First offense - Georgia

[pantherblue]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

Hi,

I recently ran into a roadblock just outside of Athens, Georgia on the weekend of the Alabama vs UGA game. The Georgia State patrol asked me if i was drinking and i told him that i had a few beers during the day and a few at night. The time was 1:20AM at the time of arrest and i prob. had about 9 beers between 1:00pm to 1:20AM. He told me to take the handheld breath test and i refused so he told me to step out of the car. I stepped out and he gave me a FST. Once he was done with that he walked me over to a trailer which held three breathalyzers. I blew a .089 the first time and a .084 the second time. i was seriously surprised to see that i blew over as i felt sober, hungry, and tired. After that i was transferred to the county jail. anyways, i was wondering whats my best options are. I am a full-time college student and work part-time. I dont have money to hire an attorney, just to get the same penalties and fines as everyone else. This is my first offense and surely will be my last. BTW...when i looked at the list of people who were arrested for DUIs, there was about 70 of us and i had the 2nd lowest BAC level. Everyone else was blowing .14-.22 range. if i was in that range, there is no chance in hell i would behind the wheel. Also does anyone know about Oconee County Court? thanks

[FlyingRon]

Just because others were more drunk is NOT a mitigating factor. If you are indigent, you can get a public defender. If you're just unwilling to pay for one, you're on your own. Most lawyer's will listen to your story for little or no money and tell you if there is frankly anything they can do for you.

Nine beers is a substantial amount of drinking. I do not have faith that you were able to judge that you were not impaired. Believe me, at some point earlier on, you certainly were above 0.14.

Expect several hundred dollars of fines and court costs, 12 months probation, 12 month license suspension (shortened to 120 days if you take the DUI school) with a restricted license immediately, and community service. Chances are you won't get any additional jail time over what you got.