Drug Case Attorneys Gwinnett County

Question: I have a second possession of meth charge court date coming up, and i served 9 months in jail before i made bond. will i get credit for time served, and could i get time served for the 9 months if the offer is a 5year do 2 year recomendation, and not have to serve any more time?

Answer: You will get credit for the time that you have served. The judge is free to give you a sentence of 5 to do 2 years with credit for the 9 months, commuted to time-served. You may not have to do anymore time. Are those the real questions? Because you know the judge can give you two years of probation. Conversely, under the law for the 2nd meth possession charge the judge must sentence you to not less than 5 years, and can sentence you up to 30 years. I assume you don't want to talk or think about the 30 years. I advice you to get an attorney rather than hope for the best, but I will be here IF it goes sideways to try and undo the horrible sentence.

Answered By Lawrence Lewis - Criminal Defense Attorneys Lawrenceville, Drug Case Attorneys Gwinnett County

Criminal Defense Attorneys Lawrenceville

Question: How do you prove that you did not open a credit card on some one else name ( daughter)? Mother is being accuse

Answer: The beauty with criminal law is the defendant does not have to prove anything. The state must prove that the person did the crime. Therefore the state will provide discovery (e.g. police report, videotapes, signature cards), which will give the defendant some idea of what the evidence will be at trial. If the accused did not do it, she should retain an attorney and demand a jury trial. If the accused does not want to admit to what he/she has done, she/he must definitely retain an attorney to see if the case can be beaten despite the truth. If the accused cannto afford an attorney, it is anyone's guess what will happen. Just remember: A conviction will never be expunged.

Answered by Lawrence Lewis - Criminal Defense Attorneys Lawrenceville

Expungement - Criminal Defense Attorneys

For whatever reason many folks are under the impression that a criminal conviction can be or will be expunged or sealed after some finite period of time.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Whether the accused has entered a guilty plea (i.e. I did it and I am ready to take responsibility for doing it), a nolo contendere plea aka nolo plea (i.e. I am not contesting the evidence the state will offer to the judge), an Alford plea (i.e. I am not guilty, but having looked at the evidence against me, I think it is in my best interest to enter a guilty plea), or a first offender plea (i.e. this is the first trouble I have ever been in), the arrest and disposition of the case will be available for all to see, forever.  

    Expungement only becomes a possibility when someone is trying to get an “arrest” off of his/her record, not a “conviction”.  In Georgia, O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 controls expungements. An arrest expungement is fairly simple if an individual has been arrested, and: (1) is released by the arresting agency prior to the case being  referred to the prosecuting attorney (i.e. District Attorney or Solicitor General); or (2) the prosecuting attorney dismisses the charges without seeking an indictment or filing an accusation. O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37(d)(1).  In effect the statute views the arrest as a mistake, and as such it should not remain on the person’s criminal history.
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Criminal Defense Attorneys Lawrenceville, DUI Attorneys Atlanta

Mental Health Problems - Gwinnett County Attorneys

 There are a myriad of mental health problems that unfortunately often lead to arrests for criminal offenses.  However, many of these problems do not have to result in lengthy periods of incarceration, as long as the accused can be properly diagnosed and medicated.  Here are the major mental health problems I have seen firsthand when assisting clients in resolving criminal arrests: 

DEPRESSION 

Depression is typically characterized by a depressed mood or irritable mood, and: 

1. Markedly diminished interest in things normally found pleasurable 
2. Insomnia/hypersomnia
3. Fatigue/loss of energy 
4. Weight loss or weight gain (or nearly daily serious change in appetite) 
5. Observable psychomotor agitation or retardation 
6. Excessive guilt or feelings of worthlessness 
7. Significantly diminished ability to concentrate, and/or 
8. Recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal thoughts/ideation 

BIPOLAR DISORDER 

Bipolar disorder is often diagnosed when one or more manic or mixed episodes, lasting at least one week, is accompanied by a major depressive episode.  The other symptoms are:

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Gwinnett County Attorneys, Criminal Defense Attorneys Lawrenceville

Criminal Defense Attorneys Lawrenceville

Question:  My girlfriend got charged with assault for throwing a shot glass in a bar when she was pretty drunk back in 2010. The shot glass didn't hit anybody, just a wall. When she appeared before the judge she had said that she was dismissing the charge and that if my girlfriend brought back completed anger management that it would be wiped off her record. Well, long story short she completed the anger management class but never turned it in. Now she got picked up for a failure to appear that was from an arraignment date in 2011 (over a year later) which they have no record of the previous deal or court date that she went to and we never received anything from the courts saying that she had another court date (possibly sent to the wrong address). Beyond that, the charge was changed from assault to battery with visible marks shown which makes no sense at all. This whole thing is insanely confusing and she is supposed to appear in court this Thursday and we have no clue what is going to happen or what is going on. Any advise that you could give us on why this could have happened and what we should do would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: You need to retain an attorney. If all of the facts are true, all your girlfriend had to do is complete anger management and turn in the paperwork, which she DID NOT do. So, her case continues. While I don't know all of the facts, I know that she needs an attorney.

Answered By Lawrence Lewis - Criminal Defense Attorneys Lawrenceville