If you have been accused of DUI in Decatur, you don’t have to face it alone. Price Law Firm PC will stand with you through each step of your case and fight to protect you from a DUI conviction.
Our firm has been representing clients charged with DUI in the Municipal Court of Decatur, Alabama for many years. Decatur Municipal Court DUI charges are somewhat different from DUI charges in Alabama’s State Courts. Decatur does not have its own specific DUI ordinance. Instead it has an ordinance that makes it a crime against the City of Decatur to do any act that is a misdemeanor under Alabama state law. This ordinance applies in Decatur’s city limits and police jurisdiction. (A copy of the entire ordinance can be found further down this page.) When the Decatur City Police charge you with DUI, they usually charge you with violating this ordinance, not with violating the Alabama’s DUI law directly.
The fact that you have been charged under Decatur’s ordinance is important because it means the penalties for a DUI conviction in the Decatur City Court can be quite a bit different than the penalties for a DUI in the Morgan County District Court. For example, the maximum fine for a first offense DUI in Alabama State Court (if no enhancement provisions apply) is $2,100. However, under Decatur’s ordinance, it is $5,000! The maximum jail sentence in the same situation is one (1) year in both Alabama State Court and Decatur City Court.
If you would like to know more about defending DUI charges in Decatur Alabama, we would be happy to speak with you.
Contact our office immediately to protect your license.
Decatur’s Ordinance Making DUI Illegal:
DECATUR, ALABAMA CODE OF ORDINANCES
Sec. 16-1. - State offenses adopted.
(a) Any person committing an offense within the corporate limits of the city or within the police jurisdiction thereof, which is declared by a law or laws of the state now existing or hereafter enacted to be a misdemeanor shall be guilty of an offense against the city.
(b) Any person committing an offense within the corporate limits of the city or within the police jurisdiction thereof, which is declared by a law or laws of the state now existing or hereafter enacted to be a violation, shall be guilty of an offense against the city.
(c) Any person committing within the corporate limits of the city or within the police jurisdiction thereof, an offense as defined by section 13A-1-2 of the Alabama Criminal Code (Title 13A, Code of Alabama, 1975, as amended), which offense is not declared by a law or laws of the state now existing or hereafter enacted to be a felony, misdemeanor or violation, shall be guilty of an offense against the city.
(d) Any person found to be in violation of subsections (a), (b) or (c) of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) and/or may be imprisoned or sentenced to hard labor for the city for a period not exceeding six (6) months, at the discretion of the court trying the case, unless otherwise provided by subdivision (e) of this section. Any corporation found to be in violation of subsections (a), (b) or (c) of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), at the discretion of the court trying the case.
(e) Any person found to be in violation of section 32-5A-191, Code of Alabama, 1975, as amended, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) and/or may be imprisoned or sentenced to hard labor for no more than one year.
(Code 1956, § 19-68; Ord. No. 2207, § 1, 12-17-79; Ord. No. 83-2356, § 1, 8-15-83)
State law reference— Penalties for violations, Code of Ala. 1975, § 11-45-9.
If you are looking for a DUI attorney to defend against charges in Decatur City Court or a DUI in the Morgan County District Court, contact us today!
