The holiday season is coming up, and there will be many festivities, including parties where your hosts serve alcohol. If a Georgia law enforcement officer pulls you over on your way home and discovers that you have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or above, the state of Georgia has some stiff penalties in store.
Under the Administrative License Revocation procedure, the officer who stops you can confiscate your driver’s license immediately.
The judicial consequences
The state of Georgia has both judicial and administrative procedures that affect those charged with driving under the influence. If you are convicted of driving with a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher, and this is your first offense, you may be facing up to $1,000 in fines, possible jail time of up to a year, a minimum of 40 hours of community service, attendance in an alcohol risk reduction program and license suspension.
The administrative action
The Georgia Department of Motor Vehicles oversees Administrative License Revocation. In fact, Georgia is one of 41 states that have implemented this procedure. When law enforcement confiscates your driver’s license at the time of your arrest, you are looking at either suspension or revocation, even if you do not receive a DUI charge at a later time.
Next steps
Once you lose your license, you will have a 10-day grace period, using a temporary driving permit that the officer at the scene will issue. During those 10 days, you can request a hearing conducted by an administrative law judge. An attorney will tell you that you that you must schedule this hearing within the allotted time frame, or you automatically lose your license through suspension for one year. When the year is up, you will have to install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle.
Separate but related
Your attorney will go over the details with you, but keep in mind that although your administrative case is a separate matter, the outcome will have an influence on the judicial procedures you face.