Tiffany Haddish has resolved a nearly five-year-old driving under the influence case in Georgia by pleading guilty to a reduced charge. The 46-year-old comedian appeared virtually in court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to "DUI driving less safe."
As part of a plea agreement, Haddish will avoid jail time and instead serve one year of probation. Her sentence also includes completing a DUI course and 40 hours of community service. She is further ordered to abstain from drugs and alcohol and to submit to testing. Haddish will periodically report to probation officials by phone, though this requirement may be reviewed after six months.
Haddish's driving privileges in Georgia have been suspended as part of the sentence. The case stems from an arrest in the early hours of January 14, 2022, in Peachtree City, Georgia. Authorities were alerted to a driver on the highway who appeared to be asleep at the wheel. Haddish was pulled over after stopping in the yard of a home and taken into custody, later posting bond.
In May 2024, Haddish's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the DUI arrest, arguing that her constitutional right to a speedy trial had been violated due to significant delays in the legal proceedings. Her legal team contended that the case's slow pace was "presumptively prejudicial" according to Georgia legal statutes and that no orders had been issued for over two years following a motion to suppress hearing. Lawyers for Haddish also stated that prosecutors had filed motions to continue the case twice in the previous year and that Haddish's team had repeatedly declared readiness for trial and followed up on undetermined rulings.
The defense also argued that the unresolved case had resulted in lost business opportunities and complicated Haddish's ability to obtain travel clearances for work. Her attorneys stated that she had encountered difficulties securing necessary travel documents for certain countries that viewed a pending case as a concern, citing recent issues with travel to Australia. The legal team further noted that the passage of time could affect the reliability of memories relevant to the case.
This Georgia case concluded nearly two years after Haddish was arrested in Beverly Hills, California, on November 24, 2023, for allegedly driving under the influence with her engine running. In that incident, she was charged with improper stopping on a roadway and believed to be under the influence of marijuana. Haddish ultimately accepted a plea deal for reckless driving and received probation.