Georgia takes acts of violence against family members very seriously. In fact, what might be charged as a misdemeanor assault between two strangers could be a felony when the victim has a close relationship with the accused. This is why it is very important to talk to a criminal defense attorney when you have been accused of domestic violence. I am dedicated to protecting the rights of the accused and fighting to get the best possible outcome when my clients are facing domestic violence charges.

What Is Considered Domestic Violence in Georgia?

Under Georgia’s Family Violence Act, a domestic assault is not about the kind of violence committed, but rather it is about the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. If you have been accused of assaulting someone who is considered a family member under Georgia law, you could face the more serious penalties that come with a domestic violence conviction. Georgia defines family violence as battery, simple battery, simple assault, assault, stalking, criminal damage to property, unlawful restraint, or criminal trespass between the following:

• Past or present spouses
• Persons who are parents of the same child
• Parents and children
• Stepparents and stepchildren
• Foster parents and foster children
• Persons living in the same household or who once lived in the same household

Georgia law does allow for “reasonable discipline” administered by a parent to a child, including corporal punishment, restraint, and detention.

Was it an Argument, or Was it Domestic Violence?

I support laws that protect victims of domestic abuse and violence 100%. People who assault a partner, child, elderly family member, or former partner should be held accountable for their actions. However, the law must be applied fairly, and the accused must be allowed to defend themselves. In Georgia, law enforcement is required to follow certain protocols when investigating a domestic assault call. It is not enough for an alleged victim to make an accusation. In a “he said, she said” situation, law enforcement must consider the following before making an arrest:

• Prior family violence involving either party
• The relative severity of the injuries inflicted on each person
• The potential for future injury
• Whether one of the parties acted in self-defense

Just because the police have guidelines for making domestic violence arrests, that doesn’t mean they follow them. If you are being questioned on suspicion of domestic violence, call my office as soon as possible. It’s important to understand that, even if the alleged victim recants, the state can still pursue the charges against you.

Penalties for Domestic Violence Convictions in Atlanta

Georgia’s sentencing guidelines are complex and confusing. In general, violent crimes against family members are considered to be crimes of a “high and aggravated nature,” and the punishment is increased accordingly. For a first conviction, you could face a fine of up to $5000 and up to 12 months in jail. Subsequent convictions could be sentenced as a felony. If you are also charged with violating a protective order, you face even more serious consequences of up to ten years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

In addition to the fines and jail time you face, a domestic violence conviction can affect your ability to get a job, maintain a professional license, own a gun, and serve in the military. In addition, your personal reputation could be destroyed. This is why it is so important to hire the best possible defense attorney, even if you believe you are innocent.

Contact Brian Hobbs Law as Soon as Possible

When you call me to represent you in a domestic violence case, I will explore every possible defense option. Each case I take is unique, and the defense I build will reflect the specifics of your case. However, the sooner I can get started defending you, the more options we will have. If you have been questioned or accused, do not hesitate to contact me to discuss your case. I will be honest about the situation you are in and will explain what I might be able to do to help. Georgia takes accusations of family violence very seriously, and so should you. 

How a Criminal Defense Lawyer Can Help You Now

When you have an experienced criminal defense attorney involved in your case early on, you can:

• Develop a defense strategy. Beginning at your first free consultation and continuing throughout your case, I will create a strategic plan for successfully handling your case to meet your goals and expectations.
• Get advice about how to avoid mistakes. I encourage you not to talk with investigators, prosecutors, or anyone else without an attorney present.
• Begin an investigation early. The sooner an investigation starts, the more likely it is that evidence will be available. If there are evidence and witnesses that are good for your case, my job is to find those witnesses, interview those witnesses, and preserve that evidence for you before it disappears forever. Maybe it’s tracking down surveillance videos from businesses or video from the neighbor’s video doorbell. Sometimes my job is to call the investigator to learn about the available evidence. Remember, we aren’t entitled to the State’s evidence until after you’ve been indicted, and we’ve opted in for what’s called “discovery.” If you wait for your case to be indicted, which can take anywhere from two weeks (Atlanta) to four years, then you’re probably going to be too late and that evidence is going to be gone forever.
• Start discussions with the government in a way that allows you to control the narrative. You may have made a bad choice but not committed a crime. For example, you may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time or hanging out with the wrong people. It may be possible to take steps to mitigate your situation, improve your position, and portray you in the best light to secure the fairest outcome.
• Deal with the consequences of your arrest. Depending on the nature of your arrest, I may be able to help you preserve your right to drive, get you out on bail, recommend a good bail bondsman, or help you keep your job.

Contact an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney

Today is the day to make the call. Let’s talk about how I can help you stay in control of your life by outlining a legal strategy, protecting your rights, and fighting for you. Call or complete my online contact form today to schedule your free consultation.

You Already Provided Implied Consent to Sobriety Tests

As a driver on Georgia roads, you have already provided your implied consent to submit to a chemical test for alcohol or drugs if you are lawfully arrested for driving under the influence, or you are involved in a serious crash that causes fatalities or significant injuries.

After your DUI arrest, the police officer should provide you with Georgia’s implied consent notice. This notice should inform you of the legal requirement to submit to testing, what happens if you refuse testing, and your right to request an independent sobriety test. After that, the police officer should ask you whether you will submit to the requested test.

Potential Consequences for Refusing to Take a Sobriety Test

Sobriety tests are set up for you to fail, and you cannot be compelled to provide the police with evidence against you. You may refuse to take a blood, urine, or breath test, but you should be aware of the potential consequences of your decision.

Your refusal can—and likely will—be used against you in court. The government may argue that you refused the test because you didn’t want the test to confirm that you were drunk or under the influence of drugs. Additionally, the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) may suspend your license for one year for refusing to take a sobriety test.

How an Attorney Can Help You After a DUI Arrest

You may not be able to consult an attorney from the side of the road before you decide whether to take a sobriety test.

However, you do have the right to call me after a DUI arrest to help with your DUI defense. I have helped many other Georgia drivers fight DUI charges, and I would be happy to review your case and provide you with your legal options. Your case is unique, and I will fight hard to help you achieve the best possible legal outcome. Please contact me today to learn more.

Either way, you now find yourself under arrest, and you’re facing accusations of domestic violence. You may have even been served with a Georgia Temporary Protective Order. One thing is for sure with these types of charges: no one is trying to hear your side of the story. You are now seen as a domestic abuser, and the courts are 100% worried about your accuser's safety and not at all with hearing your side of the story. You may have to leave your home. You may not be able to see your kids. Your troubles are just beginning.

The Stakes Couldn't Be Higher

Being charged with Domestic Violence in Georgia can have a devastating impact on your freedom, your job, your family, and your future. This may sound dramatic, but the gravity of your situation can’t be overstated or exaggerated. Don’t make the mistake of believing this is just a misdemeanor. The stakes are completely different, and you’re about to be put through a grinder that is the criminal justice system and how it deals with domestic abuse cases. That’s why my firm is here. To help protect you and your legal rights and to get you through this difficult situation.

You’ll hear or read terms like “Cycle of Violence” and “Family Violence Intervention Program.” Every single one of your past interactions with a partner will now be viewed through the prism of domestic violence. Those interactions will be seen by a prosecutor, or worse, a judge, as attempts to exert power over, isolate, damage self-worth, and keep your partner under your influence.

Domestic violence accusations will turn your life upside down. All of a sudden, you’re looked at differently by people you thought were your friends. Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt is a standard of proof reserved for trial. In the public eye, you’ll quickly learn that you have lost the benefit of the doubt, and now you’re starting to realize that not only is your freedom in jeopardy, but so is your career, your reputation, and your future. Even your rights to spend time with your children and stay in your own home are now hanging in the balance.

By now, hopefully, you’re starting to understand how serious domestic violence charges are.

What’s another consequence of a domestic violence conviction? No guns. That’s right; if you end up being convicted of a domestic violence charge or take a plea to a domestic violence charge, then Federal Law prohibits you from owning or possessing a firearm or a single round of ammunition. Say goodbye to hunting or shooting at the gun range. That would now be a federal offense.

Understanding Domestic Violence in Georgia

Georgia defines domestic violence, or family violence, as a specified criminal act committed between family or household members. Domestic violence cases can vary from misdemeanors such as battery, assault, and stalking to serious felonies like aggravated assault, aggravated battery, kidnapping, or aggravated stalking. Following are some of the most common domestic violence charges I see in my practice:

• Battery
• Assault
• Violation of a Temporary Restraining Order
• Stalking
• Aggravated Assault
• Aggravated Battery
• Aggravated Stalking
• False Imprisonment
• Kidnapping

When the Victim Doesn't Want to Prosecute

There was a time when charges of domestic violence would be dropped because the parties either reconciled, the victim didn’t show up in court, or the victim wrote an affidavit stating they did not want to prosecute. Thanks to relatively recent changes in the law, the now-common use of police bodycam footage and increasingly harsh domestic violence laws, Georgia prosecutors can move forward with an uncooperative witness and continue to prosecute you even if the alleged victim does not wish to go forward. You’ll quickly learn that you’re being prosecuted by the State of Georgia, not the alleged victim.

One Mistake Does Not Have to Ruin Your Life…Contact Brian Hobbs Law Today

Are you facing potentially life-altering domestic assault and battery charges? Did a judge grant a temporary protective order against you? Whether you’ve made some mistakes or have been falsely accused and charged, you have too much at stake to risk going it alone. Brian Hobbs Law can help. We come alongside you and provide expert and compassionate defense and help you in the process of facing criminal charges. We’ve handled a variety of different domestic violence cases. We know that sometimes small things can get blown out of proportion very quickly. It’s vital for your future to take the right next steps.

Start taking back control of your life. Contact us today to schedule your free Domestic Violence Criminal Defense Strategy Session. Your life and future are too valuable to risk to chance.

In Georgia, the charge Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes occurs when someone solicits, entices, or takes a child under the age of 16 years to any place for the purpose of child molestation or to commit some other indecent act. Think of a case where a child accuses someone of taking them to a house to engage in sexual conduct. And to be clear, no sexual contact is necessary to prove this very serious charge which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years, a maximum sentence of 30 years, and lifetime registration as a sex offender.

What Does it Mean to "Entice a Child for Indecent Purposes?"

In order to secure a conviction, the State has to prove the client took the child with the intent to commit child molestation or some other indecent act at the time of the taking (as opposed to a time after the taking had been accomplished). They also have to prove asportation, which simply means the child has to be “moved” even if just slightly, and the taking has to be accomplished either through physical force, enticement, or persuasion. As with any sex offense in Georgia, these charges are very serious, carrying a 30-year maximum sentence. Oftentimes, our clients come to us with these charges stemming from false allegations, and we handle them as we would any sex case involving false allegations. We take the offensive.

It’s amazing how easily these serious and life-altering allegations can be made, and even more surprising is how quickly and strongly law enforcement believes these false allegations. Law enforcement is trained to believe the accuser and to discount or justify any problems with their story. They are trained to take a child’s statement in a certain way, in a certain setting, in order to minimize any possible inconsistencies in a child statement. Police willingly and purposefully look past outrageous stories, stories with inconsistencies, stories that are illogical or physically impossible, and stories where there are obvious motivations to fabricate.

What to Do When You Are Accused

Unfortunately, for many of our clients, the unchallenged and unexamined word of the accuser is enough to get them charged. Just an accusation alone is enough to stop your life in its tracks. Law enforcement cares only about making out a case against you. They believe the accuser, and they want to make their case and make sure you are charged, arrested, and convicted.

My approach in these cases is to take the offensive immediately and focus on the investigation. We need to gather any and all evidence we can use to either attack the credibility of the accuser or explain possible motivations for making false allegations. You cannot afford to sit back and wait for the State to decide your future, or you’ll find your reputation in tatters and yourself in prison.

How We Build a Defense for Our Clients

The first question a DA or a jury will want answered: Why would a child make up these kinds of allegations? You’d better be able to answer that question. And in these cases, that means focusing our investigation on the accuser’s family and friends as well. In no other type of criminal charge do the accuser’s family members play such a pivotal role as there are often varying levels of family dynamics at play in these types of cases, different and competing motivations that lead to false allegations. Our investigation will focus on obtaining DFACS records, school records, medical records, computer records, cell phone records, mental health records, and information from social networking sites. We’ll talk to witnesses, including those who may not know anything about the present allegations but can also shed light on possible motivations to make false allegations or are helpful in attacking the credibility of the accuser. These witnesses can be neighbors, co-workers, relatives, acquaintances, or classmates of the accuser.

False allegations must be defended aggressively and with an understanding of multiple disciplines. I have defended cases where we have convinced police officers, detectives, DFACS workers, district attorneys, judges, and even juries that a child’s allegations aren’t worthy of belief. Oftentimes, there are other issues at play with a child’s false allegation. Domestic disputes involving divorce, child custody, visitation rights, child support, alimony, and division of property can often be the motivation behind false allegations of child molestation. Sometimes children with behavioral, developmental, or disciplinary issues falsely accuse others of child molestation for sympathy, attention, or deflect from something they’ve done. Improper or inadequate training of police, investigators, therapists, or medical personnel can fail to reveal when a child has made false allegations. In the worst of cases, improper or inadequate training can actually create the false accusation. Our criminal defense team has extensive experience with these issues and understands what to look for when reviewing and investigating these claims. 

Rules of Evidence Differ When Children Are Involved

These cases are unique. They involve their own rules of evidence which leads to specialized pretrial motions practice. Normally, absent a specific exception, hearsay is not allowed in a jury trial. However, in an Enticing a Child case, the Child Hearsay statute allows the prosecution to introduce hearsay statements made by a child under the age of 16. This specific rule of evidence has actually affected how law enforcement investigates these cases. In every case, the police will send the child for a forensic interview that is typically conducted by a therapist of the investigating officer (depending on the jurisdiction) at a Child Advocacy Center. 

The statement given during this interview will become the key piece of evidence in the case. It will be relied upon by law enforcement to secure an arrest warrant and by the district attorney to prove their case at trial. You need an attorney who’s familiar with this type of interview and the specific training the interviewer has received to analyze and attack not only the statement but also the interview itself.  For example, a poorly trained interviewer will tend to use improper techniques that lead to suggestive questions and, as a result, false allegations by the child. Very often, it’s these false allegations from a suggestive interview that lead to people being arrested and charged.

In order to combat these types of investigative techniques, we work with leading experts in the field of forensic interview techniques. This allows us to analyze every statement with an eye towards finding improper interview techniques, suggestive questioning, and as a result, the false allegations and then educate the district attorney, or a jury, in order to demonstrate the unreliability of the statement itself.

Our Aggressive Approach Protects Our Clients' Rights

Our criminal defense team’s approach of immediately going on the offensive allows us to leverage every possible opportunity and, depending on when we come into a case, to prevent a client from being arrested, avoid indictment, or resolve a client’s case in a way in which they can avoid incarceration or from having to register as a Georgia Sex Offender. However, with these types of charges, it’s not always possible to avoid trial. 

Once a trial becomes necessary, our team defends our client with preparation that leaves no stone unturned, our proven persuasive techniques in the courtroom, and the most skilled investigators and the most trusted experts. These cases involve specialized trial preparation strategies, especially concerning the picking of a jury. We use jury consultants and focus groups to maximize our understanding of the case’s strengths and weaknesses and sharpen our focus regarding the type of juror we want. Our clients don’t deserve any less.

Our clients have included teenagers, corporate executives, teachers, grandparents, stepparents, and coaches. Each client and each case is different, presenting their own challenging sets of facts, but our criminal defense team’s approach and commitment to protecting our clients remain the same. 

If you or a loved one has been charged with Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes, you need to contact an experienced and dedicated Atlanta Sex Crime Lawyer today. Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes charges can be life-altering and inflict permanent damage to a persons’ life, liberty, career, and reputation. 

Get the Information You Need to Start Fighting Back Today

Contact us so we can begin to develop your defense and start working to help you get your life back as soon as possible. Criminal charges are always serious, but allegations of a sex crime are a potentially life-altering event in a person’s life. Typically, criminal charges do not define one’s life, but Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes is the type of charge that will alter your life forever. Right now, the DA’s office is working on your case, and in their version, you end up a convicted child sex offender.

It’s Time to Start Taking Back Control of Your Life

The first phase of the criminal justice process in Georgia is the investigation. During this phase, the police or other law enforcement agency is investigating and building their case against you. Typically they are interviewing witnesses, gathering physical evidence, such as fingerprints, and then submitting that evidence to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations for testing. They may ask to interview you (DON’T DO IT). They can obtain and execute search warrants of your home, your vehicle, your office, your cell phone, and even of your person (such as taking a DNA sample).

2. Arrest

Once the police have concluded their investigation, they will have determined who they believe was involved in the crime. The investigator will take the findings of his investigation, present them to a neutral Judge, and ask the Judge to sign and issue an arrest warrant. Once the investigator has an arrest warrant signed by a Judge, he or she can then locate the suspect and arrest them. Just because a person has been arrested does not mean there is enough evidence to convict them at trial. The standards of proof for an arrest and a conviction are very different. It requires a much greater standard of proof, guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, than it does for an arrest warrant to issue. Once you’ve been arrested, you’ll go in front of a Judge within 48 hours for a probable cause determination and for a bond hearing (if one wasn’t set on the bond). Hopefully, at this point, you’ll be able to bond out. If not, then your next court date will be for a Probable Cause Hearing and a Motion for Bond or Motion to Reduce Bond, whichever applies. For an experienced Atlanta Criminal Defense Lawyer, an arrest is merely the start of the fight, not the end.

3. Indictment

Once the State has completed its investigation, the law enforcement agency turns over its investigative file to the District Attorney's office. The district attorney’s office will then review the file and prepare it to present to the Grand Jury. The district attorney will present evidence in the form of testimony to the grand jurors. It’s the grand juror’s job to determine, based upon the evidence they hear, whether probable cause exists. If they determine probable cause exists, then the defendant is charged with the crimes he is alleged to have committed, and the case is “bound over” to the superior court, where it is assigned a superior court Judge. Grand Jury proceedings are not what you would call fair, nor are they the type of courtroom proceedings you’re used to seeing on TV. They are one-sided as only the District Attorney is allowed to present evidence. Neither you nor your lawyer are allowed to be present during the proceedings. They are secret, and it is only in extremely rare cases that you’ll ever know what evidence was presented to the Grand Jury. Once the Grand Jury hears the evidence and decides to move forward on the charge, they issue a “true bill” of indictment (as opposed to a “no bill” of indictment which is the situation where the grand jury does NOT feel there is enough evidence to go forward). At this time, the foreperson of the grand jury signs and dates the indictment, and it is filed with the clerk of court for that day in open court.

4. Arraignment

Sometime after indictment, depending on what circuit your case is in, you’ll receive a notice of arraignment from the clerk’s office. Arraignment is your first court date after a case has been indicted. The purpose of arraignment is for you to “answer the charge” by entering into a plea of not guilty or guilty. Technically speaking, it is possible at that point for you to plead guilty to all charges in the indictment and then be sentenced by the Judge. Realistically, this almost never happens. Normally, you’ll plead not guilty and demand a jury trial. Usually, you will actually waive formal arraignment, which is a process where you stand in front of the Judge, and he reads your charges to you out loud in open court. Instead, you’ll waive formal arraignment in exchange for a copy of the indictment and a witness list, and then you and your attorney will review the documents together. The reason almost everyone pleads not guilty at arraignment is because they want to receive the ‘discovery,’ which is a general term we use to describe all the evidence the State possesses, and have an opportunity to review the evidence, conduct your own investigation, file any all necessary pretrial motions, and prepare for trial.

5. Discovery

Discovery is the term used in Georgia to describe all the evidence in a case. For example, discovery that the State will provide you will typically include all police reports, supplemental police reports, investigative reports, warrants, Georgia Bureau of Investigations reports for any testing that was done, witness statements both recorded and written, cell phone dumps or computer extractions, expert reports, documents that were subpoenaed, and any other evidence the State either has in their control or plans to present at trial. Note the distinction; if the State has something that is helpful to your case, they must turn it over to you. This is typically the first time your attorney has had a chance to review all the State’s evidence and get an idea of what type of case the State has against you. At that point, you and your lawyer can discuss and decide how to move forward. Oftentimes, when we receive discovery, we can tell something is missing, which requires us to request additional materials from the State. This is also the phase in which your lawyer will conduct his or her own investigation and begin interviewing witnesses who may be helpful to your case.

6. Motions

Once you and your attorney have had an opportunity to review the discovery and conduct your own investigation, your lawyer will, depending on the case, file pretrial motions. These can include demurrers to challenge the indictment, motions to suppress searches, seizures, identification, and statements made.  These motions are designed to show the court that the State either did something wrong or did it in such a way as to violate your Constitutional rights. The Judge will set a hearing, and witnesses will have to come to court to give evidence in the form of testimony, and the lawyers will argue their respective sides to the Court. Then the Court will issue a ruling, either denying the motion or granting the motion. If the Court grants the motion, then whatever you were arguing to keep out of the trial will be kept out of the trial. Sometimes these motions hearings can be dispositive. For example, suppose the Judge rules that a search of a person which resulted in the investigating officer finding a controlled substance is was unconstitutional and suppresses the evidence. In that case, the State will be unable to prove that person was in possession of the controlled substance because a jury will not hear that evidence. Sometimes we do motions as a means of investigation. Filing a motion that requires the State to bring in a witness pretrial allows us to cross-examine that witness and learn a little more about the case. It also allows us to lock that witness into sworn testimony that we may be able to use to our advantage later in the case.

7. Trial

This is the final phase of the criminal process. As a criminal defendant, you are guaranteed the right to a jury trial by the United States Constitution. You have the ability to waive that right and ask for a bench trial where instead of 12 jurors (who are supposed to represent a cross-section of your community) hear the evidence in the case. Only the Judge hears the evidence, and only the Judge determines whether or not the State met their burden of proof. If the Judge finds the State did carry their burden of proving your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, then you would be adjudicated guilty. If he finds the State did not, then you would be acquitted. In Georgia, the State has to consent to a bench trial. All that being said, it is extremely rare that we would recommend to our client that he or she do a bench trial. We much prefer trying cases in front of juries. A jury trial is where you and the State choose 12 jurors from a larger pool of potential jurors to hear the evidence in your case. During this process, you have the right to strike a limited number of potential jurors, as does the State, in order to find the best jury to hear your case. Once the jury has been sworn, the State will proceed to present evidence through testimony and the admission of exhibits (such as photographs, records, or recordings) in order to persuade the jury to find you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Once the State rests, you then have the opportunity to present your evidence, including calling your own witness and testifying on your own behalf if you so choose. At the close of evidence, both sides make their closing arguments, the Judge charges the jury with the law, and then the jury retires to deliberate. In order to convict you, they have to reach a unanimous verdict where all 12 jurors agree the State proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt. To acquit you, all 12 jurors have to agree that the State failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. If some jurors think the State proved their case and others think the State didn’t prove their case, then that’s a hung jury or a mistrial, and we do it all over again.

Understanding Sexual Assault Charges

In Georgia, the crime of sexual assault applies to anyone with supervisory or disciplinary authority having sex with someone in legal custody or someone in a hospital or other institution like a long-term care home, a nursing home, or hospice. This applies to psychotherapists and their patients, as well as law enforcement and persons in their custody.

What to do when facing this type of charge?
FIGHT BACK …
Save your career, reputation, and your and your family’s future before it’s too late.

Don’t make the mistake of believing your position will save you from these allegations. You would think a history of good work and a solid reputation would count for something, but it will seem like all that the police are concerned about is locking you up. We’ve seen and represented clients who have worked hard for their position and their careers, their reputations, and when they come to us, they are at risk of losing it all over false allegations made by someone with an obvious axe to grind.

The typical relationships we see in these types of cases involve a teacher, principal, coach, or other administrator and a student; a law enforcement officer and a person in their custody; a probation or parole officer and their probationer/parolee; psychotherapist and their patient; or an employee of a hospital who has sexual contact with a patient while they’re being treated.

Consent is NOT a defense to these charges as the sexual contact is criminalized when it’s between a person in supervisory or disciplinary authority over the other person who is deemed vulnerable as a result of their status. These charges, unlike rape in Georgia, include sexual contact between persons of the same gender.

Of course, it’s these very types of supervisor/supervisee relationships that can create animosity and lead to false allegations against the person who’s in the supervisory role. Think of a student angry with a teacher or administrator or a police officer and a person they’ve arrested. 

These charges are serious and carry a sentence of between one and 25 years in prison when the alleged victim is over 16 years old. If the victim is under the age of 16, the sentence is enhanced to a minimum of 25 years with a maximum of 50 years in prison and registration as a sex offender.

What Is Sexual Battery?

Sexual battery occurs when a person intentionally touches the intimate body parts of another person without their consent. Notice, there’s no requirement that the touching is done with sexual intent. When looking at these cases, law enforcement and the DA should be looking to make sure they’re convinced that the touching was truly intentional and not accidental. However, many don’t take this obligation as seriously as they should, choosing instead to charge everything and then sort it out later. This approach fails to realize the long-term damage to one’s career and reputation that simply being charged with this offense can bring.

Depending on the age of the alleged victim, this charge can be a felony or a misdemeanor. If the alleged victim is under the age of 16, or if the client has previously been convicted of sexual battery, then it’s a felony with a minimum sentence of one year, a maximum sentence of five years plus registration as a sex offender. If not, then it’s a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of 12 months.

Alcohol seems to be involved in the great majority of these cases, usually with one or both parties having been drinking or intoxicated at the time of the alleged touching. If the touching can be shown to have been accidental or incidental, then that’s a defense. It’s also a defense if the touching was consensual. When alcohol is involved, there is almost always the possibility of a misidentification defense as well.

Serious Charges Demand a Serious Defense

If you or a loved one has been charged with sexual assault or sexual battery, you need to contact an experienced and dedicated sex crime lawyer today. Sexual assault and sexual battery charges can be life-altering and inflict permanent damage to a persons’ life, liberty, career, and reputation.

Our criminal defense team’s approach of immediately going on the offensive allows us to leverage every possible opportunity, and depending on when we come into a case, prevent a client from being arrested, avoid indictment, or resolve the case in a way that they can avoid incarceration or registering as a Georgia Sex Offender. However, with these types of charges, it’s not always possible to avoid trial.

Once a trial becomes necessary, our team defends our client with preparation that leaves no stone unturned, our proven persuasive techniques in the courtroom, and the most skilled investigators and trusted experts. These cases involve specialized trial preparation strategies, especially concerning the selection of a jury. We use jury consultants and focus groups to maximize our understanding of the case’s strengths and weaknesses and sharpen our focus regarding the type of juror we want.

Each client and case is different, with each case presenting its own challenging set of facts, but our criminal defense team’s approach and commitment to protecting our clients remain the same.

If you or a loved one has been charged with sexual assault or sexual battery, you need to contact an experienced and dedicated Atlanta sex crime lawyer today. Sexual assault charges can be life-altering and inflict permanent damage to a persons’ life, liberty, career, and reputation.

Get the Information You Need to Start Fighting Back Today

Contact us so we can begin developing your defense and start working to help you get your life back as soon as possible. Criminal charges are SERIOUS, a potentially life-altering event in a person’s life. Typically, criminal charges don’t define one’s life, but sexual assault and sexual battery are not typical charges. Right now, the DA’s office is working on your case, and in their version, you end up convicted and in prison.

Don’t let them write the ending to your story …

SPEAK TO AN EXPERIENCED SEX CRIMES LAWYER TODAY

Time is of the essence. It’s essential that you find an experienced Marietta Sex Crimes Attorney to start preparing a solid defense on your behalf as soon as possible. Law enforcement may be calling to take your statement, and your inclination is to talk, scream your innocence, and clear this up as quickly as possible. Law enforcement, however, isn’t calling to clear up anything. They want to take your statement to box you in, to lay a trap for later, and to use your natural desire to proclaim your innocence against you. Only an experienced sex crime attorney can help you understand what you’re facing and help you take the necessary steps to protect you and your family.

We Can Help You Prepare for the Road Ahead

Our criminal defense team has the experience and the knowledge to handle these extremely serious and stressful cases. We have successfully handled several hundred sex crime cases with outstanding results for clients and their families. These cases typically involve accusations of sexual assault, child molestation, possession of child pornography, rape, or arrests from law-enforcement initiated internet sting operations. These cases are unique and involve specific evidentiary issues such as:

• Child Hearsay Evidence. This type of evidence can be particularly damning if allowed to be presented at one’s trial. It allows the prosecution to introduce hearsay statements of children under the age of 16. In every sex offense case involving a child, you will typically see what is called a forensic interview of the child. Depending on the jurisdiction, this interview will be conducted by a forensic interviewer with specialized training at a Child Advocacy Center or a Sex Crimes Detective, also with specialized training. These interviews are often fraught with improper techniques, such as suggestive questions, which often can lead to false allegations of abuse. These forensic interviews are almost always videotaped, which allows us to have our experts critically analyze and break down both the specific questions and the techniques utilized by the interviewer in order to fight these highly prejudicial statements.
• The Rape Shield. This rule of evidence is designed to prohibit the defense from introducing evidence concerning the prior sexual conduct of an alleged victim. However, there are several exceptions to this rule, and these issues must be carefully and thoroughly litigated in pretrial motions to secure their admission at trial.

Sex crimes are vastly different from other types of criminal cases, so you need a criminal defense attorney who has specific experience handling and trying sex offense cases. You don’t want an attorney who has never chosen a jury for a sex offense case. When the Judge asks a roomful of prospective jurors if they know anyone who has been the victim of a sex offense—and half the room raises their hands—you’ll be thankful you have an experienced sex crimes lawyer. At Brian Hobbs Law, we have the experience necessary to ensure that you receive the aggressive representation you need at this pivotal moment in your life. Don’t wait to reach out.

We'll Explore Every Option to Protect You and Your Freedom

Facing any criminal charge can have serious and lasting consequences on your life and the lives of your loved ones. This is especially true when you’re charged with a sex offense. Just the mention of a sex offense charge can unleash a visceral reaction in the people around you. These cases are intensely personal, and there are many unique factors to these types of cases that you need to consider:

1. Even Reduced Charges Can Have Significant Long-Lasting Consequences on Your Life. Even if you have reduced charges or are offered a plea deal, it is important to understand that pleading guilty to a lesser offense may still require you to register as a sex offender. The consequences of registering are incredibly serious and affect where you can live, your employment, and who you can be around. You need to explore every option before moving forward and making your decision.
2. There Is an Undeniable Social Stigma Associated With These Cases. The social stigma attached to a person who is a registered sex offender often guarantees that you will face problems in your personal life, with your career, and even with your closest personal relationships. An experienced sex crimes attorney can help mitigate and reduce those effects on your life by working for the best possible legal outcome.
3. These Cases Require a Sophisticated and Specialized Defense. Sex crime cases involve many complicated and unique aspects of criminal defense. Using their years of experience, the criminal defense team of Brian Hobbs Law knows how to anticipate the issues to come and be fully prepared to address any matter that may arise.

Call our Marietta office today, or fill out our contact form to speak to the criminal defense team at Brian Hobbs Law. The details of your case will remain private, and you’ll receive the vital information you need to prepare for this battle and to begin to move forward.

Types of Sex Crime Cases Our Criminal Defense Team Handles

There are a number of sex crimes a person can be charged for in Georgia. Sex crimes can be felonies or misdemeanors. Regardless of which they are, they both will have serious personal and financial consequences to anyone convicted of a sex crime.

At Brian Hobbs Law, our criminal defense team handles all types of sex crime cases. Using our exhaustive knowledge and experience gained by successfully handling over 8,000 criminal cases, including hundreds of sex crime cases, we help clients fight charges like the following:

1. Child Pornography
2. Internet Sting
3. Child Molestation
4. Sexual Assault and Battery
5. Rape
6. Date Rape
7. Spousal Rape
8. Statutory Rape
9. Enticing a Child

If you aren’t sure your case falls into one of the above categories or how an attorney can help you, don’t hesitate to contact Brian Hobbs Law today. The sooner an experienced sex crime attorney can start collecting detailed evidence, interviewing witnesses, investigating and collecting social media evidence, reviewing law enforcement procedures, and building a strong defense on your behalf, the better chance you have of obtaining the outcome you need.

If you’ve been accused of rape in Georgia, then one thing is for certain … you should be terrified.

Date or Spousal Rape Accusations

The date rape accusation typically comes in one of several ways. The “victim” claims she said “no,” and you believed she meant “yes.” The “victim” woke up the next day with regret or “buyer’s remorse” about her decision to have sex with you. Perhaps her boyfriend found out, and now she accuses you of rape to explain her conduct. You’re out drinking with someone. One or both of you gets drunk, and then the two of you have sex. The next day she says you raped her. She is now sober and claims she was too drunk to consent, that you knew she was too drunk, and that you took advantage of her.

As you’re probably painfully aware, most of these cases center on buyer’s remorse, relationship problems, or a bad decision after a night of drinking. Some of these allegations are out-and-out blatant lies, either to be vindictive, cover up an affair, or because of embarrassment. However, some of these accusers truly believe they were raped, either because they felt they were too intoxicated or did not believe they consented to sexual intercourse. 

These are difficult cases. There’s usually sufficient evidence that sexual intercourse occurred. Most of the time, the client has admitted that sex happened, and the only issue is consent, which means the case is now a “he said, she said” situation. It’s important to know that under Georgia law, a person is not guilty of rape if they reasonably believed that the accuser consented to sexual intercourse. This provides clarity to our purpose: to gather and collect every possible piece of evidence that exists that will prove our client believed the sex was consensual. This includes phone logs, text messages, emails, social media, photographs, videos, and of course, witness statements. We want to find and interview any witnesses that saw or spoke with either or both parties before or after the sexual encounter to frame the context of the couple’s interactions properly.

Take These First Steps If You Are Accused of Date Rape

Once you’ve been accused of rape, you will quickly realize that you’re going to be treated as guilty until proven innocent. Law enforcement is not looking to exonerate you. The investigation is more like a witch hunt designed to develop only the evidence that supports the allegation of rape. The investigation is not designed to get to the truth. It’s not uncommon for law enforcement to ignore or fail to include in the police reports evidence that doesn’t fit their narrative that a rape occurred. The police investigation, simply put, is designed to substantiate the complaining witness’ account in order to move the investigation forward to formal charges being made and referred to the District Attorney’s office for prosecution. Period.

If you or a loved one has been charged with rape, it’s very important that you do the following:

• Do not destroy evidence. Do not delete any emails, voicemails, text messages, social media, phone logs, or any other records detailing your contact with the other party. You might be destroying the only evidence available to form and support your defense. You’re not going to know what will help and what will hurt. Don’t make a quick decision or one out of anxiety. Let your attorney make that decision after consulting with you. When you come in to meet with us, bring in all the evidence you have so we can review it together and decide what we need for your defense.
• Do not respond to the accuser's messages or calls. Do not write anything about the incident or allegations on social media. Do not talk, text, or email them if they contact you. Whatever your response is, you can be sure it’ll be turned over to the police. If you’re talking over the phone, you can be sure it’s being recorded and turned over to the police. It’s not uncommon for the “victim” to confront the defendant in some way trying to get some kind of admission. And it’s not uncommon that the defendant will agree or apologize, not because they did anything wrong, but to diffuse the situation. So now you have to deal with a false confession on top of everything else. Don’t do it. And don’t talk to law enforcement when they come to meet with you or call you. Under no circumstances. None. Don’t do it. MEET WITH US FIRST. It could save you a life sentence.

These cases require a sophisticated and deliberate defense that’s uniquely tailored to the client and the fact pattern. Our criminal defense team has successfully handled many of these cases. We’ve been doing this work and successfully defending these cases for a combined thirty years. Call or contact our criminal defense team to schedule your initial client strategy meeting, and let us get started putting an end to your nightmare. 

Statutory Rape

In Georgia, statutory rape occurs when a person has sexual intercourse with any person under the age of 16. There’s no requirement of force or lack of consent. In a cruel twist, a person can be convicted of statutory rape even if they actually or reasonably believed the person was over the age of 16. Statutory rape is a strict liability crime, and what that means practically is that knowledge of the victim’s age is not required by the statute. Sometimes these cases arise from false allegations

When these cases arise from false allegations, our approach is to immediately take the offensive and focus on the investigation. Focusing on gathering any and all evidence that we can use to either attack the credibility of the accuser or explain possible motivations for making false allegations. 

Our investigation will focus on obtaining DFACS records, school records, medical records, computer records, cell phone records, mental health records, and information from social networking sites. We’ll talk to witnesses, including those who may not know anything about the present allegations but can also shed light on possible motivations to make false allegations or are helpful in attacking the credibility of the accuser. These witnesses can be neighbors, co-workers, relatives, acquaintances, or classmates of the accuser. 

Every client and every case is different, each presenting their own challenging sets of facts and circumstances, but our criminal defense team’s proven approach and commitment to protecting our clients remains the same. 

If you or a loved one has been charged with statutory rape, you need to contact an experienced and dedicated Atlanta Sex Crime Lawyer today. 

Get the Information You Need to Start Fighting Back

Statutory rape charges can be life-altering and inflict permanent damage to a persons’ life, liberty, career, and reputation. Call us today so we can begin to develop your defense and start working to help you get your life back as soon as possible. Criminal charges are SERIOUS, a potentially life-altering event in a person’s life. Right now, the DA’s office is working on your case, and in their version, you end up a convicted sex offender.

Don’t let them write the ending to your story…

SPEAK TO AN ATLANTA SEX CRIMES LAWYER TODAY

The problem with that kind of pricing structure, for the client, is that 97% of all criminal cases are resolved without the client ever having a trial. Sometimes, the client qualifies for a diversion program, and the case is handled to conclusion relatively quickly.

We don’t think it’s fair that you should pay the same price for a case we resolve by securing your admission in a diversion program that leads to the case being dismissed within six months as you would for a case that goes on for two years with multiple court appearances, ending in a three-day jury trial.

At Brian Hobbs Law, Our Sliding Fee Is Different

We operate with a sliding fee designed to be fair to you by charging you only for what you need. We don’t think it’s fair to charge every single client for a trial when, in reality, only three out of every 100 clients will actually need one.

Furthermore, if this is your first arrest, or you don’t have a felony record, our extensive experience typically allows us to handle your case effectively and efficiently, and in many instances quickly, in order to get you back to work and back to your life. That efficiency leads to savings that are passed on to you. You don’t pay for what you don’t need.

We believe that our fee should be proportionate to the amount of work that goes into your case. These days, too many people are unable to afford a lawyer and, as a result, are at risk of being stuck with a public defender they didn’t hire and don’t trust, or worse, try to handle their case themselves.

As a result, our fees are based on different levels of representation depending on whether your case is handled through a diversion program prior to indictment, a negotiated resolution after indictment, or a trial.

Our knowledge and experience allow us to handle your criminal defense case both efficiently and effectively. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We are better at using our time and our energy and believe in passing those cost savings to the client. Being charged with a criminal case is stressful enough without having to worry about being taken advantage of.

However, you haven’t been convicted yet. Right now, you are facing domestic violence charges in Georgia, and you need to know what to do to avoid a conviction.

Avoid These Mistakes in a Domestic Violence Criminal Case

You may think you are taking actions to help your defense, but the following actions could end up being costly mistakes. Specifically, it is a mistake to:

1. Contact the alleged victim. The alleged victim is likely a family member or significant other. Even if you love this person, I encourage you not to contact the person who has accused you of domestic violence. It is especially important to avoid contact if there is a protective order in place.
2. Believe the allegations will go away because you are innocent. The government may try to build a strong case against you. Do not assume that justice will be achieved just because you believe you didn’t commit the crime.
3. Believe the allegations will go away if the alleged victim decides not to press charges. The victim doesn’t get to decide whether a crime has been committed or the charges should be brought. That is up to the State of Georgia.
4. Talk to anyone other than an attorney about the charges. Anything that you say to the alleged victim, police, or prosecutors may be used against you.
5. Post on social media. Anything you post on social media may be misconstrued and could be used against you.
6. Accept a plea without knowing your rights. You may agree to unintended consequences that you did not have to accept.
7. Miss a court date. Always show up on time, properly dressed, and with a respectful attitude.
8. Fail to think of all possible defenses. You have the right to defend yourself and should thoroughly discuss all potential defenses with your lawyer.
9. Not to contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer. It could be a costly mistake to handle your own case or to hire a lawyer who doesn’t have specific experience with criminal cases in Georgia.

Contact a Georgia Domestic Violence Criminal Defense Lawyer Today

I want to make sure that you know all of your rights and that you make an informed decision about how to handle your domestic violence case. Please contact me today for a free consultation and strategy session to discuss all of the things that you can do right in your domestic violence case and what we can do together to protect your legal rights.

Three Steps to Take After Being Falsely Accused of a Crime

Your instinct may be to deny the accusations. However, instead of talking to the accuser, police, or prosecutors, I recommend that you:

• Hire a criminal defense lawyer. I can advise you every step of the way so that you don’t have to guess what you should do next or whether you are hurting or helping your case.
• Gather and protect relevant evidence. You may have critical evidence of an alibi. Depending on the circumstances, evidence may include witnesses, receipts, or other documentation of your location on a certain date and specific time.
• Don’t talk to anyone about the allegations. The district attorney, police, and person who accused you of the crime are not on your side. You may be tempted to confront your accuser, especially if it’s someone you’ve known well, or to tell your side of the story to the government. Unfortunately, you may do more harm than good if you have these conversations without your criminal defense lawyer present.

Don’t Pay the Price for a Crime You Didn’t Commit

False accusations can result in the stress of a criminal trial, jail time, fines, employment consequences, difficulty renting a place to live, and other complications.

I don’t want you to pay the price for a crime that you didn’t commit. However, if you fail to take the actions described above because you know you are innocent, then you could end up wrongfully convicted of a crime based on false accusations.

Contact me today to schedule a free consultation and strategy session. Let’s discuss how I can help you face the false accusations against you. My priority is to make sure that your side of the story is heard and that you are treated fairly.

Motorcycle Crashes Are Not Like Other Vehicle Crashes

Several factors differentiate motorcycle accidents from crashes between two cars. These factors can make injury claims more difficult for bikers. The motorcycle accident claims I handle often involve one or more of the following:

• Catastrophic and fatal injuries. A motorcycle or moped offers no protection to the rider. Even if the biker is wearing a helmet and Kevlar clothing, they are likely to be seriously injured or even killed when they go down. I have handled many motorcycle claims, and I know how to prove the extent of injuries, demand fair compensation, and file a wrongful death claim on behalf of family members if necessary.
• Biker bias. Insurance adjusters will do everything they can to blame the biker for causing the accident. Assumptions about motorcyclists being risk-takers and gang members are unfortunately common. Overcoming these negative stereotypes will be key in getting fair compensation. When I represent bikers who have been run off the road, dragged down the highway, or thrown off their bikes by negligent drivers, I fight hard against this bias to get them the compensation they deserve.
• High-value claims. Catastrophic injuries such as traumatic brain injury and spinal cord damage can result in permanent disabilities that require years of medical treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term care, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. As a lawyer who has represented many clients with permanent injuries such as these, I know how to value these claims to make sure my clients are taken care of for a lifetime.

For these reasons, you do not want to trust your motorcycle crash claim with a law firm that only handles car accidents.

How Negligent Drivers Cause Motorcycle Crashes

Yes, sometimes a daredevil motorcycle rider decides to ride full throttle, loses control, and crashes into a tree. When that happens, they have no one to blame but themselves. Far more often, however, a perfectly safe rider is the victim of a negligent driver. Many motorcycle crashes are caused by:

• Distracted driving. An inattentive driver is much more likely to hit a motorcycle than one who is paying attention to what’s going on around them. Looking at a cell phone, talking to a passenger, or simply failing to scan their surroundings can cause a driver to hit a motorcycle or run them off the road.
• Speeding. A contributing factor in nearly every crash, speeding drivers are also more likely to cause accidents with bikers than drivers who are obeying the speed limit. A speeding driver may fail to yield to a merging bike, rear-end a slower-moving bike, or lose control and run a biker off the road.
• Drunk driving. Impaired drivers have slowed reaction times, dulled senses, and poor decision-making abilities, all of which make it very likely that they will not be able to see and avoid a smaller vehicle such as a motorcycle or moped.
• Unsafe lane changes and turns. It’s easy for a motorcycle to get lost in a driver’s blind spot, but that’s no excuse. Drivers are expected to check blind spots, scan the road before turning, use turn signals, and give motorcycles the space and right-of-way they deserve. When they fail to do so, they are negligent.

As part of my investigation into your motorcycle crash, I will determine the cause of the accident and hold the negligent driver accountable for compensating you.

How I Will Protect Your Rights

As a motorcycle rider, you have probably already experienced some degree of discrimination, but you do not have to stand for unfair treatment from an insurance company. When you call me after a negligent driver caused your motorcycle wreck, rest assured that I will help protect your rights. Best of all, there is no need to worry about whether you can afford to hire me. I work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay me a dime until and unless I win your case. If you or a loved one was involved in a motorcycle crash, contact me as soon as possible, so I can get to work fighting for you.

What Is a DUI in Georgia?

In every state in the U.S., a driver is considered drunk if they have a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher. However, it might surprise you to learn that you don’t have to have a BAC of .08 to be charged with a DUI in Georgia. If your BAC is between .05 and .08, you could still be charged with a DUI if the prosecutor can show that you were “less safe” to operate a vehicle. In other words, if the police officer thinks that your driving ability is impaired even though your BAC is less than .08, you can be charged with the same offense as if you were over .08. If a sobriety test shows that your BAC is .08 or higher, it will be presumed that you were intoxicated and that your driving was impaired. This is known as DUI per se.

Penalties for DUI Conviction in Georgia

Georgia comes down hard on drunk drivers. For a first offense, you face a fine of up to $1000, jail time of anywhere from ten days to one year, DUI school, 40 hours of community service, one year of probation, and a one-year license suspension. With each subsequent conviction, the penalties increase. Ultimately, you could lose your license, pay a $5000 fine, and spend five years in state prison. With these possible consequences, you do not want to trust just any criminal defense attorney with your case. You want a lawyer who has a record of success defending DUIs.

Possible DUI Defenses

There is no doubt that drunk drivers are dangerous and that they should be held accountable for the harm they cause. However, in their aggressive efforts to crack down on drunk driving, Georgia authorities often violate people’s rights. When I take a DUI defense case, I look at the following possibilities:

• Was the traffic stop or vehicle search conducted legally? If the officer who pulled you over on suspicion of drunk driving lacked probable cause, the stop might have been illegal.
• Were your rights violated when you were arrested? Police officers have to follow certain protocols when questioning and arresting a suspect, even in DUI cases. If the officer violated your rights, the charges could be dismissed.
• Was the sobriety test accurate? Breath testing for alcohol presents a lot of problems. The validity of these tests should always be questioned by an attorney. Likewise, the timing of blood testing can be an issue, and blood samples can be mishandled or misidentified.
• Is there evidence to prove a DUI Less Safe charge? A DUI Less Safe charge relies on an officer’s observations of your driving and behavior to prove that you are impaired despite a BAC of less than .08. An attorney will examine and question the evidence against you.
• Is there an applicable affirmative defense? In some cases, an affirmative defense—where you admit that you had been drinking but provide a valid excuse—might apply. Examples include asserting that you were in an emergency situation, you did not know you were intoxicated, you were driving under duress, or that you are the victim of police entrapment.

Each DUI case I take is unique, and I will build a defense that takes your individual situation into account. Often, the best outcome involves negotiating to avoid jail time and the loss of your license, but I will always keep you informed of your options and the potential consequences of various decisions.

Always Fight a DUI

You might feel like your case is hopeless, but that should not prevent you from talking to a DUI defense attorney if you are facing charges. I will work hard to secure the best possible outcome for you, whether that means a dismissal of the charges or bargaining for less severe penalties. There is usually something I can do to improve your situation, so do not hesitate to contact me if you or your teenage or young adult son or daughter has been charged with a DUI.

Computer and Electronic Pornography in Georgia is a felony offense. The typical fact pattern we see is basically a law-enforcement-driven

The result of these internet stings is the arrests of law-abiding adults who were never interested in meeting or having sex with children, which leads us to the defense of entrapment.

In Georgia, a person is not guilty of a crime if his conduct is induced or solicited by the police. To use entrapment, you have to show the following:

1. The idea and intention to commit the crime originated with the police
2. The police also used undue persuasion or deceitful means to induce the person to commit the crime
3. The person would not have committed the crime had it not been for the conduct of the police officer

And, of course, at trial, the State has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant was not entrapped.

The most important and most difficult element to prove is that the person would not have committed the crime had it not been for the police officer's conduct. In effect, we need to show that our client was not predisposed to engage in any sexual acts with children, and had it not been for the police’s undue persuasion or deceitful means, the client would not have agreed to do so.

But How Do You Show All of That in Practice?

Investigation, more investigation, and an expert or two. For our criminal defense team, investigation isn’t just investigating the police officer’s methods and the State’s case. With these particular cases, we have to do a deep dive into our client’s background to gather evidence that they had never previously engaged in this type of behavior and that they’re not the type of person who would. To do this, we interview as many people as possible who have a close personal relationship with our client and who can therefore talk about his character and his lack of sexually deviant behavior. 

As for the experts, we have our client undergo a psychosexual evaluation to show that he doesn’t have any deviant sexual behaviors, such as pedophilia or sexual interest in children. We also will conduct a forensic examination of our client's cell phone, tablet, and computers to show that they never had those types of communications with children online nor possessed child pornography. All of these factors help us paint a true picture of our client’s character to prove that they were not predisposed to engage in any sexual acts with children and would never have done so absent the police’s undue persuasion and deceit.

Which brings us back to the police’s undue persuasion and deceit—to show this, we need to focus on the police officers’ specific conduct, including showing how they used techniques specifically designed to induce our client to commit the offense. We’ll focus on the initial “meeting,” tone of the conversation, and specific language chosen by the officer. We’ll also look for evidence of “role-playing,” at what point in the conversation the “child’s” age was disclosed, any evidence that our client was reluctant to continue the conversation or tried to discourage the conversation, undue persuasion on the part of the officer, and whether any photograph provided by law enforcement, held out to be the “child,” made it obvious that he or she was underage. Remember, most of these cases originate from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The interesting thing about the task force is that their funding is tied to the number of arrests they make. This certainly creates an incentive where undue persuasive techniques and deceit find a home in the aggressive police techniques used in these cases. 

Let Us Help You Get Your Life Back

By now, you know that a Computer and Electronic Pornography charge in Georgia is a serious matter with potentially catastrophic consequences. If you or someone you love is facing this type of charge, contact our office as soon as possible. We will develop an individualized defense for your specific case. While we can’t guarantee a specific result, we can guarantee that we will not judge you, and you will be treated with respect and dignity. 

Make an Informed Decision.
Make the Best Decision.
And Contact Us to Get Started Today.

• How was the computer used to download child pornography?
• When was the computer used to download that pornography?
• Where was the computer physically located?
• Where was the client at the time of the download?
• Who downloaded the files, and who was it downloaded from?
• And, of course, was the search of the computer and hard drive done lawfully.

You’ve noticed our focus on the computer. That’s because most child pornography cases are primarily based on computer-related evidence (though recently, more and more cases are based on images found on cell phones or in the cloud). Ensure the attorney handling your case is experienced with interpreting computer data and recognizing the type of evidence that can prove a client’s innocence. In many of these cases, you need a computer forensics expert to examine the hard drive to create a timeline concerning the activities that occurred immediately before and after a particular file was downloaded.

We Understand the Technology That Can Save You

Most of these cases involve using peer-to-peer network download services like BitTorrent, Ares, Gnutella, Shareaza, uTorrent, eMule, and others. Frequently, people download batches of files from these services to view adult pornography. Viewing adult pornography is legal. Sometimes, unbeknownst to the person downloading the files, these batches of files contain a number of images that are child pornography. The person downloading the files may not realize this until the file is clicked and accidentally viewed. The immediate response is, of course, to delete the file. However, the file will remain on the hard drive and be discoverable during a forensic search of the computer. Thus, a person can accidentally download an image of child pornography, delete the file, yet technically still be in possession of child pornography because the image is preserved on their hard drive. This is a situation where it becomes necessary to have a computer forensics expert examine the client’s hard drive and put together a timeline detailing the activity surrounding the downloading of the files.

A computer forensic examiner often finds that a handful of child pornography files are mixed in with multiple gigabytes of legal pornography. Additional questions that need to be answered concerning the search of a persons’ computer are:

• What forensic tool did law enforcement use to search the hard drive and computer?
• Where were the images found?
• Were they found in allocated or unallocated space on the hard drive?
• How was the evidence preserved?
• Was there any evidence in the files that were deleted?
• How many downloads were supposedly made?
• In terms of all the pornography found on the hard drive, what percentage was child pornography in relation to legal pornography?

At the end of the day, these cases are difficult. Often, a client will come to us thinking they are dead in the water. Whether it’s because of the number of images found or because they have confessed before talking with us, they think they have no shot at a fair outcome. Sometimes they are right.

We Will Pursue Every Possible Defense

There are also plenty of situations where the confession was obtained legally and can’t be suppressed, or the digital evidence has the client’s “fingerprints” all over it. The client believes their case is over before we’ve even started. That leads us back to the original questions—what is the analysis? What procedures did law enforcement follow or not follow?

In those situations, does it mean the client is destined to go to prison? Absolutely not. Through the strict execution of our child pornography defense system, the client’s trust, and our unique practice, we have often secured either straight probation plea recommendations or minimal incarceration plea recommendations that the client thought would be impossible to obtain during our free initial consultation. And while our criminal defense system does not guarantee an outcome, we feel it is the best way to leverage the absolute best outcome for our clients who come to us feeling like they are in an impossible situation.

The Most Important Step Is The First One—Start Your Defense Today and Begin to Fight Back

The first thing everyone does when they’ve been arrested or charged with a child pornography case is look up the sentence. You probably already know the possible punishments for a child pornography crime are serious and involve prison and the loss of your freedom.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a child pornography crime, you need to contact a sex crime attorney immediately. The penalties you could be facing are immense, coupled with the consequences of having to register as a sex offender for life. To best fight these charges and protect your future and freedom, you need an experienced criminal defense lawyer working for you.

Contact our firm without delay and schedule your free strategy session. The consultation is free, you’ll get your questions answered, and you’ll get the information you need to be informed about your specific situation, start preparing your defense, and start fighting back.

False Accusations Are Routinely Believed by Law Enforcement

It’s amazing how easily these serious and life-altering allegations can be made, and even more surprising is how quickly and strongly law enforcement believes the allegations. Law enforcement is trained to believe the accuser and discount or justify any problems with their story. They are trained to take a child’s statement in a certain way, in a certain setting, to minimize any possible inconsistencies in a child statement. Police willingly and purposefully look past outrageous stories, stories with inconsistencies, stories that are illogical or physically impossible, and stories where there are obvious motivations to lie.

Unfortunately, for many of our clients, the unchallenged and unexamined word of the accuser is enough to get them charged. As we’ve said, this type of accusation alone is enough to stop your life in its tracks. Law enforcement cares only about making their case against you. As soon as they hear the accusation, they immediately take the position that you are a liar and a child molester. They believe the accuser, and they want to make sure you are charged, arrested, and labeled a child molester.

Don’t Sit Back and Wait for the District Attorney to Decide Your Future

Our approach in these cases is to take the offensive immediately and focus on our investigation. Focusing on gathering any and all evidence that we can use to either attack the accuser's credibility or explain possible motivations for making false allegations. You have to get that evidence while you can, while records still exist. You can’t afford to sit back and wait for the District Attorney to decide your future, or you’ll find yourself arrested, charged, and labeled.

The first question a DA or a jury will want to be answered is “Why would a child make up these kinds of allegations?”  You’d better be able to answer that question. And in these cases, that means focusing our investigation on the accuser’s family and friends as well. In no other type of criminal charge do the accuser’s family members play such a pivotal role, as there are often varying levels of family dynamics at play with different and competing motivations that lead to false allegations. Our investigation will focus on obtaining DFACS records, school records, medical records, computer records, cell phone records, mental health records, and information from social networking sites. We’ll talk to witnesses, including those who may not know anything about the present allegations but can shed light on possible motivations for false allegations or help in attacking the accuser's credibility. These witnesses can be neighbors, co-workers, relatives, acquaintances, or classmates of the accuser.

Why Children Make False Allegations

False allegations must be defended aggressively and with an understanding of multiple disciplines. We have defended cases where we have convinced police officers, detectives, DFACS workers, district attorneys, judges, and even juries that a child’s allegations of child molestation aren’t worthy of belief. Often, there are other issues at play with a child’s false allegation. Domestic disputes involving divorce, child custody, visitation rights, child support, alimony, and property division can often be the motivation behind false allegations of child molestation. Sometimes children with behavioral, developmental, or disciplinary issues falsely accuse others of child molestation for sympathy, attention, or deflect from something they’ve done. Improper or inadequate training of police, investigators, therapists, or medical personnel can lead to failing to reveal when a child has made false allegations. In the worst of cases, improper or inadequate training can actually create the false accusation. Our criminal defense team has extensive experience with these issues and understands what to look for when reviewing and investigating these claims. 

These Cases Have Unique Rules of Evidence

These cases are unique. They involve their own rules of evidence which leads to specialized pretrial motions practice. Normally, absent a specific exception, hearsay is not allowed in a jury trial. However, in a child molestation case, the Child Hearsay statute allows the prosecution to introduce hearsay statements made by a child under the age of 16. This specific rule of evidence has actually affected how law enforcement investigates these cases. In every case, the police will send the child for a forensic interview that is typically conducted by a therapist of the investigating officer (depending on the jurisdiction) at a Child Advocacy Center.

The statement given during this interview will become the key piece of evidence in the case. It will be relied upon by law enforcement to secure an arrest warrant and by the district attorney to prove their case at trial. You need an attorney who’s familiar with this type of interview and the specific training the interviewer has received to analyze and attack not only the statement but also the interview itself.  For example, a poorly trained interviewer will tend to use improper techniques that lead to suggestive questions and, as a result, false allegations by the child. Very often, it’s these false allegations from a suggestive interview that lead to people being arrested and charged.

Our Experience Is Your Best Defense

To combat these types of investigative techniques, we work with leading experts in the field of forensic interview techniques. This allows us to analyze every statement with an eye toward finding improper interview techniques and suggestive questioning, and as a result, false allegations, and then educate the district attorney or a jury to demonstrate the unreliability of the statement itself.

Our criminal defense team’s approach of immediately going on the offensive allows us to leverage every possible opportunity and, depending on when we come into a case, prevent a client from being arrested, avoid indictment, or resolve the case in a way in which they can avoid incarceration or registering as a Georgia Sex Offender. However, with these types of charges, it’s not always possible to avoid trial. Once we’ve exhausted every opportunity to resolve the case short of trial.

We Prepare and Fight When a Case Goes to Trial 

Once a trial becomes necessary, our team defends our client with preparation that leaves no stone unturned, proven persuasive techniques in the courtroom, and the most skilled investigators and the most trusted experts. These cases involve specialized trial preparation strategies, especially concerning the selection of a jury. We use jury consultants and focus groups to maximize our understanding of the case’s strengths and weaknesses and sharpen our focus regarding the type of juror we want.

Our clients have included teenagers, corporate executives, teachers, grandparents, stepparents, and coaches. Each client and each case is different, presenting their own challenging sets of facts, but our criminal defense team’s approach and commitment to protecting our clients remain the same. 

If you or a loved one has been charged with child molestation, you need to contact an experienced and dedicated Marietta Sex Crime Lawyer today. Child molestation charges can be life-altering and inflict permanent damage to a person's life, liberty, career, and reputation. 

Get the Information You Need to Start Fighting Back Today

Contact us today, so we can begin to develop your defense and start working to help you get your life back as soon as possible. Criminal charges are SERIOUS—a potentially life-altering event in a person’s life. Typically, criminal charges don’t define one’s life, but Child Molestation isn’t a typical charge and has the power to do just that. Right now, the DA’s office is working on your case, and in their version, you go to prison as a convicted child molester. Don’t let someone else write the ending to your story. Speak to a Marietta sex crimes lawyer today.

You Need a Lawyer With Truck Accident Experience

You might think all vehicle crashes are the same, but when a commercial semi-truck is involved, it’s a whole different ballgame. Not only are you dealing with multi-million dollar insurance policies, but you will have to contend with the team of corporate attorneys. I have represented clients against big trucking companies, and I know that they are not like car accidents. Truck accidents often involve:

• Catastrophic injuries & deaths. Given the difference in size between a fully loaded tractor-trailer and an average passenger car, it’s no surprise that injuries can be devastating. Paralysis, traumatic brain injury, loss of a limb, shattered bones, and other catastrophic injuries are not uncommon and often prove to be fatal to the victim.
• Violations of federal trucking laws. Truckers are subject to federal laws regarding licensing, training, medical fitness, driving hours, cargo, maintenance of their rigs, and more. A personal injury attorney handling a truck accident claim must understand when a federal law has been broken.
• Multiple liable parties. Often, when a truck driver is found to be negligent, that means their employer is also accountable for damages. If a third party loaded the trailer or repaired the vehicle, they might also be liable if they contributed in some way to the crash.
• Dangerous cargo. Cars do not typically carry flammable liquids, and hazardous gases like hazmat trucks do. These materials must be handled according to strict safety regulations and can cause massive destruction if they are not.
• Difficult-to-obtain evidence. Commercial semi-trucks are required to be equipped with an event data recorder, commonly referred to as a black box, and electronic driving logs, which can be requisitioned by an attorney during an accident investigation.

When I represent truck accident victims, I hit the ground running to overcome these challenges and get my clients the compensation they deserve.

Common Causes of Commercial Truck Crashes

Whether a truck driver loses control and jackknifes, can’t stop and plows into traffic, or crosses the highway divider into oncoming traffic, it was probably caused by one of the following negligent actions:

• Fatigue. Despite federal hours-of-service rules, truckers often drive when they are overtired. Long trips and short deadlines could force a driver to push themselves to drive when they are too drowsy to safely operate the vehicle.
• Distraction. Long, boring trips lead drivers to distract themselves with phone conversations or text exchanges, daydreaming, and even watching TV. Having their eyes off the road for even a few seconds can cause a tragic crash. 
• Impairment. Impaired driving is dangerous no matter what size the vehicle is, but when a truck driver is drunk or high, the consequences could be fatal to multiple people.
• Maintenance problems. A semi-truck’s brakes, lights, trailer coupling, steering, and tires must be inspected and fixed before every trip. Mechanical failure is a major cause of truck accidents.
• Cargo issues. Poorly packed or loaded cargo, hazardous materials, unsecured doors, and weak trailer couplings can result in a cargo spill that causes a crash, if not a highway pileup.

As an experienced semi-truck crash investigator, I will gather the necessary evidence to show what caused the crash as a first step in holding the negligent parties responsible.

What Is Included in Truck Accident Compensation?

Trucking companies carry large insurance policies on their drivers, and for a good reason. The damage that can be done when a truck collides with a much smaller passenger car can be devastating. I fight to get my clients all of the compensation to which they are entitled, which may include the following:

• Payment of past and current medical expenses
• Lost wages if they have been unable to work because of their injuries
• Coverage for potential future medical costs, including ongoing therapy and rehabilitation
• Compensation for lost future earnings if they are unable to earn the salary they did before the crash
• Non-economic damages for physical pain and emotional suffering
• Wrongful death damages if a loved one is killed

Every truck accident case has unique elements, and I will take those factors into account as I determine the value of your claim and fight to get you what you are owed.

How I Will Protect Your Rights

The trucking company, their team of lawyers, and their insurance company will try to take advantage of you by denying their liability and offering you less than your case is worth. When you call me for help, rest assured that I will help protect your rights. Best of all, there is no need to worry about whether you can afford to hire me. I work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay me a dime until and unless I win your case. If you or a loved one was involved in a crash with a commercial semi-truck, complete the contact form or call me as soon as possible, so I can get to work fighting for you.

What Caused Your Crash?

You should give me a call after any kind of crash that leaves you or your passengers with injuries that require medical treatment. If the other driver was at fault, they should be held liable for your medical bills and other losses. Typically, causes of negligent car crashes include:

• Distracted driving. Using a cell phone behind the wheel is the most common form of distracted driving, but accidents happen when people are eating, programming a GPS device, talking to passengers, doing makeup, dealing with children in the back seat, tending to a pet, and numerous other activities. If a driver’s full attention is not on the task of driving, they are negligent.
• Drunk driving. Impaired driving is the leading cause of fatal car accidents across the country. When a driver is drunk or on drugs, they are less attentive, unable to react to dangerous situations quickly, and may lose control of their vehicle. Impaired drivers must be held accountable for their actions.
• Speeding and reckless driving. Almost every serious collision involves a driver who is speeding or breaking other traffic laws. The fact that an accident occurred is proof that someone was driving recklessly. If the other driver was issued a traffic ticket, the case against them is that much stronger.
• Aggressive driving. Road-rage accidents are not uncommon in the Atlanta area. Frustrated commuters can turn on their fellow drivers, using their cars as weapons and causing violent collisions. These drivers could face criminal charges in addition to financial liability.
• Drowsy driving. When a driver dozes off behind the wheel, they can drift into another lane or even cross into the oncoming lane, causing a potentially devastating head-on collision. It is not easy to prove that a driver was fatigued when they caused your crash, but it is not impossible.

If the driver who caused your accident is guilty of one of these negligent actions, they should be held accountable for the damage they have caused. I will gather the evidence necessary to prove fault and make sure you get what you need to recover.

Common Serious Car Accident Injuries

Negligent drivers cause all kinds of devastating crashes, including head-on collisions, t-bone wrecks, rollover crashes, multi-vehicle pile-ups, hit-and-runs, and rear-end collisions. These types of car wrecks can result in catastrophic injuries, including:

• Traumatic brain injuries. Even if there is no direct impact to the skull, the victim of a motor vehicle collision can sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A TBI can cause life-long difficulties, including mobility problems, impaired communication skills, and loss of cognitive function.
• Damage to the cervical spine. In a head-on collision or rollover crash, even occupants who are wearing seatbelts can suffer spinal cord damage. This devastating injury can cause full or partial paralysis and change the course of the victim’s life forever.
• Lower back injuries. Many car accident victims complain of lower back pain caused by the force of the collision. These injuries can be disabling and require a lifetime of physical therapy and rehab.
• Broken bones. The impact of a vehicle can shatter bones in the legs, pelvis, and upper body. Compound fractures can require surgery and months of rehab.
• Ligament tears in the shoulder or knee. Strains, sprains, and tears can be more difficult to recover from than broken bones as there is no easy way to heal these kinds of injuries. Knee and shoulder tears can be disabling.

As your personal injury attorney, I will see to it that you get the compensation you deserve after suffering a devastating injury. That compensation might include payment of medical bills, lost wages, cost of future medical treatment, loss of future earning potential, compensation for your pain and suffering, and treatment for post-traumatic stress. I know how to determine the full value of your car accident claim, and I will make sure you get what you are owed.

How I Will Protect Your Rights

In all the uncertainty following a catastrophic car accident, one thing is certain. The insurance company for the negligent driver will try to take advantage of you by offering you less than your case is worth. When you call me for help, rest assured that I will help protect your rights. Best of all, there is no need to worry about whether you can afford to hire me. I work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay me a dime until and unless I win your case. If you or a loved one needed medical treatment after a car accident that was not your fault, call me or complete the contact form to learn about your rights and how I can help.

Mistake #1: Not Seeking Prompt Medical Attention

After being injured, some people believe they can handle the pain or fear they can’t afford a trip to the emergency room. I get it, but it is not always easy to tell the extent of your injuries at the time of an accident. Waiting to see a doctor can make an injury more painful in the long run, and it could increase the amount of time you need to heal.

Being quick to treat injury will not only support your body’s healing process, but it can also support your legal process. Your medical records will be some of the strongest evidence in your case because those records show the severity of your injuries and pain at the time of the accident. The longer you wait to see a doctor, the easier it becomes for the responsible party or an insurance company to argue that the injury was not serious or to claim your injury was the result of something else entirely.

Mistake #2: Not Collecting Evidence

Medical records are one way to support your claim, but there are additional ways to gather evidence, and one of the best is probably in your pocket right now. A cell phone camera can be used to take pictures that may help your case. If you are injured by slipping or falling, take pictures or video that show where you fell, including any objects or obstacles which may have led to the accident. If you are injured in a car accident, photos and video of the scene, including the cars, the road, any skid marks or debris, and the license plates of the vehicles involved, may provide visual support for your version of events.

If the police or emergency services are present, ask for a name or take their card so they can be contacted for information later. If the police were called to the incident, an official report should be available after a few days.

Mistake #3: Trying to Go it Alone

Hiring a personal injury lawyer when you have been injured in an accident is one of the best things you can do on your own behalf. Opposing parties and insurance companies will certainly have the advantage of specialized legal teams, so it is absolutely necessary that you have someone to balance the scales in your favor. Contact my office today to set up a free consultation.