Our client made a wide turn onto another road and almost collided with another vehicle (caught on camera by the Forsyth County DUI Deputy). Our client immediately pulled into a Waffle House and was detained by the deputy for a Forsyth County DUI investigation. Our client agreed to perform field sobriety evaluations and was subsequently arrested for a DUI in Forsyth County. He refused to submit the state administered breath test and was served a notice of an administrative license suspension. Mr. Sullivan conducted a hearing for the the administrative suspension and was able to use a transcript from that hearing to his client’s advantage at his DUI jury trial in Forsyth County. the Forsyth County jury found our client Not Guilty of the DUI, but did convict him on minor traffic offenses. The DUI acquittal enabled our client to get his license reinstated.
Recent DUI Defense Successes in Georgia Courts
Walton County DUI: .099 Breath Test (Dismissed)
Our client was stopped for failing to maintain her lane by a Walton County DUI trained deputy. The failure to maintain lane is clearly visible on the video. The Walton County Deputy did not properly administer the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, client does well on the walk and turn evaluation but does poorly on the one leg stand evaluation. It is apparent that it was cold on the video. Client is arrested and charged with a Walton County DUI. She agrees to take the state breath test and blows a .099. The legal limit in Georgia is.08. Mr. Sullivan was able to negotiate with the Walton County prosecutor to dismiss the DUI charge and the Failure to Maintain Lane charge in exchange for a plea to Reckless Driving.
Atlanta DUI Refusal (Dismissed)
An Atlanta DUI Task Force Officer was on patrol when he saw our client run a red light (on video). He initiated a traffic stop and conducted a DUI investigation. Our client looked reasonably well on the video, but the Atlanta DUI officer made a DUI arrest anyway. Our client refused to submit to the state breath test. Mr. Sullivan was able to successfully avoid a one year administrative license suspension for our client and negotiated an outright dismissal of the DUI charge in exchange for a plea to minor traffic offenses with the Atlanta Municipal Court DUI prosecutor.
Gilmer County DUI: .143 Breath Test (Dismissed)
Mr. Sullivan represented a client who was camping in Gilmer County. His vehicle got stuck in the mud and a tow truck was called. A 911 call was placed and a Gilmer County Sheriff’s Deputy went to the tow truck company and followed our client. It was raining and our client did not have his head lights on. A traffic stop was initiated and a DUI investigation took place. The deputies were very friendly, but were not proficient in field sobriety evaluations and also did not place our client under arrest before the Georgia Implied Consent Notice was read. Our client did agree to take the state breath test and the result was .143. The legal limit in Georgia is .08. He was charged with a Gilmer County DUI. Mr. Sullivan was able to persuade the prosecutor that the deputies did not follow training protocol for standardized field sobriety evaluations and the results are compromised. Also, the breath test was inadmissible because our client was not under arrest when the implied consent notice was read. The prosecution still could have proceeded on a DUI “less safe” charge, but agreed to dismiss the DUI charges and our client entered a plea to a lesser traffic offense of Reckless Driving.
DeKalb DUI .291 Blood Test (dismissed)
Mr. Sullivan represented a client that was involved in a significant single car accident in Decatur Georgia. Our client went off the road and struck a utility pole. A Decatur DUI officer arrived on scene and conducted a DUI investigation. Our client had a significant cut to the lip and was transported to the hospital for treatment. While at the hospital, the Decatur DUI officer read the Georgia Implied Consent Notice to our client, who agreed to a blood test. The blood test result was .291. The legal limit in Georgia is .08. Mr. Sullivan was able to convince the DeKalb State Court prosecutor that the blood test was inadmissible because client was not under arrest at the time the notice was read. The prosecutor agreed to dismiss the DUI charges in exchange for a plea to a lesser traffic charge of Reckless Driving.
Chamblee DUI (Dismissed)
Mr. Sullivan represented a client who was stopped by a Chamblee DUI officer for speeding. Our client was extremely argumentative towards the officer during the course of the DUI investigation. the Chamblee officer dished it right back to our client. Eventually our client agreed to perform field sobriety evaluations and was arrested for DUI and Speeding. Our client refused to submit to a breath test. Mr. Sullivan was able to negotiate with the DeKalb County State Court prosecution to dismiss the DUI and the speeding charge in exchange for a plea to Reckless Driving. Because of our client’s business relationships, a DUI had to be avoided at all costs, so this outcome assured him of that.
Atlanta DUI Breath Test .117 (Dismissed)
Mr. Sullivan represented a commercial truck driver in Atlanta who was stopped by a Georgia State Patrol DUI Task Force Trooper for not having his headlights on. Our client also failed to maintain his lane. The Trooper conducted field sobriety evaluations and our client was arrested for a DUI in Atlanta. The client agreed to submit to the state breath test and blew a .117. The legal limit is .08. Mr. Sullivan challenged the admissibility of the breath test in court along with a motion arguing our client’s right to a constitutional speedy trial was violated. The court found that the Fulton State Court prosecution was not able to meet it’s burden at a motion hearing and granted Mr. Sullivan’s motion to dismiss all charges. Our client’s commercial driver’s license and his career were saved.
Atlanta DUI (Dismissed)
Mr. Sullivan successfully defended a client who was found passed out at an intersection in Atlanta by Atlanta Police. Georgia State Patrol was brought to the scene to conduct an Atlanta DUI investigation. Client did terrible on field sobriety evaluations and was arrested for DUI in Atlanta. Our client refused to submit to the state administered breath test. The DUI case was moved out of Atlanta Municipal Court to Fulton County State Court. The prosecution took a very long time in filing the case. Mr. Sullivan filed motions attacking the prosecution’s DUI case, including filing a motion to dismiss due to the delay in the prosecution and a motion challenging the initial detention of our client. At the time of trial, the prosecution was unable to bring the initial officer to court (the arresting officer was there). Arguably the prosecution still could possibly go forward with its case (the Georgia case law is murky in this area), but Mr. Sullivan was able to convince the prosecutor to dismiss the DUI charge in exchange for a plea to a lesser traffic offense of Reckless Driving.
Atlanta DUI (reduced to Reckless Driving)
Our client was stopped in Atlanta by a Georgia State Patrol DUI Trooper for suspended registration. Client admitted to having two drinks and agreed to perform field sobriety evaluations. The Trooper marked client off for “clues” during the administration of the tests and arrested client for a DUI in Atlanta. Our client refused to take the state administered test of her breath. Mr. Sullivan was was able to persuade the Atlanta DUI prosecutor that the trooper failed to follow his training regarding field sobriety evaluations, and as such, the results were compromised. The prosecutor agreed to dismiss the DUI charge and the suspended registration charge (a charge that if convicted for, causes a license suspension) in exchange for a plea to Reckless Driving and Expired Tag.
Johns Creek DUI, Marijuana Possession (Dismissed)
Mr. Sullivan successfully represented a client who was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint set up by Johns Creek DUI officers. Our client looked reasonably well during the field sobriety evaluations, but was still arrested for a Johns Creek DUI. Our client refused to submit to the state blood test. Upon searching our client’s vehicle, the officer found marijuana and charged our client with that as well. Mr. Sullivan set up a constitutional challenge to the roadblock itself and the admissibility of the marijuana and refusal to submit to the state test. On the eve of trial the Fulton County prosecutor agreed to dismiss the marijuana and DUI charges outright in exchange for a plea to reckless driving. Our client gladly accepted.