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The State of Georgia has passed legislation, effective May 6, 2013 , that makes it illegal to charge a fee to remove booking photographs of exonerated people from websites. Please see

http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/display/20132014/HB/150

I can’t tell you how many clients have called me and said that prospective employers saw their mugshot on line and declined to hire them or current employers got wind of an arrest and fired them. Or, worse yet, family members, friends, etc have seen their mugshots and even though their cases were ultimately dismissed, the mugshot and accompanying charge lives on forever damaging their reputation. I have several clients that have had mugshots remain on the internet EVEN AFTER PAYING MUGSHOTS.com AND having their cases expunged.

I hear this question often.

The problem is that once you are charged with some sort of domestic violence charge, you are now facing charges from the State, not the alleged victim. As a result, your spouse cannot simply “drop the charges” and the case will go away. Even if your spouse chooses not to cooperate with the State and not testify, the State can still proceed with the case. The State can use the alleged victim’s statements made on the day of the incident. The 911 transcripts, photos taken and the statements made by law enforcement that responded to the 911 call can also come in as evidence against you.

There are, however, ways to still combat a domestic violence charge. Feel free to contact us and we can explain what can be done to avoid a conviction.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on March 26,2013 in Florida v. Jardines (http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/11-564_5426.pdf )

that the use of a drug-sniffing dog to investigate the front door of a home was a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Thankfully, the Supreme Court ruled this way – or we’d have police trolling apartment complexes, buildings, public spaces, etc with an army of intrusive sniffing dogs. The justices ruled that having a dog sniffing at one’s door was indeed a search, and thus subject to the limitations of the Fourth Amendment.

Whether a police officer bringing a drug dog to sniff the door to a residence constitutes “trespassing” is an interesting issue brought up in this case. We will see how this court’s ruling will be played out as time progresses. The court found it unnecessary to determine whether the officers violated Jardines’ “reasonable expectation of privacy”, instead they focused on whether the officers’ physical intrusion on the porch established that the search had occurred.

LEGAL BATTLES ON TWO FRONTS

WHEN CRIMINAL LAW AND CIVIL LAW COLLIDE

Throughout human history, military planners have obsessed over one of the greatest military challenges their nation could face against an enemy: the two front war. That is, where their nation was attacked by enemies on two geographically separate fronts. For criminal defense attorneys and civil lawyers practicing today, it is important for them to keep in mind that their client may face criminal and civil legal battles on two fronts simultaneously. In other words, they and their client may have to fight their own two front war: one concerning civil law and the other concerning criminal law. These two front legal battles are becoming more and more common, as the criminal law and the civil law become more and more intertwined with one another.

On January 28, 2013, the United States Atttorneys Office for the Northern District of Georgia published a “press release” describing how four people were arrested “for operating a Pill Mill”. See www.justice.gov/usao/gan/press/2013/01-28-13.html

And on February 11, 2013, HB 178 passed a key House committee in Georgia. It aims to put pain management clinics under the regulation of Georgia’s medical board, and that as of June 30th, any new pain clinic would have to be physician owned – a requirement similar to other states.

The federal government has also recently been quoted as saying prescription pain killers are the nation’s number one drug epidemic.

Criminal Defense Attorney Meg Strickler comments on the murder trial of Jodi Arias.
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John McAfee’s legal situation has dramatically improved now that he has returned to the United States. As of the date of this blog, he is safer in the states than anywhere else. He fled Belize, snuck into Guatemala, and just came to the United States, after he was forcefully put on a U.S. bound flight by Guatemalan authorities. Belizean police still want to speak with McAfee about the murder of his American neighbor, Gregory Faull last month.

The key issue here is – does the U.S. have a MLA (Mutual Legal Assistance) treaty with Belize covering extraditions? And the answer is yes, Belize signed an extradition treaty with the U.S. in 2000. As with most treaties, there are exceptions to when a person is extraditable. This situation does not fit any of those exceptions. What is unique here, however, is that, at this time, McAfee is only a “person of interest” in Belize. No warrant has been issued yet in Belize. So, the discussion of extradition back to Belize is premature. 

Atlanta and Manhattan criminal defense attorney Meg Strickler is quoted in The Daily Beast, Newsweek magazine’s online website, discussing Micah Moore’s confession of murdering a prayer group leader’s wife, Bethany Deaton.

www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/30/a-confession-to-murder-quickly-withdrawn-rocks-religious-community.html

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-15/gupta-s-admirers-urge-mercy-as-insider-sentence-nears.html

The sentencing phase of a criminal trial is very important. It is always a good idea to get letters to give to the judge to influence his or her opinion as to what sentence to impose.