to random drug or alcohol testing, and those alcohol tests can show if you've been drinking even days after you drank alcohol. The judge may also tell you that you can't hang out with certain people, or go to certain places.
If you fail a random drug or alcohol test, fail to pay your fines, fail to show up for all your substance abuse treatment meetings, or if you get arrested for another crime, you may be violating probation. If you get caught violating the terms of your probation, your probation officer may file to have your probation revoked, and issue a warrant for your arrest.
If a warrant is issued because of a probation violation, you should consider contacting your Atlanta DUI attorney as soon as possible. They may be able to help you arrange for your probation hearing so you don't have to sit around waiting for days or weeks in jail. Your lawyer can also represent you during your probation revocation hearing so that you can get the best probation terms, and try to keep from going to jail.
After a probation revocation hearing, if the state wins and your probation is revoked, you may have to go back to jail, to serve extra time. The judge can also add all kinds of requirements to your probation, including increased substance abuse treatment, and ankle bracelet to make sure you stay in certain areas, longer probation, increased random alcohol testing, and even more jail time.
Lawyer in Atlanta Defending DUI Probation
If you or a loved one gets arrested for a DUI in Atlanta, you don't want a criminal record or to spend time in a jail cell. And you surely don't want to be under the stress of probation for the next year. Just because the police made you feel guilty when they pulled you over does not mean you need to plead guilty. You deserve justice, and have the right to have someone fighting on your side. A lawyer who has built their practice on DUI defense understands DUI penalties, and how to fight those charges. Call me anytime, day or night, so we can get to work on your case, and have the charges against you dismissed or reduced.