Have You Been Charged With Georgia Underage DUI?
Receiving an underage DUI can completely up-end the life of a teenager, affecting their college and employment prospects for the rest of their life, while also putting them face-to-face with the same consequences (including jail time) that adults face for driving under the influence. This seems unfair, particularly because individuals under the age of 21 are given a significantly lower margin for error. In fact, while adults over the age of 21 are legally allowed to drive with a blood alcohol concentration up to .08, individuals under the age of 21 can be charged with DUI with a blood alcohol concentration as low as .02. Many young adults charged claim that they did not ingest any alcohol at all, and, in fact, some cases have shown that mouthwash and chewing gums can cause false readings over .02. In other cases, individuals are charged more based on circumstantial evidence, such as having alcohol in the car, even though their blood alcohol concentration is indeterminately low. This can be especially true in incidents of vehicular homicide, where DUI less safe is the threshold.
What to Do Next
If you have been charged with underage DUI in Georgia, the best thing you can do is hire a lawyer immediately. This is not something worth trying to navigate on your own, as the consequences can follow and limit you for a lifetime. Any criminal defense attorney will tell you that they regularly receive calls from people in their thirties, asking if there is any way to seal or expunge their underage DUI conviction, as it is still keeping them from getting jobs and housing. Other individuals who act on the advice of counsel and accept a guilty plea, find that they may not be able to get into college. Unfortunately, once the plea has been entered and the sentence has been given, there is very little that can be done to mitigate the effects. The time to act is as soon as you are charged.
How a Criminal Defense Attorney Can Help
An experienced Georgia criminal defense attorney can work to reduce your charges and mitigate the consequences on your life. There are rarely second chances under the law, so it’s best to avoid needing one. Particularly if you have no criminal background, an attorney can work to reduce your charges or work out a plea bargain so that you will still have a fair and promising shot at a future. Being charged may feel like the end of your life, but it is actually the time when you have the most opportunity to affect the outcome. The sentence is not written in stone at the time the charges are made, and hiring an attorney as soon as possible will give you the best chance of success. This doesn’t mean that you won’t be held accountable for the harm caused, but you may be able to do so in a way that doesn’t prevent you from moving forward and being successful in life.
Talk to a Hawkins Spizman Trial Attorneys
If you are underage and have been charged with a DUI, the DeKalb County DUI attorneys at Hawkins Spizman Trial Attorneys are prepared to zealously advocate on your behalf and fight to make sure that you can still make the most of your life. Serving Atlanta, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Johns Creek, Sandy Springs, and the greater Georgia area, Hawkins Spizman Trial Attorneys care about making sure that your life doesn’t stop here because of one mistake. Call today and schedule your free consultation.
