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Editor: Bob Battle
Profession: DUI Defense Lawyer

Category: Celebrity DUI

Before he deals with the players on the Georgia Tech football roster, he needs to settle some personal issues.

Former Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton was charged with marijuana possession, driving under the influence and hit-and-run by university police last week, days after being hired as the athletic department's assistant director of player personnel, according to the Associated Press.
"The matter is under investigation," Georgia Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich said. "An appropriate action will be taken upon completion of the investigation."

Hamilton, 31, also was charged with having an open bottle of beer in his vehicle when arrested by Georgia Tech police. He is in custody at the Fulton County jail. Police stopped Hamilton after his sport-utility vehicle matched the description of a car involved in an alleged hit-and-run. When apprehended, Hamilton told officers he hit another car from behind. He then failed field sobriety tests. At the precinct, Hamilton recorded blood-alcohol concentration levels of 0.193 and 0.199, according to the police. The legal limit in Georgia is 0.08, the AP reported.

Hamilton led the Yellow Jackets to the 1998 Atlantic Coast Conference championship and finished second in the 1999 Heisman Trophy voting. Hamilton's post at Tech includes the recruitment of high school athletes.

The alleged hit-and-run collision occurred near the Georgia Tech campus. Charles Curry Jr. of Decatur told police he was stopped at a red light when he was hit from behind. Curry said the motorist drove off. A witness of the accident noted the license plate number of the vehicle that fled the scene. Later, that vehicle turned out to bear Hamilton's license plate number, said the AP.

Hamilton earned a history, technology and society degree from Tech last year. He played briefly in the National Football League and the Arena Football League, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.