Recent Blog Posts

Should You Tell Your Probation Officer About a New Arrest?

Lawrenceville Divorce Attorney — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:14:00 GMT

The considerations and thoughts listed below is what I often tell my clients in response to this question:

Many probation clients find themselves faced with a dilemma after they have been arrested and have bonded out on new charges. They ask: should I tell my probation officer in Georgia of the new charges (which could result in an immediate probation violation arrest)?

Condition #1 of just about any criminal sentence in Georgia is "Do not violate the laws of this or any other governmental unit." The commission of a new offense while on probation would constitute a violation of that condition. However, being arrested for violating a law is not the same as having committed a violation of the law, and being arrested for a new offense is notk in and of itself, a probation violation; nonetheless, if a probationer is arrested for a new offense and his or her probation officer (PO) learns of it, a blazing red flag appears that the probationer may have violated Condition #1. So, what to do about it?

Most probation officers will want to develop a rapport with their probationers and establish a level of trust that better serves both parties throughout the monitoring process. If a probationer fails to disclose an arrest, that failure may not only break a signed 'rules of understanding' agreement that might have been originally signed with probation, but it will also breach the trust of the probation officer. When that PO/probationer trust is breached, the consequences can be serious: any sentencing or resolution recommendation the PO may make as to the probation violation will likely be much worse than if there had been full disclosure; if/when the PO ultimately finds out about the arrest, there will definitely be a warrant for the probationer's arrest; the PO may not speak favorably to the prosecutor in the new case; getting the probationer on a revocation court calendar gets delayed and, accordingly, the wait-time in jail could increase, and the terms of future reporting are negatively affected and any 'breaks' the PO may be willing to give are probably gone.

When a probationer has bonded on a new offense and then tells the probation officer about the new charges, many times the probation officer will take a 'wait and see' approach and, prior to seeking revocation, will see what the disposition is of the new, "underlying" charges; or, even if the PO does not take a 'wait and see' approach, the PO may be willing to give a "walk-in" court hearing for the probation revocation; this "walk-in" hearing would not require that the probationer first turn himself in before he goes before the judge, which is a really, really helpful perk for the probationer.

While it is true that a PO may still arrest a probationer on-the-spot if a new arrest is reported, the consequences of not telling the PO of the new arrest can be dire. Obviously, if the PO has no way of finding out about the arrest, then the only way the PO learns of it is through an admission of the probationer, and probationers sometimes choose to hide the new development and hope to get away with it. Depending on how on-the-ball or actively involved the PO is, this could, on occasion, be successful. However, the technology that allows for immediate sharing of criminal records information between government agencies has greatly improved over the past few years, and most probation officers (especially those working with the Georgia Department of Corrections, such as county felony probation officers) will not have any difficulty in checking on a probationer's current criminal status with GCIC (the central database where criminal arrests and convictions are transmitted in Georgia). As such, a probationer crossing his/her fingers and hoping the PO will not learn of the arrest is a significant gamble, and the odds are not in the probationer's favor.

Navigating through the thicket of probation concerns in the middle of worrying about the consequences for the new arrest itself is very difficult. Dealing with these issues without a Lawrenceville criminal defense lawyer is like jumping out of a plane using a parachute with a poor safety record: with so much at stake, it would seem like a good idea to invest in a good lawyer. At Fox Firm, P.C., providing a safety net and the security of a good lawyer is our pride and specialty. Probation violation cases are no exception and Fox Firm, P.C., located in Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia, welcomes the opportunity to represent probationers charged with probation violation all around metro Atlanta. Don't hesitate to contact the firm for addtional information.

Having a Drug Case Dismissed in Georgia

Douglas Fox — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:30:00 GMT

Drug possession and distribution charges in Georgia are usually formally referred to as V.G.C.S.A., which stands for Violation(s) of Georgia Controlled Substances Act, as defined in Title 16, Article 2 of O.C.G.A. Needless to say the consequences of a Georgia conviction for drug arrests - whether for felony possession of marijuana, possession of prescription drugs, possession of methamphetamine or cocaine, possession of drugs with intent to distribute, trafficking, etc. - can be devastating on someone's present quality of life and future employment opportunities, not to mention the threat of extended jail time.

The only V.G.C.S.A. charge that can be charged as a misdemeanor is possession of less than one ounce of marijuana. As with all other drug charges under V.G.C.S.A, however, a conviction for even misdemeanor possession of marijuana will, among other things, also result in the suspension of your driver's license for six months.

Hiring a competent and effective lawyer like Douglas N. Fox to represent you in a drug case in Georgia can serve to minimize the severity of the consequences you may suffer at the hands of the prosecutor and judge. Most importantly, if the circumstances of your case justify it, there is a good chance you can wind up with an outright dismissal of the charges against you. Obviously, a strong lawyer can capitalize on facts that show the police arrest or vehicle stop violated a suspect's search and seizure rights under the 4 ^th (and 14 ^th) Amendment; or on facts that indicate the required evidence of violation is missing, and work to have the case dismissed. More commonly, however, even when the facts surrounding the arrest indicate a likelihood that the charges will stick, an experienced lawyer can still have the charges dismissed. The tools that are used are called conditional dismissal, pretrial diversion and, if the options are truly limited, a plea under the Georgia First Offender Act (which will not result in a pure "dismissal," but will not count a "conviction" and will wipe the entire arrest and court disposition of your official Georgia criminal history).

The law office of Douglas N. Fox, P.C., located minutes from the Gwinnett County courthouse in Lawrenceville, Georgia, has over 15 years of experience in handling these drug charges and in working to obtain a fair resolution, including many, many dismissals. Not every individual or set of facts will qualify for a dismissal, and most of the arrangements that lead to a dismissal that are worked out still involve minor short-term consequences. Whatever the facts are, do NOT just walk into court and enter a plea in a drug case without first hiring a good lawyer with experience in resolving these cases. Contact the firm today, and obatin the help you need, right away.

What Cases Are Eligible to be Expunged?

Lawrenceville Criminal Defense Attorney — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:45:00 GMT

Under current Georgia law, cases that did not end in a dismissal cannot be expunged or erased. In Georgia criminal cases, the consequences of a conviction or nolo plea can be devastating - even when the 'deal' offered by the prosecutor or the sentence imposed by the judge seems lenient.

Just because your case ends without a jail term, loss of your driver's license or is even disposed of without a period of supervised probation does not mean you have made it through the woods unscathed. What many people find out years down the road is that any arrest that does not end in the dismissal of your case will wind up on their permanent criminal record (meaning his/her GCIC, Georgia Criminal Information Center record).

Future employment and school prospects will likely be severely hindered by the presence of an arrest and conviction/nolo on someone's record. My office received countless inquiries a week about trying to erase or expunge a criminal charge that ended in a conviction or plea deal.

The complaint is always the same: "My past record is hurting my job search." The hard truth is, however, that cases that did not end in dismissal simply cannot be expunged or erased! The only way to protect your criminal record is to hire a lawyer to secure a disposition of your case that makes expungement a possibility - this must be done before the case is resolved.

Moreover, not every case that will be dismissed becomes eligible for the record to be cleared or erased at a later date. The smartest approach is to have an experienced criminal defense attorney represent you before you enter into a deal you think puts you out of the woods.

To learn more about expungement and how to best protect your future, do not hesitate to contact a Lawrenceville criminal defense lawyer at my firm today.

Welcome to our Criminal Defense Blog

Criminal Defense Attorney — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:11:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Criminal Defense Blog.