Drunk Driving and Transport Crimes — Article 276
Article 276 of the Criminal Code of Georgia governs liability for violation of the rules of traffic safety or operation of transport. In intoxication-related cases the norm unites two directions: driving under the influence of narcotic, psychotropic or new psychoactive substances is an independent crime even without any consequence, while the influence of alcohol or these substances turns every consequence level of a rule violation into a separate, aggravated composition. When the accusation comes together with intoxication, the penalty range extends from a fine to twelve years of imprisonment, and the exact qualification becomes decisive for the outcome.
What Driving Under Influence Means Here
The first part of the article describes as a separate composition the driving of an automobile, tram, trolleybus, tractor or other mechanical vehicle under the influence of narcotic, psychotropic or new psychoactive substances — no consequence is required here: the very fact of driving in this state grounds criminal liability. A note to the article defines the establishment procedure precisely: influence of narcotic, psychotropic or new psychoactive substances is established by clinical and laboratory conclusions, and where the person refuses the laboratory examination — by the clinical conclusion alone. This means the foundation of the accusation is medical conclusions, and their completeness and lawfulness create the defence's room for work.
Sanctions Under Article 276 — Every Level
The article consists of nine parts:
- driving under the influence of narcotic, psychotropic or new psychoactive substances — a fine, or house arrest from six months to two years, or community service from two hundred to four hundred hours, or imprisonment for up to three years;
- a violation causing less grave bodily injury — a fine, or house arrest from six months to two years, or imprisonment for up to three years, with deprivation of the right to hold an official position or carry out an activity for up to three years or without it;
- the same act under the influence of alcohol or the listed substances — imprisonment from two to five years, with such deprivation for up to three years or without it;
- a violation causing grave bodily injury — a fine or imprisonment from three to five years, with deprivation for up to three years;
- the same under influence — imprisonment from four to six years, with deprivation for up to three years;
- a violation causing a person's death — imprisonment from four to seven years, with deprivation for up to three years;
- the same under influence — imprisonment from six to nine years, with deprivation for up to three years;
- a violation causing the death of two or more persons — imprisonment from six to ten years, with deprivation for up to three years;
- the same under influence — imprisonment from eight to twelve years, with deprivation for up to three years.
When Deprivation of Rights Applies
A note to the article determines that deprivation of the right to hold an official position or carry out an activity is applied as a penalty when the act was committed under the influence of alcohol. In practice this means that intoxication not only raises the penalty range at every level but also activates a special penalty against professional rights — for a driver, pilot or other specialist this also means career consequences.
What Is Fixed at the Scene and Why It Matters
In an intoxication-related incident the first hours are decisive: it is then that the clinical assessment is taken, the laboratory examination is appointed or a refusal of it is recorded, the scheme and photo documentation are drawn up, and the explanations of witnesses are written down. The quality of this material later remains practically unchanged: if the clinical conclusion is incomplete or contradicts other material, that defect travels all the way to the court and becomes an argument of the defence. This is why the driver's first steps — what he told the investigation, whether he signed documents, whether he requested his own examination — are reflected in the entire subsequent trajectory of the case. A consultation with a lawyer at this stage is not a luxury but a means of preserving one's position.
Defence Strategy in Intoxication Cases
In cases of this category the defence works on two rings. The first is the fact of influence: the completeness of the clinical and laboratory conclusions, compliance with the examination procedure, consistency between the conclusions, and — where the examination was refused — the quality of the clinical material. The second is causation: the technical and medical expert examination of the link between the violation and the consequence, the road environment, and the conduct of other participants. Work on both rings must begin at the early stage of the investigation, because it is early that the factual picture is fixed on which the court will later build its decision. Legal.ge represents your interests at every stage of the investigation and in court — contact us for a consultation.