If you’ve been arrested for DUI in Georgia, one of your first questions is likely: What happens next? Understanding the process from start to finish can make a stressful situation feel much more manageable.
Step One: Your Driver’s License
The first and most urgent issue is your driver’s license. If the officer took your physical license and issued you a yellow 1205 form, that means they are initiating an Administrative License Suspension (ALS).
You have 30 days from the date of arrest to take action. Within that window, you must choose one of the available options to prevent your license from being automatically suspended. This is the first major deadline in your case — and missing it can have immediate consequences.
Step Two: Arraignment
After the license issue, the case moves into the court process. The next formal step is called arraignment. At arraignment, the judge:
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Advises you of the charges
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Informs you of your right to an attorney
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Asks whether you plead guilty or not guilty
If you hire our firm, we typically waive arraignment in advance and enter a not guilty plea on your behalf. This preserves your right to a jury trial and allows us to begin preparing your defense immediately.
Step Three: Calendar Call or Pre-Trial Conference
As the case progresses, you’ll be scheduled for a calendar call or pre-trial conference. This is essentially a status update with the court. During this hearing, we inform the judge:
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Whether we have received and reviewed all the evidence
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Whether negotiations are ongoing
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Whether additional time is needed
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Or whether the case is ready for a motions hearing or trial
From there, the case continues through motions, negotiations, or trial preparation, depending on the strategy and the facts involved.
Every DUI case follows its own path, but understanding these major stages — the license issue, arraignment, and pre-trial proceedings — gives you a clear roadmap of how the process unfolds.
