2002, 2008, and 2009 Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers WTD Case of the Year Award Winner
Reversed case in each of the following courts: 11th Circuit Court of Appeals; Georgia Supreme Court; Georgia Court of Appeals; and Appellate Division of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation.
Admitted to practice in Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, the Northern District of Georgia, the Middle District of Georgia, the Southern District of Georgia, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court
Litigation in 42 of Georgia’s 49 judicial circuits including 63 superior courts
In trials, the judge instructs the jury on the law. This is the last part of a trial before the jury deliberates. These instructions are called pattern charges and are published in a book. All superior court judges in the State are part of the Council of Superior Court Judges. This Council appoints a committed of judges from across the State to draft these charges used in every criminal trial in this State. This attorney has personally had three of these pattern charges that all superior court judges agreed declared improper by the appellate courts of this State.
In 2007, in a case that drew international attention, the conviction and sentence of a high school student convicted of aggravated child molestation and sentenced to 10 years in prison without parole was overturned. The habeas corpus was granted, and the Supreme Court affirmed ruling that the conviction and sentence were cruel and unusual punishment.
In 2008, In a case of first impression, I won the first case in the State on Georgia's then new immunity from prosecution statute. This decision in the Georgia Supreme Court set the standard for how trial court's for the State should determine whether a defendant is entitled to immunity prior to trial based on self-defense. In my case, a police officer was indicted for murder for shooting a fleeing suspect when he tried to run over the officer as he was fleeing from arrest.
In 2004, I represented a client accused of a date rape after meeting the alleged victim on a dating chat line. I subpoenaed her cell phone records and found poured over nearly a thousand phone calls looking for help. I also began calling the phone numbers listed to look for help. I found two. First, I had evidence that she called my client more than 10 times after the alleged rape. Second, and even more shocking, a few days before the alleged rape, I notice she had called the same number approximately 75 times on the same day. Many of the calls were one right after the other. I called the person, and when I asked him if he knew the alleged victim, he told me that she was crazy. He met her through the same chat line and had their first date at the same club as my client. He eventually had to call the police on her. After I turned over this evidence to the district attorney, they chose not indict my client.
I represented a vice-president of one of the largest minority owned real estate companies in the country. An employee accused him of sexual assault. He was indicted for the sexual assault and sued in federal court. After finding information that the alleged victim had previously falsely accused her husband of rape because she was mad at him for cheating, the State dismissed the case. Her civil suit was also dismissed with no settlement from my client.
I represented a defendant accused of being the notorious "Red Rapist," a serial rapist in Atlanta in the mid 90's. My client was positively identified in a rare in-person line-up like you see on television. In Georgia, line-ups are routinely done by viewing photographs instead of "live." At our first court appearance, I was able to call into question the evidence and secured my client's release from jail. The real "Red Rapist" was eventually caught and his DNA matched. He pled guilty and is serving consecutive life sentences.
Reversed case in each of the following courts: 11th Circuit Court of Appeals; Georgia Supreme Court; Georgia Court of Appeals; and Appellate Division of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation.
Admitted to practice in Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, the Northern District of Georgia, the Middle District of Georgia, the Southern District of Georgia, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court
Litigation in 42 of Georgia’s 49 judicial circuits including 63 superior courts
In trials, the judge instructs the jury on the law. This is the last part of a trial before the jury deliberates. These instructions are called pattern charges and are published in a book. All superior court judges in the State are part of the Council of Superior Court Judges. This Council appoints a committed of judges from across the State to draft these charges used in every criminal trial in this State. This attorney has personally had three of these pattern charges that all superior court judges agreed declared improper by the appellate courts of this State.
In 2007, in a case that drew international attention, the conviction and sentence of a high school student convicted of aggravated child molestation and sentenced to 10 years in prison without parole was overturned. The habeas corpus was granted, and the Supreme Court affirmed ruling that the conviction and sentence were cruel and unusual punishment.
In 2008, In a case of first impression, I won the first case in the State on Georgia's then new immunity from prosecution statute. This decision in the Georgia Supreme Court set the standard for how trial court's for the State should determine whether a defendant is entitled to immunity prior to trial based on self-defense. In my case, a police officer was indicted for murder for shooting a fleeing suspect when he tried to run over the officer as he was fleeing from arrest.
In 2004, I represented a client accused of a date rape after meeting the alleged victim on a dating chat line. I subpoenaed her cell phone records and found poured over nearly a thousand phone calls looking for help. I also began calling the phone numbers listed to look for help. I found two. First, I had evidence that she called my client more than 10 times after the alleged rape. Second, and even more shocking, a few days before the alleged rape, I notice she had called the same number approximately 75 times on the same day. Many of the calls were one right after the other. I called the person, and when I asked him if he knew the alleged victim, he told me that she was crazy. He met her through the same chat line and had their first date at the same club as my client. He eventually had to call the police on her. After I turned over this evidence to the district attorney, they chose not indict my client.
I represented a vice-president of one of the largest minority owned real estate companies in the country. An employee accused him of sexual assault. He was indicted for the sexual assault and sued in federal court. After finding information that the alleged victim had previously falsely accused her husband of rape because she was mad at him for cheating, the State dismissed the case. Her civil suit was also dismissed with no settlement from my client.
I represented a defendant accused of being the notorious "Red Rapist," a serial rapist in Atlanta in the mid 90's. My client was positively identified in a rare in-person line-up like you see on television. In Georgia, line-ups are routinely done by viewing photographs instead of "live." At our first court appearance, I was able to call into question the evidence and secured my client's release from jail. The real "Red Rapist" was eventually caught and his DNA matched. He pled guilty and is serving consecutive life sentences.
