Monday, June 24, 2013

Felony Offense Lawyer

Question: My son was in a alcohol and drug rehab facility and then went to an outpatient facility that they had for extended care. He had been doing well and over the christmas holidays he had asked to have a weekend pass over New Year''s to come home and go with us to a bowl game. They denied his request. It had been his first year ever away from us at the holidays. Long story short, he went out and got drunk plus was given some pills. He and another member at the facility went to the mall and since Sanford was pretty much out of it he went into a video store and took some games and candy even when he had money in his wallet. The merchandise was taken back before they arrested him. He woke up the next day in jail not knowing what he had done. His counselor bailed him out and we hired him a lawyer. The amount of merchandise was approximately $300 because of the candy. The lawyer told us that he was going to ask for some kind of deal where if Sanford completed everything he would not have felony on his record. We had no idea that this was a possibility until they said they had lowered the limit to $300. I was there when he talked to the lawyer and at the hearing and we both we thought we understood everything. He has been working for four years, gotten married, and gone back to school. They were thinking about moving because he works for Sea Island as a caddy and they had an opening at Reynolds plantation but it came up that there was a felony on his record. His probation was transferred to Brunswick when he got a job down there. He thought everything was OK. He has really made a change in his life. Unfortunately, we can not get in touch with his lawyer who did this work. He was an older gentleman at the time and he has called and called, sent e-mails, etc. Our question is what are the options for him to see if he can get this erased or dropped to a misdemeanor since he and I were under the impression that is what would happen.. He just turned 27 and has about worried himself to death about this. Should he hire another lawyer or contact the courts. His original probation officer in Statesboro has retired so there is no one that is real familiar with his case.

Answer: He is going to have to hire an attorney. He may be able to have the plea withdrawn if the plea is less than four years old. If it is more than 4 years old, he might be out of luck.

Calendar Call - Court dates

Jury trials are a logistical nightmare.  The prosecutor must gather all of the state’s witnesses, each of whom has his own life, employment issues and childcare issues.  The defense must gather all of the defense witnesses, some of whom must come from outside of the state.  The judge, with the help of the bailiffs, must make sure all of the jurors appear in court to hear the testimony of all of the witnesses.  The court reporter must be present to take everything down.  So, she can create a transcript later.  The sheriff is present to provide security in the courtroom, and make sure anyone needed from the jail is transported.  If anyone is missing, everything grinds to a halt.  Jury trials are a logistical nightmare.

Because of the logistical demands of a jury trial, courts have created court dates known as calendar calls, where criminal cases are called to court, so all attorneys (prosecutors and defense attorneys) can announce if they are actually ready for a jury trial.  If the prosecutor or defense attorney is NOT ready to go to trial, the respectiveattorney must explain why he is not ready to go to trial, and when he might expect to be ready to go to trial.  Ifboth the prosecutor and defense attorney are ready for jury trial, the judge will either tell  both parties:  (1) report for jury trial on a date certain; or (2) they are on-call, which means they should be ready in the event that the cases which have actually been called in for trial resolve themselves short of jury trial.
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Thursday, June 20, 2013

Drug Defense Attorney Lawrenceville

Question: Can the court system in Georgia issue a drug screen on somebody with a pending charge for possession of marijuana before the posted court date?

Answer: Yes, if the "somebody" has any type of pre-trial bond progarm. I recommend that you retain an attorney.

Bond Hearing

If the Magistrate Court judge cannot set a bond pursuant to O.C.G.A. 17-6-1 (charges that only a Superior Court judge can set bond on, include murder, rape, aggravated sodomy, armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, trafficking cocaine/heroin/meth/ecstasy, aggravated stalking), the defense attorney may file a bond motion, and request a bond hearing date before a Superior Court judge.  The Superior Court judge will conduct a pre-trial bond hearing, where judge will consider four factors:
(1)    Defendant’s criminal history, and the likelihood that he/she is a risk to commit additional felonies while on bond;

(2)    Defendant’s history of missing court dates, and the likelihood that he/she will flee from the jurisdiction of the court, or fail to appear in court when required;

(3)    Defendant’s character, and the likelihood that he/she poses a threat or danger to any person, to the community or to any property in the community; and


(4)    Defendant’s propensity for violence, and the likelihood that he/she will intimidate witnesses or otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Felony Defense Attorney in Lawrenceville

Question: In the state of Georgia, Carroll County how can you be charge with convicted felony with possession of firearm and there''s no gun?

Answer: (1) Someone sees you with a gun

(2) You text a photo of you and a gun

(3) You brag to someone at a bar about possessing a gun

(4) Someone sees a gun inside of your home

(5) 100 other ways.

Answered by Lawrence Lewis - Felony Defense Attorney in Lawrenceville

First Appearance

The first appearance hearing normally occurs within forty-eight hours of an arrest.  It is the first court date after a person has been arrested for either a misdemeanor or felony offense.  The brief hearing normally takes place at the jail, where the person detained will be: (1) told his charges; (2) told his bond amount (if any); and (3) asked about representation.    

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

ShoShoplifting Attorney Gwinnett County

Question: I was with a minor that was shoptlifting. I didn''t know she was shoplifting. I was picking out clothes for her and she was trying on stuff and I was holding her purse for her as well as mine. We switched purses mistakigly and she ended up putting things in her purse as well as mine. We walked out the store and were stopped the man said he saw her putting stuff under her dress. They are charging me with shoplifting and I have to go to court what should I plea?

Answer: You should plead guilty for being clueless: (1) no prosecutor or judge is going to believe that you are in a store with a shoplifter, and you don''t know anything about it, and are being used to assist in the shoplifting; (2) no attorney shoudl believe that is what occurred; and (3) IF it did occur, you have the worse judgment in friend selection. You cannot plead not guilty, because you cannot try the case yourself. You cannot plead not guilty because you do not intend to retain an attorney. You cannot plead not guilty, because you have no intention of telling your public defender the truth. So, plead guilty, get probation and explain ti to your future employers why you have a shoplifting conviction. Good Luck.

Answered by Lawrence Lewis - Theft Defense Attorney in Lawrenceville

How do I select a good attorney?

If you are searching websites for an attorney to represent you in a criminal matterpersonal injury case, worker''s compensation case, medical malpractice case, divorce case, or even real estate transaction, then you either:

[ ] do not know you should have a trusted family attorney, or family friend, that practices law, refer you to an attorney that can address your legal problem; or
[ ] do not have a trusted family attorney, or family friend, that practices law.
If you have a trusted family attorney, or family friend, that practices law, then you should forsake your electronic search for an attorney, and rely on your family friend''s legal acumen, experience and reputation in referring you to an attorney. 


First, attorneys respond to attorneys.  It is far easier to get an attorney to return another attorney''s phone call.  Each attorney recognizes that the other is busy, and will explain the issue in the most succinct manner possible.  The referring attorney will probably not minimize the legal problem, or the possible alternatives.  Neither will the referring attorney give an exasperating explanation of the legal problem, only to end with, "by the way, they have no money."  If the referring attorney violates these aforementioned rules, he will soon find that his colleagues will not return his phone calls.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Armed Robbery Defense Attorneys Atlanta

Question:  If in jail on arm robbery charges with no witnesses no evidence first time offender can you be convicted if u were coersed into a statement,in other words can u be convicted off of only a statement

Answer: No witnesses. The police do not have the person that was robbed at gun point. No, then you have nothing to worry about. The case will be dismissed. The robbery victim will appear in court. Then you are screwed, because they have an eye witness to the robbery, even if the robbery victim cannot ID you. Would you like to know how I know they have an eye witness to the crime, other than the victim? You told me. You testified against yourself when you admitted to the armed robbery. IF LA is anything like GA the entire confession is on DVD for the whole world to see. 

Top Five Reasons Not to Hire a DUI Attorney to Address Your Non-DUI

Potential clients seeking information about the criminal justice process often ask if I specialize in the exact offense with which they are charged.  Of course, no criminal defense attorney specializes in juvenile burglary cases, domestic violence between same sex partners cases, or grandparent child molestation cases.  The reality is there is probably not enough business in any particular area of criminal law to justify additional specialization beyond criminal defense.  I suspect this is true throughout the United States, with one exception: Driving Under the Influence (DUI). 

Driving under the influence (aka driving while intoxicated) is the one area where a number of attorney, especially young attorneys (i.e. graduated from law school in the last four years) choose to specialize.  I suspect there are a number of reasons for that: (1) there are a number of CLE (continuing legal education) classes that focus specifically on training attorneys to defend DUI classes; (2) attorneys that teach other attorneys how to defense DUI cases can justify fees charged for tuition by explaining the voluminous number of DUI arrests every month (DUI arrest numbers are monitored religiously, and that area of criminal defense is actively promoted); (3) DUIs represent the greatest number of police arrests every month, because in our culture “everything is better with alcohol;” (4) DUI clients come from every socio-economic group, and as such many can pay hefty fees for their DUI defense (unlike many criminal clients, DUI client have money to spend on their defense); and (5) unlike other clients, DUI clients are not folks who have had a great deal of contact with the justice system, so they are more anxious and frightened than the average criminal – a fact that the DUI attorney exploits to his advantage.  Irrespective of the reasons why, it is important to note there are more attorneys specializing in DUIs than in any other area of criminal defense.  Unfortunately, many of these DUI attorneys promote themselves as criminal defense attorneys, claiming that they can handle any type of misdemeanor, juvenile or felony case. 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Burglary Defense Attorney

Question: I have a felony burglary charge. What happens if the accuser decides not to press charges against me?

Answer: If you look at the warrant, indictment or other paperwork,it reads the State of Georgia v. YOU, not the VICTIM v. YOU. The victim is a witness for the prosecutor, not the prosecutor. If the witness fails to appear in court, the case will be dismissed. However, the prosecutor, in looking at the case or your record may put pressure on the witness to appear in court. Good luck

Can I trust my public defender?

Q: Can I trust my public defender?
A: MAYBE, it depends on your level of maturity.  There are a number of reasons the system does not work.

THE TOP FIVE REASONS THE PUBLIC DEFENDER SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK
When a criminal defendant indicates that he is unable to afford an attorney, the judge will often appoint an attorney.  This court appointed attorney represents the defendant at a minimal cost, often just the cost of appointment, which is currently fifty dollars ($50) in Georgia.  Irrespective of whether the indigent criminal defendant is represented by the public defender, court appointed counsel (private attorney that agrees to take court appointed work), or a conflict defender, the relationship is often strained, and the system fails to work.  There are a number of reasons the system does not work:

(5) Clients arrested for criminal offenses have poor judgment.  This should be no real surprise.  Some poor choice has led to the arrest.  Either the criminal client has elected to knowingly participate in criminal activity, OR associate with others who he knows frequently engage in criminal activity.  Either the criminal client has deliberately placed himself in a dangerous locale, OR has followed some friend to a den of iniquity.  I have yet to represent the honor student on his way home from chemistry lab that gets caught up in the drug raid.  I am sure some attorney has, just not me.  Irrespective of how the arrest occurred, the client often gave the officer arresting him plenty of reason to arrest him.
After he is arrested and assigned an attorney to represent him, the criminal client begins the relationship by referring to the court appointed attorney has a “public pretender” or “free lawyer”.  Only an insane person would think it is a good idea to insult the only person standing between the criminal client and a lengthy prison sentence, and justify the insult as a means of motivating the attorney to do more on his case than the next defendant. 

About Me

I hung a shingle in February 2000, because I saw that individuals charged with criminal offenses were being underserved by the attorneys practicing criminal law. Since February 2000, I have represented more than two thousand criminal clients. I only practice criminal law, but I do everything from violations of probation to Supreme Court appeals. There are few attorneys under the age of sixty that have my level of experience. I have tried more than two hundred major felony jury trials. I have tried more than fifty misdemeanor jury trials. In Philadelphia as a prosecutor, I tried more than two thousand bench trials. I have conducted more than three thousand preliminary hearings and bond hearings. Yet, I still have the energy at forty-five to serve my current clients. There is nothing that will occur in a courtroom that I have not experienced before. When you are looking for an attorney, experience is everything.