Question: I'm writing to you about my daughter.  She was arrested for DUI in Marietta after spending the day and most of the night with her sorority sisters in bars in Buckhead, Dunwoody and Alpharetta.  I told her not to drink and drive but she drank and drove some of the girls around.  She said she was the least drunk of the whole group of 7 girls.  They all attend the University of Georgia and I don't think they ever get into trouble.

My daughter told me that they actually had a drinking contest to see who could drink the most beer and tequila.  She said she just had a few and that was it.  Anyway, she was stopped coming home after taking the last girl home.  She was also charged with possession of pot.

I have read about first offender and wanted to know if she could use it to help her.  She said that she has friends who have used first offender for marijuana and even shoplifting.  Can she use first offender for DUI?

Answer: “First offender” cannot be used for a DUI offense.  The favorable provisions of O.C.G.A. §§ 17-10-3 and 42-8-60, as related to probation of first offenders, do not apply to DUI.  Sims v. State, 214 Ga. App. 443, 448 S.E.2d 77 (1994).

However, she may be able to utilize first offender for the pot charge.  Her attorney may be able to use “conditional discharge” for that charge.  Certainly, first offender should be a tool in the arsenal of any criminal and DUI lawyer.

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