Atlanta Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

To the person who stumbled across this: I am a semi-regular blogger whose office is in Atlanta, and I discuss federal criminal cases, and the profession of being a lawyer who represents people and/or companies who are charged with crimes.  Yesterday I was meeting with a client who will be pleading guilty in the near…

I am currently working on a federal criminal appeal that will go to the lovely building a few blocks away that houses the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit here in downtown Atlanta. The appeal involves a “jury instruction”, which means the rules of law that the trial judge provides to jurors…

Attorneys who, like me, spend most of their time representing people accused of federal crimes know far too well what the academic researchers and writers call the “Trial Penalty.”  This is the well-documented aspect of the federal criminal justice system in which any person with the nerve to stand up to the federal government in…

It was a bad day recently here in Atlanta when I learned that some clients had been indicted for some federal crimes, even though we have been trying for years to convince the prosecutors that no charges should be brought.  Sometimes, criminal defense lawyers fail to adequately explain their clients about  the process that happens…

This happened recently to someone in Atlanta, but it also takes place everywhere else in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina and all over the country.  The FBI or some other federal criminal investigation unit shows up at someone’s front door, wanting to ask questions and possibly to get the person’s cooperation.  What did that person…

Here in Atlanta and other federal cases that I handle throughout Georgia, Florida, Alabama and other states, lawyers often chuckle (and once in a while enjoy a full belly laugh) at some defenses I come up with once in a while.  Here are a couple.  Now, remember, these are reserved for certain fact patterns, and…

I am reviewing the Discovery (meaning the evidence) in a somewhat old federal criminal case that has ties to both Atlanta and North Carolina.  My client is accused of a drug crime, and from the indictment and other materials it appears that the prosecutors contend that there is a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years…

With apologies to the late great Kenny Rogers (who had a house not far from mine in Atlanta) ,  part of the federal criminal defense lawyer’s job is to decide whether or not he should turn over “good” defense evidence to a prosecutor BEFORE an indictment is issued in the hopes that no charges will…

I have several federal criminal cases in Atlanta and other parts of Georgia involving allegations that my clients dealt in marijuana.  Some folks in other parts of the country also have contacted me recently about federal criminal prosecutions in states where the local laws permit personal use and state-sponsored sale of marijuana.  In virtually all…

Readers know that from my law office here in Atlanta I work on and travel around the country to places where I represent individuals and companies accused of federal crimes.  I also pontificate on occasion about the importance of keeping current in order to do this kind of work.  A case issued three days ago…