DUI Austell

AUSTELL  DUI LAWYERS

Our Austell and Cobb County DUI lawyers at the Towe Law Firm are available 24 / 7 to discuss your case.  Just call us at 404.993.9172, and you will be able to speak with an experienced DUI attorney directly, not a secretary or paralegal. If you are charged with a DUI in the City of Austell or Cobb County, our experienced Austell DUI lawyers and Cobb County DUI lawyers at the Towe Law Firm will fight diligently and aggressively to defend you every step of the way.

We are experienced in handling cases in both the Austell Municipal Court as well as the State Court of Cobb County. We are experienced DUI attorneys, devoting most all of our practice to DUI and related charges that often accompany DUI charges.  We know the Georgia court system well and practice regularly in both the Austell Municipal Court and the Cobb County State Court.  We know many of the judges and prosecutors in both of these courts as well as the police officers and state troopers who are dedicated to the DUI task forces in Austell and Cobb County.

Through our relationships and experience, we have been able to maneuver through the Austell and Cobb County court system and consistently negotiate favorable decisions for our clients.  View our recent success stories here.  When a trial is necessary, we vigorously and aggressively fight for a favorable jury decision.

If you were charged with DUI, and the officer gave you a 30-day temporary license and notified the Department of Driver Services of your DUI arrest, then you have only TEN BUSINESS DAYS from the date of your arrest to send a letter to request an Administrative License Suspension (ALS) Hearing to try to save your Georgia driver’s license from being suspended.  Otherwise, your Georgia driver’s license will be suspended once your 30-day temporary license expires.   This suspension could be for a full year and could leave you WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF GETTING A LIMITED DRIVING PERMIT.  You can request a free “10 Day Letter” to be emailed to you here:  10 Day Letter Request Page.  Or if you prefer, our firm will send in this “10-day” letter for you for free.  You only need to provide us with the necessary information and pay the $150 fee that the State of Georgia requires for submitting a request for an ALS Hearing.

We offer you a FREE consultation by phone or in person to discuss your DUI case.  If you call our firm, you will speak with an experienced Austell DUI attorney directly.  We will not hand you off to some junior attorney with whom you have never spoken. We will handle all aspects of your very important case personally. You deserve total representation from the experienced attorney with whom you consulted and hired, not from a junior associate.

We wish to highlight the seriousness of this DUI charge and importance of speaking with a Acworth DUI attorney and Cobb County DUI attorney.  Regardless of how hopeless you think your case may be, you owe it to yourself to discuss your case with an experienced Austell attorney / Cobb County attorney.  We are passionate about working hard to get a favorable result in every case we take on.  Call us at 404-993-9172 now to set up an appointment at your convenience.  You have nothing to lose by calling and potentially a lot to gain.  We look forward to hearing from you and helping put your mind at some ease during this difficult time of yours.

AUSTELL MUNICIPAL COURT

From Austell Municipal Court website:

Chief Judge:  David Darden
Solicitor:  Leann MacDougall
Clerk of Court:  Carolyn Duncan

Austell Municipal Court is the judicial branch of the City Government of Austell.  Charged with the responsibility of processing all traffic citations and misdemeanor state law violations issued by the Austell Police Department, the Court convenes three times each month.  The Court also processes ordinance violations issued by the city’s Code Enforcement Officer as well as preparing dockets and collecting fines and fees.

Court Sessions:  All court dates are scheduled for Thursday evenings at 6:00 PM.  The first two Courts of each month are set aside for arraignment of charges and trials are held at the third Court each month.

Jurisdiction and Powers of the Court as set forth in Section 4.13 of the City Charter:

(1) The municipal court shall try and punish violations of all city Ordinances.

(2) The municipal court shall have authority to punish those in its presence for contempt.

(3) The municipal court may fix punishment for offenses within its jurisdiction including fine of an amount up to the maximum of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment for up to a maximum of six (6) months, or both, or may sentence any offender upon conviction to labor for the city on the streets, sidewalks, squares, parks or other public places, or to do community service work for up to thirty (30) days per offense, or any combination of the foregoing.

(4) The municipal court may use the bail bond and fine schedule adopted by the City Council from time to time for the offenses specified.  For any reason, whether or not appearing on said schedule, the municipal court may impose, upon conviction, a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and imprisonment in the city jail not to exceed six (6) months and work for labor on the city public works or community service not to exceed thirty (30) days, either service not to exceed thirty (30) days, either or all or any part of either or all.  Whenever a person shall give bail for his or her appearance and shall fail to appear at the time fixed for trial, his or her bond shall be forfeited by the judge.  In the event that cash or property is accepted in lieu of bond for security for the appearance of a defendant at trial and if such defendant fails to appear at the time and place fixed for trial, the cash so deposited shall be, on order of the judge, declared forfeited to the city, or the property so deposited shall have a lien against it for the value forfeited, which lien shall be enforceable in the same manner and to the same extent as a lien for city property taxes.

(5) The municipal court shall have the authority to bind prisoners over to the appropriate court when it appears by probable cause that a state law has been violated.

(6) The municipal court shall have the same authority as superior courts to compel the production of evidence in the possession of any party to enforce compliance with its orders, judgments, and sentences and to administer such oaths as are necessary.

(7) The municipal court may compel the presence of all parties necessary to a proper disposal of each case by the issuance of summonses, subpoenas, and warrants which may be served and executed by any officer as authorized by the charter or by general state law.  The judge of the municipal court and the Mayor are authorized to issue warrants for the arrest of persons charged with offenses against any Ordinance of the city.

(8) The judge of the municipal court shall have the same authority as a magistrate of the state court of Cobb County to issue warrants for offenses against state laws committed with the City.

(9) The municipal court is specifically vested with all of the jurisdiction and powers throughout the entire area of this city granted by general state laws to Mayor’s, recorder’s, and police courts and particularly by such laws as authorized by the abatement of nuisances and prosecution of traffic of traffic violations.

Proper behavior in the Court Room:

• No food or drinks are allowed
• No hats
• Sunglasses should be removed
• Parents with noisy children or babies may be asked to step outside until their case is called
• Proper dress/attire is expected − no shorts, no tank tops, and no halter tops
• All cell phones, beepers, and pagers MUST be turned off

Before entering the Court Room, you will be required to walk through a metal detector at which time your bags or purse may be searched.  No weapons such as guns, knives, pepper spray, or tools are allowed.

The Austell Municipal Court treats everyone with equal dignity and respect during the proceedings and expects the public to treat Court personnel in the same manner.

Failure to answer the calendar will result in a $50.00 reset fee and suspension of your Georgia drivers license.

COBB COUNTY STATE COURT

Austell Municipal Court is a court of limited jurisdiction.  Motions to suppress and jury trials cannot be heard here.  Thus, if your case requires motions or a potential jury trial and cannot be settled in Austell Municipal Court, then a good option and strategy is to bind it over (transfer) to Cobb County State Court, as Cobb County State Court has jurisdiction to hear motions and jury trials.

Cobb County State Court, 12 E Park Sq, Marietta, GA 30090

Cobb County State Court

Cobb County State Court

ADMINISTRATIVE LICENSE SUSPENSION HEARING If you have been arrested for DUI and blew over the legal limit for someone of your age and drivers license class, then the law requires that the arresting officer give you a temporary license (8.5 x 11 yellow paper).  This temporary license is known as form DS-1205 and also acts to serve notice to you that your license will be suspended 30 days from arrest unless you send in $150 to the Georgia Department of Drivers Services requesting an Administrative License Suspension (ALS) Hearing.

An ALS Hearing is a civil action taken by the State of Georgia to try to suspend your license before the adjudication (resolution) of your criminal DUI case.  The administrative license suspension case is an important and, frequently, a critical part of your DUI case. The hearing upon the administrative license suspension action can provide valuable information in the defense of your Georgia DUI charge. With the filing of a request for hearing within 10 days from the date of arrest, your driving privileges are extended beyond the 30 days, which your temporary permit is valid for. The administrative license suspension case can play a crucial role in how you proceed in the criminal portion of your DUI case.

If you received a yellow 30-day temporary license and your license was confiscated, then you have only TEN BUSINESS DAYS from the date of your arrest to send a letter to the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicle Safety to request an administrative license suspension (ALS) hearing to try to save your license from being suspended. Otherwise, your license will be automatically suspended once your 30-day temporary license expires. This suspension could be for a full year and could leave you WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF GETTING A LIMITED DRIVING PERMIT.

Our firm will send in this 10-day letter for you for free. You only need to provide us with the necessary information and pay the $150 fee that the State of Georgia requires for submitting a request for an ALS hearing. If you prefer to mail in the letter yourself, you can request this  “10 Day Letter” for free. This “10 Day” Letter contains all of the elements needed to preserve your rights to an ALS hearing.

The strategy on how to handle an ALS Hearing is important, as it can dictate how your criminal DUI case proceeds.  Our Acworth DUI attorneys and Cobb County DUI attorneys know the strategies and tactics necessary to provide you with solid advice on how to proceed with your ALS Hearing.  We will review your case thoroughly and decide on the strategy that best suits your individual and unique case.  Contact the Towe Law Firm at 404.993.9172 to discuss your DUI case and ALS case with experienced DUI attorneys.

In the overwhelming majority of the ALS Hearing cases that the Towe Law Firm has handled, we have been able to prevent our clients’ licenses from being suspended at the hearing.  Therefore, you will be in great hands if we handle your case.  Call us at 404.993.9172 to for a free consultation on your DUI and ALS cases today.

Click Here To Request The 10 Day Letter