Athens GA DUI Law Blog

Talk to your teen about what to do (and not do) if arrested

On behalf of Jeff Rothman of Daniels & Rothman, P.C. posted in DUI First Offense on Tuesday, August 14, 2018.

If your daughter or son is starting college this fall, they may encounter new situations you hoped wouldn't be part of their college experience. One of those is getting pulled over by police for suspected drunk driving.

Police officers can be intimidating to people of all ages, but certainly to teens. Often, we assume that we must comply with whatever they tell us to do. That's not always the case. We all have legal rights and young people should learn how to assert those rights firmly but politely to avoid exacerbating their legal problems.

Do college students have privacy rights in their dorm rooms?

On behalf of Jeff Rothman of Daniels & Rothman, P.C. posted in Underage Drinking on Friday, August 3, 2018.

If you've got a son or daughter going off to college this fall, you're likely going to caution them, if you haven't already, about avoiding alcohol and drugs and those who use them. Even though underage drinking and drug use can be found on just about every college campus, they're still illegal.

This brings up the issue of privacy on campus. What if the police or college authorities suspect that students are engaged in illegal activity in a dorm room? Do they have the right to enter the room without students' permission?

College drinking and sexual assault

On behalf of Jeff Rothman of Daniels & Rothman, P.C. posted in Underage Drinking on Friday, July 20, 2018.

Most parents whose teens will be college freshmen in the fall are understandably concerned about the availability of alcohol on and around campus. Even though their kids are too young to legally drink, parents know from their own college years that it's not hard to find parties with copious amounts of alcohol — and no ID required.

Binge drinking is a particular concern. It can lead to alcohol poisoning and drunk driving. It can also lead to sexual assault. In one study that followed over 1,000 young college men through their first five semesters, approximately 18 percent admitted to committing at least one sexual assault during that time.

Congressional candidate open about his past Georgia DUI arrest

On behalf of Jeff Rothman of Daniels & Rothman, P.C. posted in DUI on Friday, July 6, 2018.

If you're facing DUI charges, it may feel like your life will never be the same. However, plenty of people who have been arrested for DUI achieve or continue their success in life and work. One such person is Brandon Brown.

Brown is the Democratic candidate for Congress in the 4th Congressional District of South Carolina. The 42-year-old isn't new to politics. In fact, he ran for that same seat back in 2004. He was the first African-American to do so. He didn't win, but went on to work for then-Sen. Joe Biden in his 2008 presidential bid.

Georgia teen facing multiple charges for fatal DUI

On behalf of Jeff Rothman of Daniels & Rothman, P.C. posted in DUI on Thursday, June 21, 2018.

One of the biggest fears that many Georgia parents have is that their child will get in a vehicle with a friend or acquaintance who's under the influence or get behind the wheel him/herself after drinking or using drugs.

That fear came true for the parents of two boys earlier this month. A 15-year-old boy was killed earlier this month. He would have been in the tenth grade next fall at Rome High School. He and his 12-year-old brother were in an SUV being driven by an 18-year-old.

Why your Breathalyzer results may not be accurate

On behalf of Jeff Rothman of Daniels & Rothman, P.C. posted in DUI First Offense on Thursday, June 7, 2018.

If you were pulled over for suspicion of drunk driving and the Breathalyzer test you took on the side of the road indicated that you have a blood alcohol content (BAC) of at least .08 percent, you may think there's no way you can fight that. However, Georgia DUI attorneys dispute Breathalyzer results regularly.

These tools rely on sensor technologies and are administered by humans. Neither is immune to error.

Vaping alcohol can increase your risk of a DUI

On behalf of Jeff Rothman of Daniels & Rothman, P.C. posted in DUI on Thursday, May 24, 2018.

Your friends have introduced you to a unique way to consume alcohol -- vaping. A vaporizer lets you feel the effects of the alcohol much faster and stronger than if you drank it. That's because it goes directly to your brain and bloodstream from your lungs.

If you can get drunk on less alcohol and it doesn't pass through your liver or stomach, that's a good thing, right? Wrong.

Alleged drunk driver charged with resisting officers, pulling gun

On behalf of Jeff Rothman of Daniels & Rothman, P.C. posted in DUI on Friday, May 11, 2018.

If you're pulled over by a law enforcement officer for suspected drunk driving, the last thing you should do is resist the officer in any way — and certainly not with a weapon. This can only make matters worse. Unfortunately, not everyone exercises good judgment when they're in that situation —

particularly if they are indeed under the influence.

Prom and graduation season brings teen DUIs

On behalf of Jeff Rothman of Daniels & Rothman, P.C. posted in Underage DUI on Thursday, April 26, 2018.

We're coming to the end of Alcohol Awareness Month, which coincides with the start of prom and graduation season. Both events are iconic in teens' lives. However, they're often associated with copious -- and often dangerous -- amounts of drinking. Too often, teens choose to drive when they're in no condition to, sometimes with tragic results.

We see news reports every spring of teens who are permanently injured and killed in drunk driving crashes. There are real statistics to back of that anecdotal evidence. One-third of all teen traffic violations and fatalities occur between April and June.

Parents can help prevent teen drinking this summer

On behalf of Jeff Rothman of Daniels & Rothman, P.C. posted in Underage Drinking on Thursday, April 12, 2018.

As Georgia teens count down the days until summer vacation, many parents are strategizing how to keep them busy and out of trouble.

That trouble could involve alcohol. More young people have their first experience drinking alcohol during June or July than any other month of the year -- over 11,000 according to estimates from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).