Question: I can't believe I got a DUI in Roswell, Georgia, in the afternoon after eating brunch. It was Sunday and I was pretty hung over from the night before when I went out with some friends that I hadn't seen in like 15 years. We all went to Roswell High School and we went to different colleges like Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University and Georgia Tech. I went to the University of Georgia before I failed out because I developed an opioid addiction.
The night before was a late night and I'm not going to lie, we were all drinking pretty heavily. Beers, Scotch, bourbon, tequila, just a lot of booze being consumed that night. And I think someone was smoking marijuana because it smelled like pot to me. We hit a nice place for dinner on Canton Street and they did a super fried chicken. Then we hit some bars like Mazzy's, which is a sports bar.
I got drunk, took an Uber home and went to sleep. When I woke up, about 10 hours later, I had a nasty hang over. My head hurt. So I called a buddy and we went to brunch. At brunch I had “some of the hair of the dog that bit me.” I drank three Bloody Marys and 2 mimosas. My head stopped hurting but I think I was buzzed; not really too drunk, but buzzed.
I made the mistake of driving and I actually got into an accident in the parking lot. Just a “fender-bender” but the pregnant lady I hit called the cops. She was angry and I don't blame her because she's pregnant and was shopping with two small children who cried a lot.
I wanted to write to a Roswell DUI lawyer to see if I could use in my defense that it wasn't nighttime, that I was just buzzed and that no one was hurt in the accident. Will any of that help me?
B.L. in Roswell, GA
Answer: You may have reasonable defenses to the DUI charge. And it is possible that the charge can be reduced from DUI to Reckless Driving; or that something egregious was done by the Roswell police and the charges will be completely dismissed. But the defenses you ask about will not help you.
The fact that it was not nighttime will not help. A DUI can occur in the morning, afternoon or night.
That you were “buzzed” is not a good defense. You don't have to be “drunk” to get a DUI. Under Georgia DUI law, if you were a “less safe driver” because you drank alcohol, you can be charged and convicted of DUI.
We're happy no one was injured in the accident. But just because no one was injured is not going to assist your case. The fact that you got into an accident gave the police a valid reason to question you and that led to your arrest.