If you have been arrested for DUI in the state of Georgia, there are several different scenarios you may face regarding your driver’s license. This is so because (contrary to popular belief) police officers are human beings. Not only do they make mistakes, but like all other animals, the police often choose the path of least resistance when doing their job.

When a police officer arrests someone for DUI in Georgia, they can confiscate their license in a couple of different circumstances. The most common are 1) If he refused to give a sample of his blood, breath, urine, or other bodily substance and/or 2) If he gave a sample and that sample came back .08 or higher. After seizing his license, the officer is supposed to provide him with a DDS 1205 form.

The confusion arises when the officer 1) Takes your license, but does not give you a 1205, 2) Does not take your license, but gives you a Form 1205, or 3) Takes your license and gives you a 1205 even though you do not comply. with none of the criteria to suspend your license.

In each and every one of the above situations, you MUST contact an experienced DUI attorney and get a 10-day letter sent to the Department of Driver Services as soon as possible.

As mentioned above, the police often choose the path of least resistance when doing their job (in other words, they are lazy). Administrative License Suspension (ALS) hearings are always during the day…and sometimes even in the evenings. The law enforcement officers who make the majority of DUI arrests, unsurprisingly, work at night. They, like everyone else, value their sleep. Attending an ALS hearing at 1 pm will seriously affect your sleep schedule or free time. They don’t want to prepare for these hearings and they don’t want to attend if they don’t have to. Therefore, the above “tricks” that they will employ to avoid going.

In scenario “1” above, if the officer takes your license, but does not give you a DDS 1205 form, he or she could still initiate license suspension proceedings without your knowledge. If he does not request his ALS Hearing, his license will be automatically suspended without his having to attend a hearing. The officer will get the benefit of suspending his license without having to do any work. If his license has been confiscated, he should call a reputable DUI law firm as soon as he is released from jail.

In scenario “2” above, where the officer does not take your license, but hands you the DDS 1205 form, this could just be sloppy police work. It could also be the officer’s attempt to make you believe that no action is being taken to suspend your license. If he walks out of jail with his license in hand, he might lull himself into a false sense of security thinking, “at least they didn’t take my license.” This is a mistake! If the officer files the DDS 1205 on his behalf, he has 10 days to respond or he could face a 1-year suspension. Review the paperwork you were given when he was released. If a DDS 1205 form is found among those documents, he should call a DUI defense attorney immediately.

Finally, in scenario “3”, sometimes the police just don’t know the law and/or sometimes they want to see if they can “sneak in” a suspension. Why? Because they can! This typically happens when a driver is arrested for DUI, consents to blowing the Intoxilyzer machine, and yet fails to blow a .08 or higher. The driver will still be charged with DUI Less Safe, but these circumstances (generally) do not warrant confiscation of a driver’s license (unless he is a commercial driver or under 21). If the officer still takes your license and/or gives you a Form 1205, he will face a 1-year suspension if he doesn’t respond within 10 days. He should consult with an experienced DUI attorney immediately upon his release from jail.

DUI is not only one of the most serious misdemeanors charged in the state of Georgia, but it is also one of the most complicated. You should not trust your case to a general practitioner without extensive DUI experience and training. Also, it is unexpected to try to handle these things yourself.