Atlanta traffic is notorious for its bad reputation. If the Downtown Connector is closed due to an accident at the intersection of I-75 and I-85, a journey which takes 10 minutes can easily turn into one hour. If you drink at dinner and find yourself stuck in this parking lot, you may be in for some legal trouble.
People don’t metabolize alcohol quickly enough. This can result in your BAC level being legally low when you begin to drive, but increasing as you are stuck in the gridlock. Your blood alcohol level may have risen above the legal limit by the time you’re caught by an officer or at a roadblock.
If you are facing the consequences of a traffic jam that you simply couldn’t avoid, you’ll need an aggressive Atlanta DUI Lawyer that understands the science behind alcohol absorption and can fight back against the timeline the state employs.
The science behind the rise of blood alcohol.
Alcohol is not immediately absorbed into the bloodstream when it’s drunk. It takes 30 minutes to more than two hours for alcohol to become completely absorbed into your body, depending on your body’s metabolism and the type of drink.
When you are in a restaurant in Midtown and leave without any alcohol in your system and you are able to drive safely, but you are stuck behind a megastack of a wreck that keeps you stuck on the interstate for an hour, you are actively digesting the alcohol and you’re not driving. After the grid has broken up, if you get stopped by a Georgia State Patrol officer, the alcohol level in your breathalyzer is at the time of the test, not the time you actually decided to get behind the wheel.
Consuming alcohol and driving is not against the law in Georgia. It is only illegal to drive when the blood alcohol level is at or above the legal limit (or when the alcohol makes you less safe to drive). If you were below the limit when you were actually driving in a city, you won’t be guilty of a crime.
This complicated scientific timeline is not something that can be taken on by any DUI Attorney Atlanta has, it’s a matter of elite.
An article that shows you how Insider Knowledge Wins the Case.
Breathalyzer printouts are a prosecutor’s dream because jurors believe breathalyzers are foolproof. The best way to win a rising BAC case is to have a lawyer who can see past the numbers.
James DUI Jim Yeargan is a DUI Ex-Federal Prosecutor with in-depth knowledge of the administration and interpretation of chemical tests. He has a history of doing these cases for the State, and therefore knows how to break them down for his clients.
Jim is able to work with a forensic toxicologist to determine an absorption timeline, using your restaurant receipts, your body composition, your exact time of traffic jam. He aggressively attacks the arresting officer on the stand, forcing even the officer to acknowledge that the breathalyzer test administered at the police station, an hour after his arrest, was not an accurate measurement of him when he first turned the key in the ignition.
For more information on the process of dealing with forensic evidence, see our [Internal Link: Breath and Blood Test Defense Page].
The Price Integrity Guarantee
Oftentimes, challenging the state’s science will involve a lengthy process of pretrial motions, expert witnesses and dogged advocacy in the courtroom. The typical law firm takes advantage of these complexities to bleed you dry. They levy little startup costs, and then smack you with the big trial taxes and motion surcharges at the most inopportune time.
At Yeargan and Kert, LLC, we have a Price Integrity Guarantee.
A highly qualified and reputable Atlanta DUI Attorney will charge one clear flat fee for every case. If your case is dismissed during early negotiations, or if we take it to full jury trial with expert toxicologists, there will be no further increases in your cost. There are no hidden fees, no surprise invoices, whatever happens in the courtroom.
Keeping to a positive record amidst negative timing.
Being stuck in traffic is bad enough – it shouldn’t be a lifelong criminal record, the loss of voting rights and your driving license, and public humiliation. If you were within the limits when you first began driving, then you are innocent and will need a convincing DUI Lawyer Atlanta that the court will respect.
Jim Yeargan and his team will be on your side, relentlessly battling the State to release your future and expose its time line’s weaknesses.
Control the story, don’t let the state do it. Call Yeargan and Kert, LLC today at 404-467-1747 for a free and confidential consultation.
