Question: Never thought I'd be writing. Got a DUI charge in Sandy Springs and worried about what will happen to me. Maybe I want a jury trial. Not sure.
I was driving on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs and I dropped my iPhone and picked it up and swerved and then a cop saw me and pulled my over. The cop could smell beer because I was drinking and I told him I had some and that I rarely drink, only on special occasions. I mean I'm no alcoholic or problem drinker but I do drink, I see no problem with that. And I'm not so sure that's even illegal. I mean everybody drinks, some people just hide it better than others, I guess.
I will admit, but just anonymously, that we did play drinking games earlier in the afternoon. We played Thumper, Drunk Jenga, Never Have I Ever, and Kings Cup. We actually lost a couple of guys who got too drunk. One guy vomited on the street, staggered off, and passed out in a bush. I think he picked up a disorderly conduct or trespass charge.
I was having an allergy attack and I couldn't see real well so I think I looked buzzed. I was trying to do those tests the Sandy Springs police officer told me to do. I looked bad on the tests, I mean I couldn't walk a straight line real well. But that was the allergies not the drinking.
My mom had a few DUIs back in the day (she was wild!) and she did a little bit of jail time, but not too much. I just want minimum punishments and I'd rather not go to jail, I know nobody wants to do jail time.
Can I get a jury trial in the Sandy Springs Municipal Court? Should I?
L.B., in Sandy Springs, Georgia
Answer: You can't have a jury trial in a municipal court in the state of Georgia. And Sandy Springs is no exception. By law, jury trials can only be held in state courts and superior courts. If you want a jury trial you will have to “bind-over” the case to the Fulton County State Court, which is in Atlanta. The reason the case would be sent to the Fulton State Court is because Sandy Springs is a city located in Fulton County.