If you were arrested in the city limits of Sandy Springs, GA for a misdemeanor DUI, your case will start in Sandy Springs Municipal Court. This court is located at 7840 Roswell Road, Building 500, Sandy Springs, Georgia 30350. The phone number is (770) 206-2075. The court is located in the Morgan Falls Business Park just north of the intersection of Roswell Road and Morgan Falls Road. The building is directly behind the Sandy Springs Police Department and shares a parking lot. Look for the signs pointing you to the court. One of our veteran Sandy Springs DUI lawyers represent clients in this courtroom all the time, and have worked with all of the judges and prosecutors.
The current judges in Sandy Springs Municipal Court are Judge Candiss Howard, Donald Schaefer, Sharon Dickson, Marcie Ernst, and Joseph Burford. No jury trials are conducted in this court.
At your first court appearance before one of the judges above, you must enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest. This proceeding is known as a DUI arraignment. You do not have to appear in person at your arraignment to enter a plea. Your lawyer will appear on your behalf and enter a not guilty plea for you. This arraignment begins the long fight to save your driver’s license and keep a damaging drunk driving conviction off your permanent record.
Do not go into court alone and plead guilty. If you do you face very stiff Georgia DUI penalties, including possible jail time, driver’s license loss, community service, DUI school, and court fines. Even a first-ever DUI in Georgia is a serious criminal offense, despite what friends or other lawyers may tell you.
How We Can Negotiate a Favorable Plea in Sandy Springs Municipal Court
Once you call and talk to one of our veteran DUI attorneys, and before your arraignment, immediately we begin to attack the government’s case against you. We will ask you everything that happened during your arrest, from why you got pulled over to what happened while you were in jail. Every single piece of evidence is important and may be the key to negotiating a favorable plea with the Sandy Springs solicitor.
We will quickly file motions for discovery to get copies of all evidentiary material contained in the government’s file, including breathalyzer results, blood test results if a blood sample was drawn, and the police video that recorded your performance on field sobriety tests. This videotape evidence is crucial to your case. Typically we can see and hear if a Sandy Springs police officer read you your Georgia Implied Consent rights in a timely manner, what you said to the officer and what questions you were asked, and what actions the officer and other officers took during their investigation and eventual detainment.
Sandy Springs Municipal Court does not have jurisdiction to conduct jury trials. Either you plead guilty to all charges, or your attorney works out a negotiated plea agreement with the State. If no plea deals are forthcoming, you have the right to a 6-person jury trial. If your case goes to trial, it will be moved to a Fulton County court.
Court Rules and Scheduling Changes
The judicial system can be bewildering and tedious, and many court rules exist. DO NOT show up LATE for court, or not show up at all if you are required to appear. These actions can hurt your chances of winning a favorable plea in your case. If your attorney’s legal staff tells you that you must appear in court on a certain date and time, and you miss this session, the judge can issue a bench warrant for your arrest for failure to appear (FTA). You will be given plenty of notice from our legal staff as to when your next court appearance is required.
Your case may get postponed more than once, but this is how the legal system must operate to accommodate many drunk driving cases during any calendar session. Prepare to spend an entire day in court. Take notes, listen closely to what the attorneys and judge say, and always ask your drunk driving attorney any and all questions during a break.
Call now and speak directly to a top Sandy Springs DUI lawyer to learn more about the many proven ways to fight your charges. Get a FREE PDF copy of our 430-page “DUI Book” that explains everything you need to know about a Georgia impaired driving case. Call us at (844) 832-6384 day or night.
Copyright 2016, by DUI lawyer William C. Head, Atlanta, GA. Author of books on DUI law for a quarter of a century.