The Defendant was accused of stealing video games from Sears. After we challenged the sufficiency of the charging documents, the State dismissed the case.
Category Archives: 2017
A Dougherty county case involving Child Abandonment was dismissed after we investigated the case
The Defendant was arrested for abandoning his children (not properly taking care of them). After we began to investigate the charges, the State dismissed the case.
A Dougherty county case involving Elder Abuse was dismissed after we filed a Constitutional Demand for Speedy Trial
The Defendant was accused and arrested for Elder Abuse of his mother. The evidence against him was weak and mostly amounted to the fact that his elderly mother (who was not even in his care) was of extremely ill health with severe bed sores when he took her to the hospital for help. The state initially sat on the case to see if they could bring murder charges against him but then just began to drag their feet. Confident we could win at trial, we kept pushing for trial, but the state would not bring the Defendant to trial. We filed a Constitutional Demand for Speedy trial and then set numerous hearings spanning several years in an attempt to get the case tried or dismissed. At one point, the trial court denied the Motion to Dismiss and we appealed to the Court of Appeals, which reversed the judgment. After another year and more hearings, the trial
court dismissed the charges!
Dougherty county case involving Murder was dismissed after we filed a Constitutional Demand for Speedy Trial
The Defendant was accused and arrested for murder. The only evidence against the Defendant was a witness that claimed the Defendant was involved. We talked with that witness and obtained a written statement from him that he made up the accusation in an attempt to get a better outcome in a pending case against him. When we took that statement to the DA, he refused to dismiss the charges. We filed a Constitutional Demand for Speedy trial and then set several hearings to document that the state had no other evidence except the witness. After a sufficient time had passed without the state indicting the Defendant, we filed a Motion to Dismiss based on the demand for a speedy trial. When we appeared for the hearing, the state dismissed the charges!
Terrell county defendant convicted of Sexual Battery removed from sex offender registry
The Defendant pled guilty about 9 years ago for Sexual Battery after having consensual sex with his girlfriend, who was a minor. Subsequent to his plea, he was placed on the Sex Offender Registry and became subject to its provisions, which include annual registration and not being able to live and work in many locations. We filed a Motion to remove him from that registry, since the statute specifically exempts misdemeanor convictions from its requirements. After a hearing, the court agreed that he should never have been placed on the list and ordered his immediate removal!
Early county case involving Armed Robbery was dismissed after we got the case transferred to juvenile court
The Defendant was accused and arrested for robbing a drug dealer at gun point. The Defendant was only 15 years old, but was facing Life in Prison on the Armed Robbery charge. Due to his age and lack of prior criminal history, we filed a Motion to Transfer the Case to Juvenile Court. After the judge granted the motion, the felony case was dismissed. The Defendant is no longer facing Life in Prison!
A Crisp county defendant convicted of Rape successfully modified his probation
The Defendant was convicted about 10 years ago at the age of 17 for the rape of his baby’s mama when he had non-consensual sex with her. He pled guilty and as part of the plea, he agreed to sex offender terms and conditions. Ten years later, he wishes to marry a woman who has three children, but probation will not allow him to live with the children, pursuant to the sex offender conditions. We filed a Motion to Modify the terms of his probation to allow him to reside with the children. The state opposed the motion, stating that he is a dangerous rapist and that he had agreed to the conditions as part of his plea. We argued that although inexcusable, the rape was forced sex on a prior sex partner, not the stalking and rape of a stranger. In addition, there was no allegation that he was a danger to children. He had served 7 years in prison for his crime and thus, paid his dues to society. He was only 17 when he “agreed” to never live with children and had not anticipated that someday he would want a family. It was in societies best interest to encourage him to be part of a family unit. Finally, we pointed out to the court that the original conditions he agreed to allowed the court to grant permission for him to live with children. After hearing argument, the court met independently with the children and then granted the modification to allow the Defendant to live the children!
A Lee county case involving Possession of illegal drugs was dismissed after we began investigating the case
The Defendant was arrested after a police officer approached his parked vehicle and claimed he saw drugs. After we began investigating and pushing to get information on the arrest, the case was dismissed.
A Brooks county case involving Criminal Trespass was dismissed after we showed the facts were not favorable to the state
The Defendant was arrested for damaging the car of her boyfriend. While the Defendant did cause the damage, it was done after she returned home to find her boyfriend in her bed with another woman. After we showed the state that the home was owned by the Defendant and the boyfriend was merely staying there and that he had been caught with another woman, the state agreed to dismiss the charges.
A Dougherty county defendant charged with Murder defeated the State’s emergency motion for appeal
After 3 years of sitting in jail, the day finally came to have his trial. At the last minute, the State filed an emergency motion with the Supreme Court asking for the trial to be delayed while their appeal is heard on all 5 defendants. We filed a response arguing that the appeal did not apply to this defendant and therefore, his case should be severed from the appeal of the other 4 and his case be allowed to proceed to trial. The Supreme Court agreed and directed our case to proceed!