First and foremost, it is important to remember an arrest for DUI does not mean guilt, nor does it have to mean a conviction. For most of those charged with a Georgia DUI, this is their first run-in with the law. Perhaps a good person made one bad decision, or perhaps the accused was not actually driving while impaired. Whatever the circumstances, having a strong legal advocateis crucial. Because there are so many negative, long-term penalties and consequences which come with a Georgia DUI conviction, it is important to fully understand those penalties and consequences. The criminal penalties for a Georgia DUI conviction include the following:
First Offense DUI
- Potential jail time from 10 days to one year can occur, although all but 24 hours of the sentence may be probated.
- 12 months of probation
- An alcohol and drug evaluation with a counselor
- The fines associated with a first offense DUI can range from $300 to a maximum of $1,000.
- The driver’s license of the person convicted of DUI could be suspended for up to a year.
- There is a mandatory minimum sentence of 40 hours of community service after a first-time DUI conviction.
- DUI first offenders must complete DUI School or the Risk Reduction Program
- When it is time for the offender to have his/her driver’s license reinstated, a fee of $210 will apply.
Second Offense DUI Occurring Within Five Years of the First DUI Offense
- The jail sentence for a second offense DUI could range from 90 days maximum of one year, plus 12 months of probation.72 hours actual incarceration are mandatory.
- The fines for a second DUI conviction could range from $600 to $1,000.
- A second offense DUI will result in a minimum of 30 days community service.
- A second offense DUI could result in a suspension of the driver’s license for up to three years.
- The second offense DUI could result in a mandatory clinical evaluation as well as completion of a substance abuse treatment program paid for by the offender.
- A license reinstatement fee plus the driver’s photo will be published in the local newspaper as a repeat DUI offender.
- Mandatory Ignition Interlock on personal vehicles.
Third DUI Offense Occurring Within Five Years of the Second DUI Offense
- Conviction for a third DUI offense can range from 120 days to one year with a mandatory minimum of 15 days incarceration.
- Fines increase significantly for a third DUI offense occurring within five years of the second DUI conviction—as high as $1,000 to $5,000.
- The license of the person convicted of a third DUI offense could be revoked for up to five years.
- Following a third DUI conviction the violator’s name, photograph and address could be published in a local newspaper—at the violator’s expense.
- A third DUI conviction can result in the violator being declared a habitual violator. As such, the license plate on the violator’s vehicle will be seized, sent to the court, and forwarded to the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety.
- Mandatory attendance at a DUI school, paid for by the offender, will be required following a conviction for a third Georgia DUI.
- A mandatory clinical evaluation, as well as possible completion of a substance abuse treatment program, paid for by the offender, could result from a third Georgia DUI offense.
Penalties for a Georgia DUI conviction may also depend on the age of the violator as well as other factors. Commercial vehicle drivers who are over the age of 21 could be charged with DUI for a BAC of .04 percent or higher. Drivers under the age of 21 could be charged with a Georgia DUI for a BAC reading of .02 percent or greater. Individuals under the age of 21 with a BAC of .02 percent or higher will be charged with a misdemeanor for a first and second offense and a gross misdemeanor for a third or subsequent offense. Individuals over the age of 21 will be charged with a misdemeanor for the first or second DUI offense, an aggravated misdemeanor for the third offense and a felony for the fourth and subsequent DUI offenses.
Harsher criminal punishments may result if a child or children were in the vehicle at the time of the DUI arrest, whether there were other moving violations and whether property damage, injury or death occurred as the result of the DUI offense. As a result of public pressure and media attention, a judge may choose to impose harsher sentencing, and are rarely lenient when an individual pleads guilty. In addition to criminal penalties, an individual with a DUI conviction (first, second, third or subsequent) could lose their job, or have difficulty obtaining a job. Insurance rates could become prohibitively expensive or auto insurance could be canceled entirely.
The stakes are extremely high when you are facing DUI charges. Working with a Georgia DUI attorney who is experienced and has a history of obtaining the best results for DUI clients is absolutely worth the investment. Melanie Ellwanger is that attorney. Melanie brings unique experience as a prosecutor, defense attorney and judicial candidate and will defend your DUI charges aggressively. Call Melanie Ellwanger at 404-803-3105 for a dedicated, knowledgeable attorney who will work hard for the best outcome and will be a constant advocate in your corner.
Business lawyer Jayden Quinn speaks about how to prevent and manage the data security breaches that plague so many businesses. Tune in to the full podcast to learn how to protect yours.
As Forbes states, a business’ second most valuable asset, next to its people, is its data. How are you protecting yours?
If you think you’ll never have to worry about a data security breach, think again. It can happen whether you head up a large firm with an ironclad IT system or a small, local business.
Half of all businesses have already experienced a data security breach and cases continue to rise, yet most business leaders do not have an instant response plan in place. It’s a dangerous risk to take, as a cyber security breach could shut down your operations and have a widespread impact on your employees, customers, board members, and anyone else who’s on record of having interacted with your business.
The very thought might make you uneasy, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
“It means you’re on your toes and you’re aware of the problem,” says Andrew Buck, business lawyer at Avvocato Law in Winnipeg.”
1. Inventory your data
Inventories aren’t just for tangible goods. All businesses should inventory their data, too.
“How could you possibly understand the extent of the problem if you don’t know what information you have in the first place?” Andrew asks.
2. Develop an incident response plan
It could be a hacker that shuts down your computers or a disgruntled employee selling information to your competitors (fun fact: 22 per cent of breaches come from within a company), but if it happens—you need to know what to do, and quickly.
Contain
“You need to shut off the tap,” says Andrew.
That might mean reaching out to forensic experts or a systemwide reset, but your first job is stopping the flow of any more classified information.
Mitigate
The mitigation phase is where you’ll look at how you can reduce the harm to those who have been affected by the breach. For instance, if the breach involved a leak of financial information, it might mean offering free credit monitoring for a year or two.
Notify
In Canada, you’re required to report privacy breaches or data security incidents that cross a certain threshold—what is known in the legal world as real risk of significant harm. IT professionals, lawyers, and privacy regulators (find details at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada) can help you determine what that threshold is.
Canada’s privacy law (the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA) specifies that a breach report should be made as soon as feasible, as in—as soon as you get a grip on what happened. You can and should update your reporting as more details come in.
Andrew points to the case of Ashley Madison, a Canadian dating site for those who are married or coupled. It faced a significant security breach in 2015, with user data released to the public by hackers causing significant harm to individuals families and reputation. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada did a thorough investigation and its report, Andrew says, serves as an example of what is expected in terms of protecting privacy and data security.
3. Practice your incident response plan
Your incident response plan should not be a document that sits in a drawer and collects dust. Practice it, update it, and know it well, so you’re ready to put it into action as soon as you need to.
4. Protect the data you’re entrusted with
If you’re a board member, you may be privy to confidential company information. Andrew suggests seeking resources that provide guidance for boards, such as Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI).
5. Understand the threats
Ransomware is software that essentially holds your data hostage until you pay a sum to retrieve it. Still, there’s no guarantee paying that sum will get your data back.
The best thing you can do is to have a data backup and a disaster recovery system ready so you can bring your data back immediately. With ransomware attacks expected to increase by 100 per cent in 2022, it’s important to know how to react should one happen.
6. Train staff
Andrew tells of an email he received from a regular client that read, “Here’s the report you asked for.” He hadn’t requested a report, so he responded to see if the email was legit. The client assured him it was. Andrew then forwarded the email to his company’s IT department and confirmed it was spam. Threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Andrew recommends training staff on how to identify threats, using different passwords for different applications, and picking up the phone if there’s uncertainty over an email. Two-factor authentication can weed out threats like the one Andrew experienced.
The best law firm in NYC! They explain everything to you and they are very generous and helpful. The lawyers are excellent and very respectful. I highly recommend the Avvocato law firm.