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DUI Defense
A Georgia DUI arrest starts two cases on two clocks: the criminal charge, and a separate administrative fight for your driver’s license that can be lost by doing nothing.
The Approach
The license clock runs out before your first court date.
After a DUI arrest, you generally have 30 days to request an administrative license hearing or elect an ignition interlock option. Miss the window and your driving privilege can be suspended before the criminal case even begins. That is why the first call matters more in DUI cases than almost any other charge.
On the criminal side, DUI cases are won on details: the basis for the stop, how the field sobriety tests were administered and scored, whether the implied consent notice was read correctly and at the right moment, and how the breath or blood sample was collected, stored, and tested. Each one is a point of attack, and Mitch Skandalakis has spent four decades examining how the State builds these cases, from both sides of the aisle.
A DUI conviction stays on a Georgia criminal history. Before you accept a quick plea, know what the evidence actually shows.
What we handle
Every kind of Georgia DUI case.
- First DUIFirst-offense cases where the record, the license, and insurance are all on the line.
- Repeat DUISecond and subsequent offenses, where penalties escalate sharply.
- Refusal casesArrests where the chemical test was refused and the implied consent warning becomes the battleground.
- Drug DUILess-safe-driver cases built on officer opinion and lab work rather than a number.
- Under-21 DUIGeorgia’s lower limit for drivers under 21, and the consequences that follow students.
- CDL driversCases where a commercial license, and a livelihood, is at stake.
Questions
Before you call.
Will I lose my license?
Not automatically. The administrative suspension is a separate process with its own deadline, and acting within the 30-day window preserves your options, including the hearing and interlock elections.
Is a first DUI worth fighting?
Usually, yes. A DUI conviction stays on a Georgia criminal history, affects insurance for years, and cannot be undone later. Whether to fight, and how, depends on what the stop, the testing, and the video actually show.
Did I have to take the roadside tests?
Field sobriety exercises are voluntary, and refusing them is not a crime. The state chemical test after arrest is governed by implied consent, with consequences that depend on how the notice was given.
Contact
Talk to a trial lawyer today
Tell us what you are facing. We will tell you where you stand and what to do next.
Canton Office
101 Woodland Way, Suite 1C
Canton, GA 30114
Phone: (770) 693-8715
Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Florida office, by appointment:
1831 NW 33rd Street
Oakland Park, FL 33309
Request a consultation
Confidential. No obligation. We respond during business hours, usually the same day.
Criminal and civil matters go directly to Mitch Skandalakis. Prefer the phone? Call (770) 693-8715.