Part Eight - Anatomy of DUI Defense in Fulton County, The verdict and what to do after your trial

After your jury trial in Fulton County State Court or your bench trial in Fulton County State or in municipal court, hopefully you were found not guilty. Your DUI Attorney in Fulton County did a great job on your case. Now being found not guilty is not the end of your case. You need to make sure that your record is cleared and your right to drive is restored. These things do not necessarily happen on their own.

Most people rightfully think that if they are found not guilty, the least the government can do is to make sure their record keeping reflects that very truth. For some reason people forget that these are the same people who run the DMV and the Post Office!!

Government is not all bad, and I am not anti-government. However, to think that the 9-5 people who work in government care about your case or your criminal records or your right to drive, then you don't understand the 9-5 government worker. They don't mean to mess up the records, but after 5:00 p.m. they don't care if they did.

If you are found not guilty, get 3 certified copies of the disposition from the Fulton County Clerk of State Court. Certified copies mean copies with a court seal. It is important that the clerk of court deal each and every page. You may run into the lazy resistance of the government worker. Nicely ask them for the seal on each page. Put the first copy in your safe deposit box. The second copy should be taken by you to the Department of Drivers services when you get back your license. The Third copy should be given to the Fulton County DUI Attorney.

In the event the record keeping is not correct years later, you will have the resources necessary to correct the mistake. If you count on the Clerk of Court having the correct records (in the event of a record-keeping error) remember these are people who screwed up the records in the first place!

Another issue to consider is expungement of your Fulton County DUI Arrest. If you are found not guilty of each and every offense charged, you are entitled to expungement of the arrest itself. Expungement means removing the arrest itself from your criminal record. Otherwise, your criminal record will show the arrest itself with the disposition showing not guilty. It is far better for it to show nothing at all. However, the problem is that if you are found guilty of any underlying offense such as speeding or failure to maintain lane, you, unfairly, cannot get an expungement.

Your final step is to run a copy of your criminal history and driver's history to make sure everything is reflected correctly. As for the criminal history, DO NOT TRY TO GET IT ONLINE. ONLINE CRIMINAL HISTORY WEBSITES ARE THE DEN OF IDENTITY THIEVES. YOU ARE GIVING ANONYMOUS PEOPLE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, NAME AND DATE OF BIRTH. DON'T DO IT!! Go to your local police department in person and get the history. If your local department does not do it, the one in the next town will. As for your driver's license, you can go to the website for the Georgia Department of Drivers Services.

If you are arrested for DUI in the Metro Atlanta – Fulton County Area contact a Fulton County DUI Lawyer.Contact Fulton County DUI Lawyer Richard Lawson 24/7 for a free consultation.