Question:   I got arrested in Forsyth County for DUI over the weekend.  I was actually arrested in Cumming by a Forsyth County deputy sheriff.  I'm worried because it's not my first DUI.  I got a DUI in Forsyth about 8 years ago.

This time I got pulled over for speeding on Georgia 400.  I was just coming back from dinner with my wife and we had the convertible top down and the music was playing loudly and I drove a little too fast.  The cop said I was going 30 miles over the speed limit but I think it was more like 20 miles per hour over.  I know that probably doesn't matter.

Since this is my second drunk driving arrest I'm concerned about what can happen to me.  I don't think I'm an alcoholic, but I need to watch my drinking. 

Is a second DUI arrest really that much different than a first arrest?  I'm a doctor at Northside Hospital in Forsyth and if the penalties are severe I might lose my job.

T.P. in Cumming

Answer:   Under Georgia law, penalties for DUI increase with each subsequent DUI charge.  A second DUI charge carries greater penalties than a first, and a third has greater penalties than a second, and so forth.

Some of the penalties that increase with each DUI include jail time, community service hours and probation.  We have handled many cases in Forsyth County and it's important, particularly on cases involving previous DUI's, that an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the case be performed early on by an experienced DUI lawyer.  That will help with either negotiating a plea or with taking the matter to trial.

Your DUI case will be heard by a Forsyth County state court judge (Judge Russell McClelland or Judge Leslie C. Abernathy-Maddox), and it will be prosecuted by the Forsyth County solicitor general's office.  The Forsyth solicitor general is Bill Finch.

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If you've been arrested for DUI you need a top-rated Forsyth County DUI lawyer.  That's us, and we're to help.  Call us anytime at 678-215-4106. 

If you have a question for a DUI attorney in Cumming, email it to us with some supporting facts (the more details you give, the more specific our response) and we'll do our best to answer it quickly.

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