Kennesaw DUI Lawyer

Kennesaw DUI Lawyer

Motorists in the Kennesaw area who are charged with DUI’s frequently find it essential to obtain the services of a talented Kennesaw DUI lawyer as soon as possible after being charged with a DUI or DUI related offense.

While there are many attorneys that claim to know DUI law, there are very few DUI defense lawyers as talented as Kennesaw DUI lawyer “DUI Jim” Yeargan . Kennesaw DUI lawyer Jim Yeargan has nearly fifteen years experience successfully defending the rights of individuals in DUI cases.

One of the primary reasons that Jim Yeargan often receives successful results for clients is that Kennesaw DUI lawyer Jim Yeargan knows how to fully evaluate a DUI in order to create the best legal strategy possible. Jim Yeargan also often receives positive results because Jim is very familiar with every potential step of the DUI process including pre-trial conferences, trials, and even appeals. If you need the best possible DUI defense after being charged with a DUI in Kennesaw, do not hesitate to retain the services of the legal team at Yeargan & Kert, LLC.

“DUI Jim” Yeargan Is The Most Skilled Kennesaw DUI Lawyer

Jim Yeargan has developed a very thorough understanding of DUI cases due to a significant legal career. As a young lawyer, Jim Yeargan worked as a DUI prosecutor in Kennesaw and the surrounding areas. Unlike many other DUI attorneys, Kennesaw DUI lawyer Jim Yeargan understands exactly how prosecutors in Georgia create DUI charges, is familiar with prosecutors and judges in the area, and knows what individuals should expect from each DUI case. With a better understanding of the opposing side, Mr. Yeargan knows how to help clients faced with DUI charges in Kennesaw navigate DUI cases and mount legal defenses.

After calling our office, an individual will receive a complimentary consultation with a skilled Kennesaw DUI lawyer. The goal of the consultation is to gather all important information about the accident so that an initial legal strategy can be made. Jim Yeargan will then begin gathering records from the appropriate law enforcement agencies and even sometimes witnesses who might have seen the accident occur.

Kennesaw DUI Roadblocks

Many individuals facing DUI’s in Kennesaw were charged with the offense while stopped due to a DUI roadblock, which is also referred to as a checkpoint. Although these checkpoints might be conducted by law enforcement, these checkpoints are not always lawful and in compliance with constitutional law.

Georgia law enforcement must comply with certain guidelines when conducting a DUI checkpoint in Kennesaw which include the following: the roadblock must be part of a plan to decrease drunk driving, the judicial system must support the checkpoint, the location of the checkpoint must be in an area where that is a specific reason to have a checkpoint, and there must be a warning about the checkpoint for approaching drivers along with various other requirements. It is the responsibility of Georgia law enforcement to follow all applicable guidelines.

Individuals in Kennesaw who are faced with a DUI from a checkpoint often able to create strong legal defenses against DUI charges is a checkpoint was not lawful or unreasonable in any manner. The legal team at Yeargan & Kert, LLC know how to analyze a DUI checkpoint to make sure that law enforcement is fully compliant.

Potential Options for Kennesaw Motorists

Motorists in Kennesaw who are charged with a DUI often feel helpless and limited in the number of options that the individual has to respond to such a charge. A knowledgeable Kennesaw DUI lawyer like “DUI Jim” Yeargan is able to help clients determine all of the potential options for responding to a DUI charge and reaching the best results possible. Although sometimes individuals choose to plead guilty to a DUI charge, many individuals choose to challenge a DUI charge. To begin taking control of your DUI case immediately, contact Yeargan & Kert, LLC today.

The Negative Results of a Kennesaw DUI

Immediately after being charged a DUI in Kennesaw, many motorists are confused about exactly what consequences will result from a DUI conviction. DUI’s can result in a variety of charges, which can include: hefty fines, jail time, increase automobile insurance rates, limited future job opportunities, the loss of one’s driver’s license, and social stigma.

What To Do If Pulled Over for a DUI in Kennesaw

There are some essential pieces of advice that should always be followed by motorists in Kennesaw who are pulled over for DUI by local law enforcement. These pieces of advice include the following:

What Happens After An Arrest for  a DUI in Kennesaw

If an individual is arrested for DUI in Kennesaw, the individual will be booked into jail. After being placed into the jail, a judge will determine the bail for the individual’s release. If the individual is able to pay the bail amount, the individual be released from jail.

If an individual is interested in paying bail, retaining the services of a skilled Kennesaw DUI lawyer at Yeargan & Kert, LLC this is a good idea because our knowledgeable legal team can help you navigate the proceedings and determine what steps about the charges are required to be made in the future.

Why The First 30 Days Matter After A DUI in Kennesaw

When an individual is determined to have a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 percent or more or an individual refuses to submit results for a chemical test, a law enforcement officer begins a process by filing a form called a “DDS Form 1205”.

Individuals who are charged with a DUI or DUI related offense in Kennesaw might have to appear in a civil court or administrative hearing which is part of the Georgia Department of Driver’s Services. This court will decide whether to suspend or revoke an individual’s driver’s license. Individuals charged with a DUI have 30 calendar days to request a hearing and prevent the automatic suspension of the individual’s driver’s license.

After making this request, individuals will receive a notice about when a hearing will be held. Because waiting even a short amount of time in these situations can result in adverse consequences, an individual frequently requires a Kennesaw DUI lawyer who knows how to file the proper paperwork for this type of hearing.

If you are charged with DUI, the legal team at Yeargan & Kert, LLC is available at any time of day to help make sure that a driver complies with this 30-day administrative hearing requirement.

First DUI Offenses in Kennesaw

There are a variety of consequences that motorists might face due to first DUI charges. These charges can include: a fine of three hundred to one thousand dollars, jail time of ten years to one year, at least forty hours of community service or at least twenty hours if an individual’s blood alcohol content was under .08 percent, required completion of an alcohol or drug abuse class, probation of up to one year, and a driver’s license suspension of one year.

Multiple DUI’s in Kennesaw

Kennesaw law enforcement officers are particularly watchful of motor vehicle drivers that are operating vehicles while under the influence of alcohol, which frequently results in drivers facing multiple DUI charges. For motor vehicle drivers in Kennesaw who face second or more DUI convictions, the consequences of these charges can be particularly severe if a skilled DUI attorney is not able to obtain the least lenient charges.

Second DUI Offenses in Kennesaw

Motorists who are charged with a DUI in Kennesaw can expect to face even more severe penalties than drivers who are charged with a first DUI. Second DUI charges can result in drivers facing: no driving for 120 days, the potential installation of an ignition interlock device, required community service of up to 240 hours, required completion of an alcohol education program, and fines from six hundred to one thousand dollars. Individuals may also be forced to have to pay to have information about their arrest, name, and photograph published in a local newspaper.

Third Kennesaw DUI Offenses

The consequences of third DUI charges in Kennesaw are often even worse than first or second time DUI offenses. Individuals charged with third time DUI’s can expect to face: twelve months to thirty-six months of probation, 120 days to twelve months in jail, fines of one thousand to five thousand dollars, 240 hours of community service, five years of driver’s license suspension, seventeen weeks of alcohol and drug counseling, a mandatory treatment program, and the publication at cost of information about the individual’s arrest in a local newspaper.

Because third DUI offenses for motorists in Kennesaw can be particularly severe, individuals who face these types of charges should immediately a legal representative at Yeargan & Kert, LLC.

How Field Sobriety Tests in Kennesaw Work

In Kennesaw and the surrounding area, law enforcement conducts field sobriety tests as long as the officer has reasonable suspicion that an individual has drinking alcohol or engaging in any type of drug use that would affect the motorist’s driving behavior.

Field sobriety tests conducted by law enforcement in Kennesaw often involve “eye tests” during which a law enforcement officer conducts a series of measurements to determine the jerking movements of a motor vehicle driver’s eyes.

Another common field sobriety test is called a “walk and turn” test, which consists of nine steps along a straight line, complete a small turn, and nine steps back again. Any failure to walk in the same manner that law enforcement desires can cause a Kennesaw law enforcement officer to “notice” behavior that is consistent with intoxication.

A third standardized test is called the one leg stand. This test requires a motorist to stand on only one foot for thirty seconds with their arms by their side. These tests can be challenging for many people due to a variety of factors besides alcohol. In many situations, law enforcement officers in Kennesaw have a video camera attached to their patrol car which can be used to record drivers engaged in field sobriety tests. Failing a field sobriety test will result in an individual being asked to perform a portable breath test.

Kennesaw DUI lawyer Jim Yeargan understands the various requirements that field sobriety tests must meet in order to be considered lawful and in many cases knows how to challenge field sobriety test results. In addition to possessing a mastery of field sobriety test defenses, the legal team at Yeargan & Kert, LLC also knows how to use video footage obtained from a dashboard camera as powerful defense evidence in a DUI case.

The Way That DUI Blood and Breath Tests Are Conducted in Kennesaw

Law enforcement can conduct either a blood or breath test of a motor vehicle driver to determine the level of alcohol in the driver’s body. While the breath test is more commonly requested by law enforcement in Kennesaw, law enforcement sometimes requests a blood test instead.

Breath tests are more common because these tests are faster, easier, and more convenient than blood tests. Blood tests, however, often the advantage of generally being more reliable. In the state of Georgia, a motor vehicle driver is considered to be operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol if the motorist has a blood alcohol content over .08 percent. Drivers under the age of twenty-one and commercial motor vehicle drivers, however, are considered to be intoxicated at even lower blood alcohol content levels.

Refusing to take a blood or breath test when asked to do so by law enforcement can result in individuals either temporarily or permanently losing their driver’s license.

Fortunately, the legal team at Yeargan & Kert, LLC knows how several tactics that can be used to defend against the results of blood or breath tests.

The Kennesaw DUI Court Process Explained

A large number of motorists in Kennesaw are uncertain about what the court process will be like for a DUI charge. There are some basic elements regarding the court process that motorist in Kennesaw should learn if faced with a DUI charge. The City of Kennesaw Municipal Court is held on Tuesday of each week at 2529 J.O. Stephenson Avenue. This building is located just to the east of Adams Park.

The Kennesaw Municipal Court has the authority to hear all misdemeanors, local ordinance violations, and traffic violations that occur within Kennesaw. Motor vehicle drivers will be provided with a form upon being charged with a DUI that will contain the individual’s arraignment date.

An arraignment refers to an individual’s first court appearance. At an arraignment, an individual has the option of choosing to plead guilty, not guilty, or no contest.

No contest means that an individual neither admits nor disputes a charge. If an individual pleads not guilty to the DUI at the arraignment, the individual will be provided with the date of a future court hearing. Missing a court date will result in an individual being charged with a Failure to Appear charge which can ultimately result in an individual’s license being suspended or sometimes even the individual being arrested.

If an individual pleads guilty to the charge, the individual will almost certainly receive a conviction and be informed about the resulting penalties by the municipal court judge.

The Kennesaw Pretrial Diversion Program

A special program called a pretrial diversion program is offered to some first-time offenders who face certain charges, but not DUI’s. The advantage of this program is that individuals are able to keep their records clean. A Kennesaw DUI lawyer from Yeargan & Kert, LLC can help an individual participate in a pretrial diversion program by filing a petition on the individual’s behalf. The petition will then be examined by a prosecutor to determine if an individual is eligible to participate in the program.

Some of the potential criteria that individuals might need to meet includes: no criminal record and the offender must be at least seventeen years old. To participate in the program, an individual must also pay a program fee and agree to random drug and alcohol screening. Individuals who are determined to qualify for the program no longer are required to attend court hearings. Instead of required court hearings, an individual will be subjected to a supervised program for a predetermined amount of times. This supervised program could potentially include community service or restitution.

Plea Deals for Kennesaw DUI’s

One option for individuals in Kennesaw who are charged with DUI’s is a plea deal. Plea deals can prove to be advantageous to both prosecutors and individuals charged with a DUI. Prosecutors often find plea deals enticing because these arrangements let cases proceeds quicker, which greatly reduces a court’s caseload. Individuals charged with DUI’s frequently find plea deals attractive because these agreements frequently allow individuals to receive lesser charges than if the individual was simply sentenced by a judge. There are many factors that influence how a plea deal occurs including the individual’s motor vehicle as well as criminal history.

Kennesaw DUI lawyer Jim Yeargan and the legal team at Yeargan & Kert, LLC understand the various elements that influence a plea deal and have a significant track record successfully arranging plea deals for clients.

Kennesaw DUI’s Involving Child Endangerment

For individuals in Kennesaw who receive DUI’s, the consequences can be severe. For individuals who receive DUI’s with child endangerment will likely face even more severe penalties. Crimes of DUI child endangerment do not “merge” with the underlying offense of DUI either, which means that individuals can receive separate convictions for both offenses. Child endangerment occurs when individuals who receive DUI’s are found with a child under the age of fourteen in the motor vehicle.

Fortunately, there are several ways in which motorists are often able to defend against child endangerment charges. Some of the most commonly used defenses include: challenging the reason for the initial DUI stop, challenging the accuracy of blood alcohol content tests, demonstrating that misconduct by law enforcement occurred, or arguing that law enforcement has failed to prove that the child in question was fourteen years older or younger.

Because charged with a DUI involving child endangerment have the potential to result in extremely adverse situations, individuals who face these charges should consider retaining the services of a skilled Kennesaw DUI lawyer like Jim Yeargan .

Kennesaw DUI’s Involving Vehicular Homicide

Vehicular homicide is one type of charge that can make a DUI charge even much severe. The law in the state of Georgia addresses vehicular homicide into first and second-degree charges. First-degree vehicular homicide charges occur when a death is caused by a motor vehicle driver who unlawfully passes a school bus, drives recklessly, fleeing from law enforcement, or leaving the scene of an accident.

Vehicular homicide in the second degree occurs when a death is caused due to a violation of any other factor than the situations specifically listed in the first degree. Vehicular homicide is also broken into felony and misdemeanors. Misdemeanor-grade vehicular homicide occurs when a death is the result of a violation of basic traffic law, while a felony-grade vehicular homicide occurs when a death is the result of a DUI or reckless driving. The consequences of vehicular homicide are particularly severe.

A first-degree vehicular homicide is considered a felony and can result in individuals facing three to fifteen years in prison. A conviction for vehicular homicide in the second degree is considered a misdemeanor and can result in individuals facing up to $1,000 or a prison term of up to one year. Some of the defenses that individuals can use to defend against vehicular homicide cases include proving that a traffic offense did not directly result in the death of another individual or that a level of reasonable doubt exists.

There are many other defenses that will not work for individuals facing vehicular homicide charges which can include attempting to argue that the driver should not be found guilty because the other driver was also at fault.

Prescription Drug Charges and DUI’s in Kennesaw

There is an increasing number of drivers in the Kennesaw area that take prescription drugs or a variety of reasons including anxiety, depression, or insomnia. Many individuals fail to realize that mixing prescription drugs and operating a motor vehicle has the potential to result in motor vehicle drivers facing DUI charges. DUI’s involving prescription, however, involve several complicated problems.The standardized tests that performed by law enforcement are not designed to quantify a motor vehicle driver’s level of impairment.

There is also just a small number of law enforcement officers in Kennesaw who are trained to determine whether an individual is under the influence of prescription drugs. Motor vehicle drivers must remember to always take particular caution regarding prescription drug regulations. For example, drivers should always make sure to take into consideration all of a drug’s listed side effects particularly if these effects include dizziness or disorientation.

Fortunately, the skilled legal counsel at Yeargan & Kert, LLC has helped many individuals create strong and successful to prescription drug DUI’s and knows what it takes to make sure that your case resolves in the best positive manner.

DUI’s and Illegal Drugs in Kennesaw

In addition to prescription drugs, each year a number of motorists in Kennesaw are charged with DUI’s due to the presence of illegal drugs in a variety of places. Illegal drugs can be found on the driver’s body, the driver’s vehicle, or even within the motor vehicle driver’s system. In addition to facing DUI’s due to illegal drugs, individuals can also end up facing a variety of other charges including drug possession.

Because individuals can face additional charges besides DUI due to illegal drugs, the penalties arising from DUI’s involving illegal drugs are often even more severe than charges related to alcohol. Individuals in Kennesaw who face DUI’s involving illegal drugs should hire nothing short of the very best legal representation. Attorney Jim Yeargan has one of the most successful track records in the area for helping individuals successfully defend against illegal drug DUI’s.

Kennesaw DUI’s Involving Marijuana Possession

Marijuana in the state of Georgia has a very specific definition. Marijuana must meet two requirements: the marijuana must be green and leafy which means seeds or stems are not included, and the drug must contain fifteen percent or less of Tetrahydrocannabinol, which is also called THC. Law enforcement must send the marijuana in question to a crime lab to make sure that the drug has fifteen percent or less of THC.

Under current law in the state of Georgia, motorists can only receive DUI’s for ingesting marijuana if law enforcement officers demonstrate that the marijuana made the driver either “incapable of driving safely” or “less safe”. Despite these requirements, individuals must still be particularly careful when driving a motor vehicle because marijuana DUI’s can result in particularly strict penalties.

If you were involved in a DUI or DUI related offenses involving marijuana, do not hesitate to obtain the services of a skilled Kennesaw DUI lawyer like Attorney Jim Yeargan at Yeargan & Kert, LLC.

DUI’s for Kennesaw Drivers Under the Age of 21

In Kennesaw and the rest of the state of Georgia, the law defines minors as anyone who has not yet reached the age of twenty-one. For motor vehicle drivers in Georgia who are under the age of twenty-one, DUI law is much more restrictive in nature and a “zero tolerance” policy is enforced. More specifically, minors who are found by law enforcement to be operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .02 percent or greater will face DUI charges. The .02 margin exists because breathing test monitors are not accurate enough to determine an individual’s blood alcohol content with such specificity.

There are numerous adverse consequences that minors can face due to DUI charges including interference with one’s college and job applications, at least forty hours of community service, twelve months on probation, random drug screenings during the probation period, a DUI school, fines of no less than three hundred dollars, and driver’s license suspension. The length of a driver’s license suspension for minors who are charged with DUI’s depends on the minor’s blood alcohol content. A minor will face six-month driver’s license suspension for blood alcohol content from .02 to .08 percent, while minors will face a year-long driver’s license suspension if the minor’s blood alcohol content is .08 percent or greater.

Minors must also be aware that courts will refuse to grant special permits so that the individual can travel between school, home, or work. If you are a minor faced with a DUI, you need the services of strong and talented Kennesaw DUI lawyer like the legal team at Yeargan & Kert, LLC.

Available Defenses for Motorists in Kennesaw Facing DUI’s

Motor vehicle drivers who are charged with DUI’s or DUI related offenses in Kennesaw can face some particularly adverse consequences if convicted. Fortunately, there are numerous defenses that individuals can raise in response to such charges. A skilled Kennesaw DUI lawyer like Jim Yeargan knows how to fully analyze a motorist’s case to determine what the very best legal strategy would be so that a case resolves in a positive manner. Some of the defenses that can be claimed by motor vehicle drivers in Kennesaw who are facing DUI convictions include the following:

Obtain the Services of an Experienced Kennesaw DUI Lawyer

Consider joining the long list of clients who have discovered that the law firm of Yeargan & Kert, LLC has the experience and talent necessary to obtain the most positive results from DUI or DUI related offenses. Our legal team understands exactly what it takes to prevail in a DUI and we will fight tirelessly to defend against such charges. No matter how your DUI charge occurred, there are always options and ways to reach the best positive results in a case. Contact a Kennesaw DUI lawyer at Yeargan & Kert, LLC today.

The Kennesaw DUI Lawyers at Yeargan & Kert, LLC

Atlanta Office Location

Yeargan & Kert, LLC
1170 Peachtree St NE #1200,
Atlanta, GA 30309
404-879-5274