Frequently Asked Questions

ASAP-immediately following an arrest or citation. There are certain rights and privileges that may be unintentionally waived if you do not have an attorney. 

Knowing your rights can make the difference between a criminal conviction and an acquittal or dismissal of charges. 

Under Georgia law, if you are are stopped by the police, you have the right to:

1. Remain Silent. You do not have to answer any questions about where you are going, whether or not you were drinking, etc. Cooperate without speaking, if possible. Do not volunteer information, but do not lie.
2. Ask if you are being detained or why you were pulled over. Police have to have reason to believe you committed a crime to pull you over. If the officer says you are free to leave or not being detained, you should leave. 
3. Decline to consent to a search of your person or your personal items. They may search anyway, but you should state verbally that you do not consent to search.
4. Ask for a lawyer. Do not give any statements or sign anything without a lawyer present.

Acceptable phrases to use when pulled over or stopped on foot by the police:

Why did you pull me over? or No, I don't know why you pulled me over.

Am I being detained?

No, you may not search me or my belongings or my vehicle.

My name is _______________.

I respectfully decline to answer any questions.

If you say anything outside of these phrases, you are saying too much!

Yes, traffic offenses are considered criminal offenses in Georgia. Most are misdemeanors, although there are some that are considered felonies. 

The Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) maintains a website where you can check the status of your license. It is a good idea to check your license periodically, especially if you have received a traffic ticket recently and are expecting a court notice in the mail. Sometimes court notices get lost in the mail and people end up with Failure to Appear Warrants. This can prevent you from being charged with Driving on a Suspended License, which is a serious charge in Georgia. Check the DDS website here.

Georgia's DUI law has several parts. One is the "Less Safe" subsection. This subsection states:

"A person shall not drive or be in actual physical control of any moving vehicle while under the influence of alcohol to the extent that it is less safe for the person to drive." 

The State frequently charges people with DUI Less Safe in 3 situations:

• The driver refused to submit to the state-administered chemical test,
• The test results are unusable for some reason, or
• The test results have been suppressed from evidence. 

1. You do not have to answer any questions. I typically recommend that my clients politely decline to answer any questions asked of them by the police, because the police can use your words and your manner of speaking against you. For example, the police routinely write in their police reports that a person was “belligerent” or if they had “slurred speech.”
2. You are not required to participate in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing. Whether or not the police inform you that these tests are voluntary, you legally cannot be compelled to perform them. Most attorneys who practice DUI law will tell you that these tests are difficult to pass even for a person who is not under the influence, and that they were designed that way. It is generally safer to decline to take them (again, politely).
3. You should not consent to any searches of your vehicle. While in certain circumstances the police can search your vehicle even without your consent, it is much more difficult to challenge the legality of a search in court if you give the police your permission to search.

You should call a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer immediately. In some jurisdictions, certain types of warrants are not difficult to clear up. But failing to clear up a pending warrant can result in a huge inconvenience. For example, if you are stopped for a minor traffic offense and you have a warrant out for your arrest, the police will most likely take you into custody, even if that offense would normally just result in a traffic citation and not arrest. 

If you think you might have a warrant out for your arrest, call me today. Only your attorney can properly advise you of what to do based on the particular type of warrant, the jurisdiction, and on the circumstances of your case. 

If you missed a court date, you may have a bench warrant - also known as a Failure to Appear or FTA warrant - for your arrest. Your license may also be suspended. First, you should call an attorney as soon as possible. You are at risk of being taken to jail if you happen to make contact with the police, even in a situation where most people would not be arrested (like if you get pulled over for speeding).

There is a common misconception that a person cannot be charged with a crime if no one is "pressing charges" against them. It's true that many criminal cases begin with a person calling the police and alleging that they have been a victim of a crime. However, once some investigation has been done, the State takes over. At that point, it is really the State that is "pressing charges." That is why criminal cases are listed in public records as "The State of Georgia vs. John Doe." That is also why cases can proceed even if a victim wants to drop charges.

You should never appear in court without an attorney, even if you believe that it is your best option to plead guilty. There are several reasons for this. 

First, a Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney is the best person to negotiate your case with the State and get you the best possible outcome. 

Second, pleading guilty to a criminal or traffic offense may have collateral consequences that go beyond the sentence that the judge hands down in court. For example, while convictions in most traffic cases merely result in points on your license, there are some offenses that carry an automatic license suspension. Other offenses can affect your immigration status if you are not a U.S. citizen. 

Finally, pleading guilty may not actually be your best option. A Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney is trained to examine all of the evidence in your case and to determine what valid defenses there may be to your criminal charge. In many cases, attorneys can find defenses that non-lawyers may not know about.

This is probably the most common question I get. I want to make it clear that I personally know many public defenders and they are some of the best lawyers in the state, and many are highly experienced. It's also important understand there are different types of "public defenders" in Georgia. A true "public defender" is an attorney who works in a county public defender office and only handles cases assigned to them through the public defender's office. They do not have private clients. Some counties do not have a public defender's office, and use "court-appointed" attorneys instead. In these counties, you have to apply to be assigned a court-appointed lawyer directly. If you meet the low income requirements, then the county will assign you a lawyer. The county will then pay the lawyer directly instead of you paying the lawyer (but you may have to reimburse the county later for those fees). 

Some court-appointed attorneys do a great deal of court-appointed work, and have almost no private clients. Other court-appointed lawyers have many private clients and only take a few court-appointed cases. 

The trick with public defenders and court-appointed attorneys is you don't get to pick who represents you. You are usually stuck with whoever is assigned to you. Just like in any other profession, some lawyers are great and others are terrible. For people who simply have no money for an attorney, they have no choice but to go with an attorney assigned to them. This can be understandably very scary, especially if they are facing serious charges. It's stressful enough to be worried about your charges and it makes it much worse if you also have to worry about whether your lawyer will do a good job. If you end up with a bad lawyer (private or public), it can be very difficult to undo the damage they have caused. 

YES! Never be afraid to call and ask how much they will charge. A good lawyer will want to get more information about the case before giving you a price, and they may have to call you back. That is OK. You want them to be giving you an informed price quote. If they just tell you a price without doing any research or asking any questions, I would be skeptical of them. 

I do want to caution people that it is often very surprising how much any criminal lawyer costs. 

People unfamiliar with the criminal process don't realize that most cases take months or years to resolve. Your lawyer will be doing lots of work behind the scenes (like writing legal documents, evidence review, legal research, working with the prosecutors and judges) as well as many court appearances. It takes time and hard work to handle a criminal case, and a good lawyer will put it many hours preparing your defense.

Most private criminal lawyers charge a flat rate price to defend a criminal case. For example, if you have been arrested for your very first DUI, a lawyer may charge you $4,000. However, that number may be higher or lower, depending on your criminal history, other charges you have pending, where you were arrested, and the circumstances of the case. 

Some lawyers (like me) are usually willing to do payment plans to help manage the financial burden. The details of that payment plan are going to be different (just like the price) depending on your specific situation. This is why you shouldn't be afraid to call several lawyers to find something that works for you. 

You should RUN from any lawyer that uses a price list. No two cases are exactly the same, so a price list means they are going to charge you a premium for what it costs to handle that kind of case - even if your specific case will really take much less work. Most lawyers should have a rough estimate of how much they charge for particular cases, but that may be be adjusted up or down based on some of the things I mentioned in the question above (depending on your criminal history, other charges you have pending, where you were arrested, and the circumstances of the case).  

It can be frustrating to figure out what is the "right" amount to pay lawyer. Remember, lawyers will be putting in many future hours into your case, and it can be hard to predict how many hours that will be. The bigger the case (murder cases for example), the more hours they will be putting into it. So obviously, it will cost more. Each lawyer makes those predictions a little differently so that is why the price range is different.  Also, for some lawyers, they are also passing on their costs (like the cost of the salaries for their staff, associates, advertising, etc.) on to you through their higher fees. 

And what's really unfortunate is that those same staff and associates that you are paying for through higher fees can later become a roadblock for you getting to actually talk to the big-name attorney that you hired!

When considering price, also consider other factors that will affect your case. (See below - how do I decide which lawyer to hire?) You need to compare both the price - and the lawyer you're getting for that price - before you make a final decision. 

I make it a point to customize payment plans to each specific person and the demands of their case. In general, if you contact me soon after the arrest, I can usually do a longer payment plan with smaller monthly payments, because we have more time before the case will likely be resolved. If you contact me after you've had many court dates and perhaps are looking at getting it resolved very soon, I won't be able to do much of a payment plan (if any) because of the sheer amount of work that has to be done in short period of time, and I may have to stop working on other things to handle your case immediately. If you wait too long to hire a lawyer, some important things may have been missed or done wrong, so that means a lot of work to get your case back on track. But regardless of your circumstances, I never charge interest on payments and never charge for credit card processing fees like some other firms do.

There are other things that go into how we set up a payment plan. If you are able to put a larger amount down when you hire me, the monthly payments can be lower. But if you can only put down a small amount, the monthly payments are going to be higher. In any case, the payments must be made monthly, and all payments have to be completed before the case is likely to be resolved. I don't care who makes the payment - it can be a family member or friend. My firm offers online invoice payment by credit, debit or e-check. This makes it easier on my clients and their families because payment can be made from anywhere in the world without incurring extra fees. And as always, my clients and/or their family are also welcome to come to my Atlanta or Peachtree Corners office to make payments. 

No and no. A cheap lawyer may seem like a great idea at first but I hear way too many horror stories about lawyers who charge extremely low fees. In order for these lawyers to succeed with such small fees, that means they must have a very high volume of clients. A lawyer is still a human being, so they can only be in one place at a time, and can only work on so many cases during their working hours. If a low-price high-volume lawyer has 10 times as many clients as most private lawyers, it is likely that lawyer simply cannot give each case the amount of attention that it really needs. 

So, you may be "saving" money but putting your future at risk at the same time by using a lawyer who doesn't have the time to get to know you and your case. And like I mentioned above, it is very hard to undo the damage to your case caused by mistakes made by a lawyer who didn't do their job properly from the beginning. I get calls all the time from people saying they should never have hired that low price lawyer because they aren't doing anything on the case and now the client is very worried about what will happen to their future.

Some well-known lawyers are extremely expensive. That is not surprising. But just because a lawyer is very expensive, or is very well known, that doesn't mean they are the best one for your case. Sometimes, you are paying extra for the name - sort of like buying a new Lexus instead of a new Toyota. Both will safely, comfortably, and reliably get you to exactly where you need to be, but one is just a lot more expensive and flashier.  

At the end of the day, was it worthwhile to go into debt or empty your savings just to have the Lexus take you to the same place the Toyota can take you? I'm not picking on Lexus - I love a nice car! But your case, your future and your finances are all very important, so be smart about what exactly you are paying for when you hire a lawyer. Staff, associates, advertising and big office spaces all cost money. Some big-name lawyers will pass those costs on to you through charging you higher fees. Those lawyers don't necessarily know the law, the judge or the prosecutors any better than middle-priced lawyers. So think hard about your situation before choosing to hire a lawyer just because they are high-profile.

I know it can be scary to decide, especially when facing serious charges. You are putting your trust and your future in their hands. I think the smartest thing to do is call several lawyers and talk to each of them about your case. Here are some things to consider - in addition to their price and payment plan - before you choose which one to hire:

• How comfortable were you in speaking with each lawyer? You will be working closely with this lawyer and you want to feel like they listen to you and have your best interests at heart. If you don't feel like they were easy to talk to, move on to another lawyer.
• How will you be able to contact them once they take your case? Some well-known lawyers and high-volume lawyers can be very hard to get on the phone. You always end up talking to a staff member. Sure, the attorney may be willing to talk to you when you're interested in hiring them, but then they "disappear" after you've paid them. Your calls never get returned, and your questions go unanswered for weeks or months. I have a policy of giving my clients (and their family contact) my cell phone number. Calls come directly to me. And I return voicemails and texts myself - usually the same day (if I've been in court all day or it's the weekend, it may take a little longer than 24 hours but speaking directly with my clients in a timely fashion is extremely important to me). 
• Do they have an associate (younger lawyer) who works for them? Some high-profile lawyers have younger lawyers who end up handling much of your case. This may be just fine - the associate might be a great attorney. But if you are paying lots of money for a high-profile lawyer, you might be very disappointed to find out that that high-profile lawyer didn't really do any of the work on your case. 
• Did they try to rush you into signing a contract? You should take some time to consider who is the best lawyer for you. If you have court in the next few days, you can't take too long to decide. But don't let a lawyer pressure you into signing a contract right away. That is usually a bad sign. They should have no problem with letting you think about it and call other lawyers. 
• How well do they know the county where your case is pending? Part of handling your case will be knowing what your judge and that particular prosecutor might do, and what options are available to you that could help you resolve your case. Ask the lawyer how well they know the county where your case is pending. Some lawyers will take cases all over metro Atlanta, and hiring a lawyer with very little experience in a particular county might not be a good idea because they don't have the "inside knowledge" to give you the best defense possible.

If you have questions about how much it will cost to hire me, feel free to call or text me. I will usually need to get more information on the case so that I can review it before I give out a price. But I am never bothered by people who are shopping around and talking to different lawyers - I think that is a very smart way to decide who to trust with your case and your future.