How College Students Are Beating First Offense DUI Charges Quietly

How College Students Are Beating First Offense DUI Charges Quietly

An arrest for DUI can have far-reaching repercussions that impede student’s career goals and education, including jail time, fines, license suspension and potential scholarships being taken away from them.

Students need to fully comprehend the consequences of DUI charges and seek legal guidance from an experienced college attorney in Georgia to protect themselves. An experienced Georgia college lawyer can help them defend against both criminal and university level charges with ease.

Shoplifting

College students face different legal standards than adults when it comes to driving under the influence, requiring much lower blood alcohol content (BAC) levels before being charged with DUI and potentially subject to harsher penalties in case they are arrested and convicted. An arrest can have serious repercussions for their academic standing as well as employment prospects in addition to any criminal repercussions.

If the arrest occurs on campus, many universities have strict policies regarding student DUIs that could result in disciplinary action such as suspension or expulsion from school, which would prevent them from continuing their studies. A DUI could also prevent them from earning professional degrees such as law or nursing by making them ineligible for government-funded scholarships.

DUI can rob a student of other opportunities for educational growth, including work-study jobs or internships that require background checks that reveal an arrest or conviction for DUI, and private scholarship programs may have rules regarding these cases. A good attorney can assist students by developing creative defense strategies against these allegations – for instance challenging traffic stop legality or questioning breathalyzer accuracy as some medical conditions interfere with breathalyzer results and make it more difficult to detect intoxication.

Possession of Marijuana

Georgia law considers any person charged with marijuana possession to have either actually or constructively possessed it, with either type being considered possession depending on whether it can be proven that either was in your pocket, purse, home, vehicle, or business – meaning if they occupy these places and possess both dominion and control over them then they are considered owners/possessors of marijuana in these locations.

Last year, marijuana cases comprised only about one percent of Athens Clarke County misdemeanor cases in Athens Clarke County; however, almost 40 percent involved college-aged people. This may be because many students possess small amounts of marijuana – something not illegal in most states – yet even first-time offenses could carry serious legal repercussions for these young adults.

As previously discussed, having a DUI on your record can severely impair future employment prospects and professional licensing opportunities. Furthermore, it could impede eligibility for private scholarship programs that require disclosure of criminal convictions; if you’re a student it could even result in you being expelled for violating their drug policy – an attorney from Jim Yeargan Law Firm with expertise handling criminal charges for college students can protect both their rights and future in this way.

Mishandling of Chemical Tests

College students face unique difficulties when facing DUI convictions, including legal penalties like fines and license suspension, job/scholarship opportunities lost and separate disciplinary actions taken against them by colleges such as suspension/expulsion from campus programs/even barrering of their graduation rights.

DUI convictions will appear on a student’s permanent record, potentially creating problems when applying to graduate or professional schools in fields like nursing and medicine, where licensing requirements often include information on prior convictions that raise character fitness issues.

One of our Clients, a college student with a 4.0 GPA and full academic scholarship, was arrested for drunk driving in Atlanta. Unfortunately, she tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a plea to reckless driving with the State Attorney’s Office before she turned her case over to Bubba Head who filed a statutory speedy trial demand in order to preserve employment and scholarship opportunities in her final year of college.

Mr. Head was successful in winning his trial by exposing flaws in the officer’s administration of field sobriety tests, including horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN), walk and turn, and one-legged stand evaluations. His evidence showed that numeric results from hand-held breathalyzer machines are NOT admissible because they were not taken using an approved “forensic device”, and that she failed to adhere to instructions provided in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Manual on administering such exams.

University Hearings

An off-campus DUI conviction can have significant repercussions for college students. Many universities require applicants to disclose any criminal adjudications; additionally, conviction may have an impactful repercussions for future employment or education opportunities such as internships or work-study programs; in some cases it could even impact private scholarships or financial aid options available to the individual.

Georgia considers drunk driving to occur if an individual’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeds 0.08% for adults over 21 and 0.02 for drivers aged 21 or under, depending on their age and other circumstances, including whether they have prior DUI convictions. First-time offenders often receive fines, community service hours and possibly jail time while repeat offenses often carry severer punishment such as license suspension and mandatory ignition interlock devices.

Drug addiction, medical issues, or other circumstances that impede one’s ability to drive safely can have serious repercussions for their lives. A good legal defense strategy may help lessen the long-term ramifications of a DUI or hit-and-run conviction by challenging legality of traffic stops and the accuracy of breath or field sobriety tests; challenging long jail terms and fines is also key; penalties enforced by legal systems reflect their gravity and deter people from taking unnecessary risks behind the wheel.