Legal Process
What Happens After Arrest?
The 5-Stage Timeline
Being arrested is a traumatic experience, but the arrest is just the beginning of the legal process. Most people leave the jail with a handful of confusing paperwork and no idea what comes next. This guide walks you through exactly what happens from the moment you bond out to the final resolution of your case.
After arrival at the jail, you will be fingerprinted and photographed. You will remain in custody until “booking” is complete, which can take several hours depending on how busy the jail is.
Once booked, you will be allowed to post bail (bond). For a first DUI, this is usually a standard amount set by a schedule, meaning you don’t have to wait to see a judge. Keep all your paperwork. One of those papers is likely a citation with your court date, and another may be the “1205 Form” regarding your license.
This is the step most people miss. Even before your first court date, the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) is moving to suspend your license.
URGENT DEADLINE
You have 30 calendar days from the arrest to file an appeal letter. If you do nothing, your license will automatically be suspended on the 46th day.
We file this appeal immediately to freeze the suspension and request a hearing. This keeps you driving legally while we prepare your defense.
This is your first official court appearance. The judge will read the charges against you and ask how you plead.
Never plead guilty at arraignment. Doing so ends the case immediately, and you accept all penalties without seeing the evidence against you. We will enter a “Not Guilty” plea on your behalf. In many courts, we can file a waiver so you do not even have to miss work to attend this hearing.
This is where the real work happens. We demand the prosecutor hand over the “Discovery Package”: police reports, body cam videos, dash cam footage, and breathalyzer calibration logs.
We review this evidence frame-by-frame. If we find the officer had no legal reason to stop you, or performed the tests incorrectly, we file a Motion to Suppress. If the judge grants this motion, the evidence is thrown out, and the case is often dismissed.
Most DUI cases do not go to a jury trial. Once we have exposed the weaknesses in the state’s case, we negotiate with the prosecutor.
- Dismissal: The ideal outcome.
- Reduction: Charges lowered to Reckless Driving (saving your license).
- Trial: If they won’t offer a fair deal, we are ready to fight in front of a jury.
