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Atlanta is a global city, home to a huge number of corporate conventions, film productions, and tourists. Thousands of people fly into Hartsfield-Jackson Airport each year to rent cars or drive into the state to conduct business and explore the nightlife in Buckhead or Midtown. Sadly, a dinner with a client or a night out with co-workers can end in disaster when you’re faced with the red and blue lights of a Georgia State Patrol vehicle. Out-of-state tourists panic if they are arrested because it is difficult to imagine how you can fight a legal battle hundreds or thousands of miles away from home. The fear of losing your livelihood and the ability to drive in the state you live in is overwhelming, and you need to know right now how a Georgia arrest will affect you.
The biggest mistake an out-of-state driver can make is relying on “it’s none of my business, what happens in Georgia stays in Georgia”. It is true that Georgia is one of the few states not in the Interstate Driver’s License Compact, but don’t be fooled by this. The State of Georgia cannot seize your out-of-state driver’s license and it cannot suspend the driver’s license issued by a state such as New York, Florida or Texas. Nonetheless, the Department of Driver Services in Georgia will immediately revoke your Georgia driving privileges. Most importantly, Georgia will notify the National Driver Register and/or other reciprocal databases of your arrest and conviction. When the Department of Motor Vehicles in your home state receives this information, they will begin their own administrative proceedings against your license, which may include all the harsh actions they would take if the arrest had taken place in your own community. You are in a two-pronged fight with two states.
When you are facing a criminal case in a distant state, it creates a huge problem that prosecutors can exploit. The justice system will require you to be physically in court for the arraignment, calendar calls, motion hearings and trial. For an out-of-town businessman or a tourist, the trip to and from Atlanta for a couple of court appearances can be extremely costly, time-consuming, and jeopardise your livelihood by forcing you to take several days off work. That’s why retaining an assertive Atlanta DUI Lawyer is a must for those who do not live in the state. A very experienced attorney in the local area will typically be able to produce valid waivers to appear in court to avoid this enormous burden of returning to the home state, and will also work to avoid a conviction on the record. They will appear in court on your behalf, and prevent the prosecution from obtaining a default conviction simply by wearing you down.
Make sure you don’t commit the wrongheaded mistake of entering guilty and paying the fine to bring the matter to a close and travel home as soon as possible. A DUI conviction is a life-long criminal record which will haunt you to other states, ruin your employment and licensing background checks, and lead to painful driver’s license suspensions at home. You require a hard-hitting Atlanta DUI Attorney who understands the local bench, the police departments involved and the precise calibration data of the breathalyzer equipment used in the metro area. You need to build your case around the arresting officer’s probable cause in pulling you over, their use of street tests on an out-of-state driver, and a push for reduced or dropped charges. A visiting driver from another state, with no criminal history, may be a good candidate for diversionary options, but you will need to demand those options with the skill of a fireman.
When careers, livelihoods and driving privileges in your home state are at stake, you need focused legal advice from a criminal lawyer who has the time to shred the state’s evidence. You need to obtain a proactive DUI Lawyer Atlanta respects and relies on to step in and safeguard your rights as soon as you are released on bail. They will ensure appeals are filed to prevent the revocation of your Georgia driver’s license and begin to secure the vital body camera footage that will help to clear your name. Hiring an aggressive DUI Lawyer Atlanta courts respect will create an impenetrable wall between your life outside of Georgia and an aggressive state government. Don’t allow one miscommunication during a business trip or vacation break to harm your career; empower an insider to fight the fight while you head home to focus on your family and career.
