Driving while under the influence is a serious offense and as of July 1, 2008 Georgia as introduced new and tougher DUI laws. In the past it used to bet that penalties were determined by how many DUI offenses you had in a five year period. Starting with the the date of the first offense. IF you did not have a conviction over the past five years than it was determined by how many you had in your lifetime. These two ways of determining penalties is referred to as “look back” periods. If you were to have multiple offenses over 5 years than you were dealt with in a harsher way if you were to have some that spanned longer than five years.
As of July 1, 2008, Georgia added a third way of dealing with DUI lawyers. They added a 10 year period to look back on and see how many offenses occurred in that time. If multiple offenses occur within the five years, they also carry with them mandatory minimums and requirements to be enforced that the 10 year look back periods do not carry. For example, if an individual was to have been convicted of two separate DUI offenses within five years of each other thant that person will face a one year hard license suspension with no limited permit for work. After that year they will have to go six months with having an ignition interlock device installed on their vehicles. This differs from if you have two conviction spanning longer than five years. In this instance the individual would have their license suspended for 120 days with a limited permit for work. Also they would not have to install an ignition device in their car for a six month period.
Since Georgia only has statutory minimums for the five year look back period. Any convictions spanning longer than that can vary in their degree of punishment. If one is to get a second lifetime conviction outside of the five years than the court will most likely levy and increase fines on the individual. The may also enforce that the person does community service, treatment, and even possible jail time depending on the individual’s prior convictions and the level of seriousness of the lasts offense. You can also get sentenced as a first time DUI offender if the court deems that your related offenses are not linked and their is some remorse
For anyone who has been convicted of DUI, Atlanta DUI Lawyers can help you throughout the process and make sure you understand what is going on.
