Based in McDonough. Handling cases across south metro Atlanta.
My approach is rigorous and data driven. I ask hard questions early in a case. Is a jury trial winnable? Is it worth the risk? Is it the best use of my client's resources? How have your judge and your prosecutor dealt with similar cases in the past?
If you are arrested in Hampton, Locust Grove, McDonough or Stockbridge, your case goes first to that city's court. Arrests in unincorporated Henry County go straight to State Court.
Being charged in City Court is a blessing. If you are charged with a state-law misdemeanor, you have the absolute right to a jury trial, but city courts cannot conduct jury trials. This means you get to decide which court will resolve your case.
As a general rule, city courts charge higher fines but impose less jail time and generate less of a paper trail. State Court is more formal, and all case records are on a public-access computer. The State Court of Henry County imposes the harshest misdemeanor sentences of any court in metro Atlanta.
Because city courts cannot try your case, city prosecutors will often reduce charges or require less jail time when you agree to pay a fine. This is especially true for defendants with a prior DUI in the past 10 years, who often receive harsh jail sentences in State Court. If you cannot get a fair offer in city court, demand a jury trial: the case moves to State Court and negotiations start from scratch with a new prosecutor. You can still plead there. But be realistic about what State Court will do before you transfer.
If you can pay a hefty fine and want your case handled quietly, keep it in city court. If you are innocent, transfer it to State Court. Other situations are more complicated.
For every 100 DUI defendants charged in Henry County State Court:
These charging numbers are about a decade old but don't appear to have changed much.
Half of those who go to trial are acquitted. That doesn't mean more people should go to trial: defendants with weak cases plead, and defendants with beatable cases try them. If you were weaving, lost your balance on video and blew 0.12, no amount of fancy lawyering is likely to win. A lawyer who knows how to evaluate cases and predict juries will have a higher-than-average acquittal rate. Mine is 67%.
If the officer took your license and gave you a temporary permit (DDS Form 1205), you have 30 days from the arrest to request an administrative license hearing or install an ignition interlock. Do nothing, and the suspension takes effect automatically.
Refusal. The State rarely reduces these, but they are easier to win at trial than high-BAC cases. Three out of four Henry County DUI arrests are on video. If you look sober on the video and there's no bad driving, your chances are good. Roadblock cases are easier to win than traffic stops.
Low BAC (0.079 or less). These can usually be reduced to reckless driving.
Borderline (0.080–0.100). Breath machines carry a 5% margin of error even when used perfectly. These cases are winnable but need an expert on chemical testing.
High BAC (0.10 or more). The fight is to suppress the test: an unlawful stop, an unauthorized roadblock, uncertified equipment, or a denied independent test. The motion is heard before trial, so you can try to suppress and still plead if it fails.
Yes. You may have a defense you don't know about, and the range of punishment is huge: there is a big difference between 24 hours and 10 days in jail. But a client who pleads guilty should never pay thousands of dollars in fees. For an experienced DUI lawyer, evaluating a case is routine work, like a doctor reading an x-ray.
Almost every client asks. Three days before the 2000 presidential election, the media reported that George W. Bush had been arrested for DUI in the 1970s. He had the best lawyers money could buy, and the conviction stayed hidden through two governor's races and a primary, but not forever. No arrest can be completely hidden; aggressive lawyering can make it much harder to find.
Many lawyers tell clients that first offender treatment keeps a charge off their record. That is misleading. First offender removes the charge from the public version of your official history, but the charge and your guilty plea stay in the court record, where anyone at the courthouse, and the private background-check companies, can find them.
From best to worst:
Even after pretrial intervention, court records stay public until a judge orders them restricted. That isn't automatic. No lawyer can guarantee there will be no trace of an arrest. I can guarantee that if you don't act soon after the arrest, there will be a public, permanent record.
Over 75% of my shoplifting clients were caught on video. Most first-time shoplifters should pursue pretrial intervention (PTI), which the Henry County State Court and the City Court of Stockbridge both offer. If you complete PTI, the charges are dismissed, you never enter a guilty plea, and you can have your records restricted and the court record sealed.
For repeat shoplifting, a fourth conviction is a felony with a mandatory minimum of one year in prison. Either the case can be beaten at trial or, where the evidence is clear, an aggressive program of rehabilitation can reduce the sentence.
Major felonies carry long mandatory sentences, and prosecutors seldom make offers worth taking, so these cases often go to trial.
A first offender charged with a minor felony rarely gets prison time in Henry County, but the conviction alone can be devastating to a career. A respected lawyer can often improve the offer just by making a difficult jury trial a credible threat.
I have the trial skills to win winnable cases, the judgment to know which cases I can't win, and the integrity to tell my clients the truth.
The date on your citation is your arraignment date. Depending on the court, there will be 40 to 200 cases on the calendar. There is no chance of a trial breaking out, because there won't be any witnesses in the courtroom.
You have three options: plead guilty, plead not guilty, or ask for a continuance. If you plead guilty, sentence is imposed immediately. Most Henry County judges will grant a one-time continuance to hire a lawyer.
If you are charged with anything more serious than a speeding ticket, don't. All pretrial motions, including motions to suppress and for discovery, must be filed within 10 days of arraignment. If you plead not guilty before hiring a lawyer, you may waive your best defense without knowing it.
Your citations were written by a police officer, not a lawyer. A prosecutor will later decide which charges to pursue. Prosecutors often file multiple charges for leverage, and it costs them almost nothing. The good news: when a defendant pleads, it is common for the prosecutor to dismiss some of the charges.
An officer only has to read you your rights before questioning you while you are under arrest. Evidence gathered before the arrest is probably admissible anyway. I have seen quite a few Miranda violations and gotten a few clients acquitted because of them, but many occur after the prosecution already has compelling evidence.
Criminal defense lawyer in McDonough since 2006: over 1,000 criminal cases, from public intoxication to murder, 16 jury trials and 15 criminal appeals.
The Abbott Law Firm
30 Woodruff St.
McDonough, GA 30253
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