By: Ex-Cop Cory Yager, Alpharetta DUI Attorney and Drunk Driving Book Author
Being pulled over, questioned, requested to perform difficult roadside exercises while your neighbors and friends drive by is perhaps the most humiliating thing to ever occur in your life. Then you are cuffed and stuffed into a patrol car and taken to jail for violating Georgia DUI laws. This is your lowest point, for certain.
Now you need to do what is necessary to clear your record of this DUI accusation. Your online research tells you that a DUI in Georgia will stay on your record for LIFE, which is frightening. You start the process of looking for DUI lawyers near me and find a dizzying array of choices of criminal defense lawyers. Trying to evaluate the best DUI lawyer can be challenging. This web page will assist you in the comparison of attorneys and law offices for your best criminal defense option.
Alpharetta GA DUI Arrests: The 5 Most Common Police Pullover Locations
Alpharetta police have multiple “sweet spots” for seeing a minor traffic violation and pulling over drivers. Over half of all Alpharetta DUI arrests coming through our DUI law office happen in these five ways.
- Any event at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre is a good candidate for an arrest, with the channeled traffic being monitored by Alpharetta police. A minor fender bender or an equipment problem (e.g., tail light bulb is out) plus the odor of alcohol on your breath usually ends with Alpharetta GA DUI arrests.
- Haynes Bridge Road is another common pullover location for law enforcement officers in Alpharetta, especially for those leaving Sage’s Woodfire Tavern at 11405 Haynes Bridge Road. When drivers exit the parking lot, they must go westbound first, and (if they need to turn around to go back toward Georgia 400, many never see the “no U-turn” sign that is almost in front of Sage’s. Then, they get to the traffic light at Westside Parkway, and start back eastbound to the main traffic artery (GA 400), only to be pulled over for violating the NO U-TURN law.
- Speeding on Georgia 400 is ubiquitous. In the evening hours after 10 PM and before 3:00 AM, an Alpharetta patrol car backed into a 90 degree position to the limited access roadway shoots a laser beam out the driver side window, capturing the speed of all northbound drivers returning from Buckhead, Sandy Springs or an Atlanta Sports event, like a Falcons, Atlanta United or Braves game. Speeding is a criminal law violation that permits the cops in Alpharetta to encounter the driver, and smell alcohol, marijuana or see containers of drugs, and criminal cases are made this way.
- Failure to maintain lane is another low-level traffic ticket that is most commonly issued by an Alpharetta cop on a multi-lane road like Haynes Bridge, Old Milton Parkway, North Point Parkway, Windward Parkway or Alpharetta Parkway (Highway 9). In daylight hours, such “crimes” are routinely ignored, but at night, when a higher percentage of drivers are likely to be drinking, you will be stopped and checked for any sign of alcohol consumption.
- Being followed from a popular, late night bar, restaurant or entertainment venue is the last of the 5 most common ways of being pulled over by an Alpharetta officer. High-dollar steakhouses and ethnic food venues like Cabernet, Ruth’s Chris Alpharetta, Rumi’s Kitchen at Avalon, or the Oak Steakhouse can be the place you were leaving before being blue-lighted.
Alpharetta Police will TRY to administer DUI Field Sobriety Tests: Just Say NO!
The members of the Alpharetta DUI task force are trained in standardized field sobriety tests (SFST) which were released to police officers by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (N.H.T.S.A.) an arm of the Department of Transportation in Washington DC. All higher-level officers are both practitioners and instructors in the roadside sobriety tests, like the HGN eye test, walk and turn and one leg stand. SPOILER ALERT: These non-scientific evaluations are OPTIONAL and VOLUNTARY. Simply say,” no thank you.”
Plus, they are aware that (to win a case in court) they need more circumstantial evidence of a possible impaired driver to be able to convince a jury that the DUI charges are legitimate. Things they can SEE or SMELL or HEAR are “easy pickings” for a police report. They may SEE watery, bloodshot eyes or HEAR slurred speech and SMELL the odor of burnt marijuana or an alcoholic beverage.
Plus, these male and female officers are trained to use a friendly tone of voice to engage you in conversation. This is meant to “get you talking” and listed for thick-tongued or mumbled speech, which the officer will say “is consistent with impairment.” SHUT UP! Only your name and address are required. Don’t gratuitously give law enforcement additional evidence on a body cam or car camera.
When an Alpharetta police officer decides (in his or her OPINION) that the detained driver shows “signs of impairment,” the person is cuffed and arrested for DUI. The next step is the reading of the Georgia implied consent card. While the most commonly requested type of forensic test is an alcohol breath test on an Intoxilyzer 9000 device, officers can seek a blood tests under implied consent laws. Or, if a DUI refusal of a breathalyzer after arrest occurs, the officer can swear out a “search warrant” for your blood to be forcibly collected, by judicial warrant.
Your next stop will be at the Alpharetta jail. From here, getting bond posted for your release is the right move. If cash is used, this money is returned to that person who bails you out. If a commercial bonding company is used, their fee is a “cost” item for you and is not returned. Your case will be set for arraignment in Alpharetta Municipal Court, between 6 and 12 weeks down the road.
Our North Fulton County Office Location to Access a Burgeoning Suburbs
To service the northern parts of Fulton County, plus have quick access to Forsyth County, our law firm maintains a satellite office halfway between the Alpharetta Municipal Court and the Roswell Municipal Court on Georgia Highway 9. The address is 1001 Cambridge Square, Suite B, Alpharetta, GA 30009.
The City of Milton Municipal Court is also close by, as well as allowing our attorneys in Georgia to have quick access to Johns Creek Municipal Court. Both northern cities are in Fulton County GA. The Alpharetta Mayor and City Council have given it’s police chief a directive to enforce driving under the influence laws. Awards are given annually for the top officers in Alpharetta who make the highest number of DUI arrests.
Alpharetta city leaders are in competition with Norcross and the midtown Atlanta area near Georgia Tech for being Georgia’s “Technology City,” and the push for more high-tech employers is an annual quest for politicians. So, tax breaks and incentives are offered for relocating to the Alpharetta-Crabapple area.
Plus, from here, Cobb County, Forsyth County and Gwinnett County municipal courts are not far away, either. Peachtree Corners Municipal Court, Duluth Municipal Court and Norcross Municipal Court in Gwinnett, plus Acworth Municipal Court, Kennesaw Municipal Court in Cobb County and both Cumming Municipal Court and State Court of Forsyth County are 20 minutes or say away, north of Alpharetta Georgia.
Our Three DUI Lawyers Alpharetta GA
Having Georgia lawyers with top lawyer ratings would be useless without great results to back up those rankings. No other Georgia DUI specialist firm have three DUI attorneys with higher attorney ratings than our law office.
Alpharetta DUI lawyer Cory Yager spent his last 4 years in law enforcement with the City of Roswell Police Department. Larry Kohn has handled over 300 Municipal Court of Alpharetta cases, including a highly publicized Alpharetta Councilman DUI case, for which a trial before Judge Patsy Porter in Fulton County State Court resulted in acquittal on both DUI and child endangerment charges.
Beyond the Alpharetta Councilman DUI, all three law partners have won less publicized criminal law cases that arose in Alpharetta. One of Bubba Head’s most difficult Alpharetta DUI cases involved 4 Alpharetta police officer witnesses and started with a laser gun reading of 117 mph, followed by an all-points bulletin for an Audi on northbound GA 400 that was running from police.
Speeding, eluding and a DUI charge (for both being impaired and over the legal alcohol limit) were part of the criminal charges. The prosecutor wanted the client to agree to spending 30 days in jail on a plea, but this was rejected. The case went to trial and resulted in a “not guilty” verdict on all charges.
FREE CONSULTATION and Payment Plans Available
Our three legal book authors and trial lawyers are ready to review the facts of your case FOR FREE. Our law firm offers a FREE lawyer consultation because someone facing criminal charges needs to know the difference in law firms and their approaches to DUI defense. Call us 24-7 for your FREE case evaluation. If you need an attorneys’ fee payment plan, our office is usually able to accommodate your financial needs. Call us NOW: 404-567-5515.
Other GA charges and laws:
Possession with Intent to Distribute
Probation Warrants, Violation of Probation
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