Obtain The “Expunge Arrest Record Form”

You may choose to leave everything on the Atlanta dui lawyers. Once you hire an attorney, he/she will follow the procedure on your behalf. But, you are still advised to get yourself educated on how things work. For example, the first thing to do is to obtain an “expunge arrest record form”. You can contact your local District attorney’s office and the Goodman Lemon Law officials request the authorities out there to provide you this form. You should get it for free. Alternatively, you can also contact the office of Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) in Atlanta to get this form, or you can simply visit the official website of GBI and get the form downloaded and then printed on paper.

Page 1 Of The Form

You need to provide your basic identifying information on page 1 of the form, the date of dui arrest, the kind of charges that were placed against you, and other such things. These details are going to determine the destiny of your request for expunging of records. So, make sure you get the details thoroughly reviewed by Atlanta dui lawyers. At the bottom of the first page, you also need to put your signature with date.

Filling Out Page 2 And 3

Page 2 and 3 of the expunge arrest record form must be completed by the arresting agency (it can be police or sheriff). Contact them and request them to fill out the details as required. For this, you will have to pay a filing fee of $25, which must be payable to the GBI (Georgia Bureau Of Investigation). Besides that, the agency may also charge an additional fee.

Forwarding The Form To The Responsible Prosecuting Lawyer

After completing the form, the police or sheriff (the arresting agency) will forward the form to the prosecuting lawyer. Now, it is entirely up to him/her to decide if your request for expunging of dui arrest records should be approved or rejected. If rejected, they will return the form to you. If approved (or if the attorney has no objection), the form is submitted at the office of the GBI.

Once the Georgia Bureau of Investigation receives your form, they will expunge the record of your drunk driving arrest from the GCIC (Georgia Crime Information Center). You can maximize your chances of getting your request approved by having some of the best Atlanta dui lawyers on your side.

Blood Alcohol Content

It is important to note that the legal provisions are updated regularly. Having an Atlanta dui attorney on your side will make sure that whatever actions you are taking to defend yourself are in line with the latest changes in laws. As of March 2010, if the blood alcohol content crosses the threshold of 0.08% while you are driving a vehicle, you may be arrested for a dui offense. Though the BAC level of 0.08 is applicable in most states, the laws in Atlanta are stricter in a sense that you can be arrested for a BAC level of only 0.05% also, especially when the police officers finds you driving a vehicle recklessly – the legal term is “perilously operating a vehicle”.

Suspension Of Driver’s License

The driver’s license may be suspended based on an array of factors, such as the BAC level, the severity of reckless driving, and previous dui records. It is important for you to keep in mind that the suspension of license does not wait for a final conviction in a criminal court. Your license may be suspended right at the time of a dui stop. 3-time offenders get their license suspended for at least 5 years, a second time offense results in 3-year suspension, and a first time offense may result in either no suspension of license or a one-year suspension. If you are found guilty of such offenses more than three times, your driving privileges are likely to be revoked. In such cases, the state may even seize your vehicle. Considering these harsh penalties, it is often necessary to have an experienced Atlanta dui attorney on your side to defend your case on your behalf.

Sentences

If you are convicted for the first time in a criminal court for a dui offense, you may have to spend 10 days to 12 months in jail. However, with the help of a lawyer, you can get the sentence reduced significantly, but at least 24 hours of jail time is must. If you get convicted for a second time, the jail term may range from 3 months to 12 months, out of which 3 days are compulsory.

The sentence for a third time conviction can be as long as 4 months to 12 months. Though an Atlanta dui attorney may help in getting the level of sentence reduced, you will have to spend at least 15 days in jail.