Notes from a trial practice.
Substantive writing on Georgia criminal procedure, evidentiary practice, and the work of preparing serious felony matters for a jury. Written by the lawyer who tries them — not by a marketing department.
Defending Marijuana DUI Allegations in Georgia
Georgia's per se alcohol framework does not translate to cannabis. The State's burden is impairment at the time of driving, and the science rarely delivers what the prosecution implies it does.
The Limits of SFSTs in a Drug DUI Prosecution
The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests were validated for alcohol — not cannabis, not benzodiazepines, not opioids. That distinction is the entire fight in a contested DUI-drugs trial.
THC Blood Testing in Georgia: What the GBI Measures and What It Does Not
Delta-9-THC, 11-hydroxy-THC, carboxy-THC, LOD and LOQ. Reading a Georgia Bureau of Investigation cannabinoid certificate for what it actually establishes — and what the State will ask a jury to infer from it.
Polysubstance DUI Defense in Georgia
Combined-impairment theory, DRE protocol limits, prescription-medication issues, and why the State's strongest case on paper is sometimes the case in which the chemistry, candidly examined, does the least work for the prosecution.
Felony Fleeing and Eluding: Defending the Indefensible Video
Nine minutes of dashcam pursuit footage looks unwinnable on first viewing. It is not. A Whitfield County jury returned an acquittal because the footage answered fewer questions than the State believed.
Defending Contested Rape Accusations in Georgia
These trials are won — and lost — long before the first witness is sworn. Investigation, restraint, and disciplined cross-examination decide outcomes that headlines never reach.
Suppression Motions in Georgia Felony Cases
Stops, prolonged detentions, K-9 deployment, and warrant deficiencies are the terrain on which serious narcotics and gun cases are most often quietly resolved.
Cross-Examining a Toxicologist in a Georgia DUI-Drugs Trial
A positive THC result is not impairment. A blood draw two hours after a stop is not the moment of driving. Cross-examination of the State's chemist is where a drug DUI is genuinely tried.
Georgia Jury Trial Strategy in Serious Felony Cases
Trials are decided long before opening statement. Preparation, voir dire, and the willingness to actually try the case shape every favorable plea, every dismissal, every acquittal that follows.
What to Do After an Arrest in Douglas County
Booking, first appearance, recorded jail calls, and the first decisions families face after a serious arrest in Douglasville.
Understanding the Georgia Bond Process
First appearance, Superior Court bond hearings, conditions, and the strategic decisions that follow a serious arrest.
Felony vs. Misdemeanor in Georgia
Classification, court of jurisdiction, misdemeanors of a high and aggravated nature, and the collateral consequences that follow each.
Miranda Rights in Georgia Criminal Cases
Custody, interrogation, invocation, and waiver — what Miranda actually requires and how it is litigated in serious Georgia cases.
Choosing a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer
The questions that distinguish a trial practice from a plea-mill practice — asked at the consultation, not after the engagement.
Georgia Search Warrant Requirements
Probable cause, the four corners of the affidavit, Franks challenges, and the practical anatomy of warrant suppression in Georgia.
Constructive Possession in Georgia Drug Cases
Power, intention, and the cross-examination of the case agent — how constructive possession is actually contested in Georgia trafficking cases.
Self-Defense Immunity Hearings in Georgia
O.C.G.A. § 16-3-24.2 immunity, the pretrial hearing, and what a well-prepared immunity motion actually does for a serious case.
Forensic Interviews in Georgia Child Cases
RATAC, NICHD, suggestion, and the methodology questions that determine the weight of a forensic interview at trial.
Fourth Amendment Traffic Stops in Georgia
Reasonable suspicion, mission scope, prolonged detentions under Rodriguez, K-9 deployments, and consent — the constitutional anatomy of a Georgia traffic stop.
Receiving a Federal Target Letter in Georgia
What a target letter actually means, the short pre-indictment window it opens, and how to use it.
Record Restriction and Expungement in Georgia
How Georgia's record restriction statute actually works, who qualifies, and what restriction and sealing do — and do not — erase.
The Grand Jury Process in Georgia
How Georgia grand juries work, what an indictment is, what 'no bill' means, and the limited but consequential defense opportunities before charging.
Jackson-Denno Hearings and Statement Suppression in Georgia
A defendant's recorded words are the most powerful evidence the State will ever offer. The hearing that decides whether the jury hears those words is the hearing that decides the case.
Cross-Examining the State's Expert in a Georgia Felony Trial
An expert who testifies confidently to a jury is not an expert who has been carefully examined. Patient, narrow, closing-driven cross-examination under O.C.G.A. § 24-7-702.
Forensic Evidence Challenges in Georgia Felony Cases
Chain of custody, GBI Division of Forensic Sciences methodology, pattern-comparison disciplines under scrutiny, and the evidentiary work that decides what the jury hears.