Obviously, it can be very unsettling if you are arrested for DUI.   What you may not know is that you will have to deal with two (2) cases after your arrest.  The first is the criminal case – this involves the State of Georgia (the “State”) pursuing sanctions against you.  These sanctions can include fines, probation and jail time.

The second case you must deal with is the civil case – by this I mean an action by the State Department of Driver Services to suspend your license.  Unlike the criminal matter, which may take weeks or months to resolve, the civil action by the Department of Motor Vehicles is an “administrative” matter.  The Georgia legislature entrusted the DDS to create its own rules for license suspension after a DUI and in Georgia, you have only ten (10) days to request an administrative hearing before the DDS to determine whether your license will be suspended.

If you do not send this “10 day letter,” your license will be suspended – period.  Your only hope thereafter will be an outright acquittal of the DUI charge.

If you do send the 10 day letter, you preserve multiple options.  Often times, I can coordinate the administrative hearing with the criminal case such that I can work out an overall deal that may involve a plea for a lesser offense and limited license suspensions.

The point here is that after your DUI arrest, you should not delay in speaking to a lawyer.  Even if you are concerned about the cost of a defense, I urge you to call me.  I do not charge for consultations and a ten minute call with me may save you months or even years of headaches.

Georgia, by the way, is not the only State that pursues two separate actions against accused drunk drivers.  Florida does as well and thanks to noted Miami DUI lawyer Jonathan Blecher for his informative blog post about the dual civil and criminal ramifications of a DUI arrest.