The Ranger on Vale Royal Drive
It was June and it was late. It was eleven at night in Effingham County, near Springfield. My client was driving a black Polaris Ranger. It had no tag.
An Effingham County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped him. The deputy believed he was drunk. He said so on his Effingham County tickets. He wrote that he believed it from what he saw. The ticket shows no breath test. It shows no blood test.
They took him to jail that night.
In the morning he had six charges. DUI less safe. Driving an off-road vehicle on the road. An open container. No proof of insurance. No tag. Improper equipment.
A DUI conviction is a hard thing in Georgia. It follows a man. It takes his license. It can take his job. With the other charges stacked on top, he was looking at years behind bars.
He hired me.
The case went to the State Court of Effingham County. We went to work on it. The DUI rested on what one deputy believed he saw in the dark. That is not nothing. But it is not a breath test either.
On October 8, 2026, the case ended. The Solicitor General of Effingham County was very reasonable to my client.
The DUI was reduced to reckless driving. The other five charges were dismissed. All five.
He got twelve months of probation. He paid a fine. He will do community service and some classes. He did not go back to jail. The night of his arrest was the only night he spent there.
There is no DUI on his record. He keeps his license. He goes to work. He goes home.
That is how it should end. Not every case ends that way. This one did.
If you were arrested for DUI in Effingham County, Georgia call me. The night you were arrested is not the end of it.
Here are the links to the Judgement:
DUI reduced to reckless driving in Effingham County. Five other charges dismissed.
DUI reduced to reckless driving in Effingham County. Five other charges dismissed page 2
