Lawrenceville, GA
Appeals Lawyer at Lawrenceville, GA
Practice Areas: Appeals, DUI & DWI, Criminal Defense
OUTCOME: conviction reversed
This driver was forced to allow a police officer to search her pockets, and the officer could not explain to the judge why he wanted to search her pockets. You do not have to allow a police officer to ... look in your pockets; don't consent to a search! SUCCESSFULLY CHALLENGED SEARCH OF DRIVER'S POCKET; CONVICTION REVERSED AS SEARCH EXCEEDED PERMISSIBLE SCOPE OF PAT - DOWN SEARCH.
OUTCOME: conviction reversed
Lindsay's employer was concerned for his mental health. The employer got a probate judge to sign a "pick up order" allowing Lindsay to be involuntarily committed and assessed for mental well-being. W ... hen a deputy picked up Lindsay, he searched his pockets before putting him in the police car, and then instead of taking Lindsay to a hospital as the order told him to do, he took him to jail because LIndsay had drugs in his pocket! Police officers cannot use a committal order to search someone's pockets for contraband! SUCCESSFULLY CHALLENGED CONVICTION ARISING FROM A WARRANTLESS SEARCH OF A MAN DETAINED PURSUANT COURT COMMITTAL COURT.
OUTCOME: conviction reversed
SUCCESSFULLY CHALLENGED DRUG CONVICTION OF CLIENT WHO ENDURED A "ROUTINE PAT - DOWN" BY AN OFFICER WHO DID NOT ESTABLISH THAT CLIENT WAS A THREAT TO OFFICER SAFETY OR INVOLVED IN THE DRUG TRADE.
OUTCOME: conviction reversed
Along with co-counsel Christine Koehler of Lawrenceville, Georgia, we attempted to further challenge the DUI-marijuana laws. While we did not succeed in throwing out all DUI-marijuana convictions, thi ... s case FURTHER CLARIFIED DUI STATUTES; THE COURT ULTIMATELY DECLARED THAT THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "INCAPABLE OF DRIVING SAFELY" AND "LESS-SAFE TO DRIVE."
OUTCOME: conviction reversed
This driver was speeding in order to get home before curfew. The prosecution could not prove when the driver ingested marijuana, or whether his test resulted from second-hand smoke. The jury acquitte ... d this driver of being a "less-safe" driver, but convicted because at the time, Georgia law prohibited driving while ANY AMOUNT of a drug is present in the driver's system. WE SUCCESSFULLY CHALLENGED GEORGIA'S DUI LAW REGARDING DRIVING WITH "ANY AMOUNT OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE OR MARIJUANA" IN BLOOD OR URINE, ON GROUNDS THAT STATE'S DISTINCTION BETWEEN LEGAL AND ILLEGAL USERS OF MARIJUANA DID NOT RELATE TO LEGISLATURE'S PURPOSE AND VIOLATED EQUAL PROTECTION
OUTCOME: conviction reversed
SUCCESSFULLY CHALLENGED THE USE OF A LASER AS A SPEED DETECTION DEVICE. Unfortunately, the Legislature was in session at the time the Court decided this case. The Legislature immediately passed a law ... allowing cops to use Lasers in Georgia. This case voided about 700 speeding tickets throughout the State of Georgia. Good for the drivers, not so good I guess for the taxpayers!
OUTCOME: conviction upheld
We challenged whether prosecutors could use pieces of paper as evidence that the breath testing machine worked. It's difficult to ask a piece of paper questions. Ultimately, the court ruled that ther ... e's no right to cross-examine the machine! UNSUCCESSFULLY CHALLENGED THE STATUTORILY - CREATED HEARSAY EXCEPTION USE OF INSPECTION CERTIFICATES AS EVIDENCE THAT BREATH TESTING DEVICES HAVE ALL MANUFACTURER'S PARTS ATTACHED AND IN GOOD WORKING ORDER.
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