Schiavone Law Group P.C.

08/31/2026

Wise words for this week.

08/25/2026

Each DUI case is different in the state of Georgia, but there are a few common defense strategies that most lawyers use. Here are some of the most common approaches to defending your DUI arrest in Georgia courts.

Blood Alcohol Test accuracy
One of the most important pieces of evidence for the prosecution in a DUI case is the chemical blood or breath test. Although an important piece of evidence gathering for the State, these results are not always reliable or accurate. We can question the calibration of the machine, the methodology of testing and the chain of custody. We can investigate the training of the officer or phlebotomist in administering the test or toxicologist analyzing the results.

Read more: https://schiavonelawgroup.com/common-defense-strategies/

08/24/2026

08/17/2026

What's your dream that you have been putting off?

08/12/2026

Statistics change from year to year, but let’s take a look at recent data from 2024, reported by the Georgia Department of Driver Services. They report there were 19,497 total convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. (That number has gone down significantly in the past ten years, in 2007, there were 41,739 convictions.)

We can estimate from the data that the majority of those were first time DUI cases with no additional charges, such as an underage DUI or child endangerment. We have to estimate the number of arrest that law enforcement in Georgia made in the year 2024. It’s estimated that Georgia law enforcement arrested between 34,000 and 39,000 people for DUI in 2024.

https://schiavonelawgroup.com/georgia-dui-stats/

08/10/2026

Excellent advice for your Monday morning.

08/04/2026

Twenty-seven DUI cases were dismissed in Chatham County, Georgia this month! All because of a law enforcement scandal.

Four Georgia State Patrol troopers and a supervisor were fired earlier this year for filing fraudulent insurance claims for “injuries” they sustained performing PIT (Precision Immobilization Technique) maneuvers.

The four troopers collected nearly $100,000 in insurance money for filing claims for “injuries” such as stress, anxiety and soreness.

The twenty-seven cases were dropped because the fired officers did not respond to subpoenas for arrests they were involved in while working for the GSP. They were called upon to testify as witnesses. There are more than 150 more pending cases these same officers were involved in that are under review by the District Attorney’s office. They are currently working with Georgia State Patrol to see if there are additional officers that would be eligible to testify in place of the fired troopers.

Read the rest here: https://schiavonelawgroup.com/gsp-scandal-triggers-dui-dismissals/

08/03/2026

A great cause if you have been wanting to give!

07/30/2026

A recent arrest in Rome, Georgia shows just how unreliable a field sobriety test can be. It is a topic we often discuss with our clients, in the courtroom and to the public, but college student McClain Fineran knows it first hand. He was arrested on October 2, 2025, after failing a field sobriety test. But when the toxicology reports came back, there were no signs of alcohol, illegal drugs, or prescription drugs found in his system.

This story is one of several getting public attention lately, thanks to an investigation by WSB-TV. They interviewed one of my favorite expert DUI witnesses, Joshua Ott. He is a former Roswell police officer, and he spends a lot of time talking about field sobriety tests. That’s because studies show that these tests are about as accurate as a coin toss. In one 2023 study, officers had a 49% false-positive rates. In nearly half the cases, in other words, the officers interpreted the test to indicate that a sober person was intoxicated.

https://schiavonelawgroup.com/field-sobriety-tests-their-accuracy-a-recent-incident/

07/27/2026

Servant leadership motivation for your Monday.