In Georgia, the term homicide encompasses all acts of the killing of another human. Murder and manslaughter are very serious homicide crimes. The state of Georgia does not have varying degrees of murder. In Georgia, there is only one degree of murder. Murder is committed when a person intentionally kills another, acts with depraved disregard for human life, or kills another person while committing a felonious crime.
Georgia Murder, Homicide, and Manslaughter
Friday, 09 August 2019
There are severe consequences for homicide, murder or manslaughter charges in Georgia. If you are charged with one of these violent crimes, you could be facing life imprisonment or possibly the death penalty. You need the legal representation of an experienced, skilled and aggressive Georgia attorney. We are committed to protecting the rights of the accused in all types of Georgia criminal cases, including murder, homicide and manslaughter.
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- Published in Aggravated Felony, Criminal, Criminal Defense, Felony
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11 Reasons Why You Should Never Talk To The Police When Arrested or Questioned (Part 6)
Tuesday, 06 August 2019
11. If you are the alleged victim of a crime and you call the police to investigate that crime, you can still be accused of some other criminal offense if they see evidence of it in plain view. You will never know what the police have in their file against you, and you will never know your actual potential criminal exposure. When you interact with a police officer, you may be providing evidence to them that may cause them to charge you with a crime that is not even under consideration against you. This is commonly referred to as the plain view doctrine. When you invite the police into your life or home, you are subject to what they see, and you are at risk therein. Many clients who let police into their home, and in plain view, the police will see evidence of another crime, often something drug-related. When the police see rolling papers or evidence of drug use, they will look to investigate further. As a result, inviting the police into your home can cause you to be charged with a crime, even if you are reporting that you are the victim of some other crime.
Example: Someone who was a victim of a burglary of his home, and he invited police into his home. However, as police were looking around, there were things they saw in plain view that led them to believe there was drug trafficking in the home. They got a search warrant and eventually found a drug room, lights, scales, plastic bag, large sums of money and they uncovered an entire drug and distribution center. Just because police were there to investigate an offense that you are the victim of, you could be charged with another serious offense if they witness the evidence of that in plain view.
For these reasons and more, you should never speak to the police, for any reason, ever! As explained, it does not matter if you are innocent or guilty; it is never in your best interest to speak to the police. These are just some of the reasons why it is best to ask for an attorney and to never talk to the police! Guilty people regret talking to the police! Innocent people always regret it, as well.
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- Published in Criminal, Criminal Defense
11 Reasons Why You Should Never Talk To The Police When Arrested or Questioned (Part 5)
Saturday, 03 August 2019
9. Even if a suspect is guilty and wants to confess, there may be other factors, which would justify a lesser charge. Sometimes, the police do not have as much evidence as it may appear. The police may suggest you committed the most severe crime possible when the evidence does not support it. The suspect may have committed a lesser grade of the same offense or some other offense altogether. It is important to wait to speak to an attorney before admitting any information.
Example: When a client gives a confession, the police are very good at making sure the suspect with whom they are interviewing confesses to each and every element of the offense for which they could be charged. This could lead to a person being overcharged. In many cases, we see indictments that have 10 or 15 counts, when it was a series of one single criminal act. Again, there are too many examples we have seen to list a particular case. However, when a person wants to take responsibility for what they have done, It is far better to first hire a Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney to work out a plea agreement. We can contact the prosecutor and work out a pre-indictment plea to one or two criminal charges, not the entire series of crimes that could have potentially been charged.
10. Even for a completely honest and innocent person, it is challenging to tell the same story twice precisely the same way. If you told your story to the police first, and then you repeat your story in court, the chances are very high that some little details in your statement are going to change. This can happen when you are 100% truthful. A good prosecutor will pick up on these changes and will relentlessly question you about them, to make it look like you are lying. Even if it is a minor detail, evidence that you lied or were mistaken can look unfavorable to a jury.
Example: We do not have to look to the criminal law to see if this is true. If anyone remembers playing the telephone game as a child, when you line up children and whisper something in one child’s ear, by the time the story goes through many different people, the story will fundamentally change. It is tough to remember exactly what happened especially after being interrogated by the police. However, when looked at logically, no person can give the same statement over and over again without minor changes. You can still be criticized for memorizing your statement, yet still. There is essentially no way to win when giving a statement to the police.
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- Published in Criminal, Criminal Defense
11 Reasons Why You Should Never Talk To The Police When Arrested or Questioned (Part 4)
Tuesday, 30 July 2019
7. Even if you are innocent and only tell the truth and do not tell the police anything incriminating and the entire interview is videotaped, your answers can still be used to crucify you if the police have any evidence, even mistaken or unreliable evidence that any of your statements are false. You never know what information the police have or what is in their file against you. Furthermore, you can never be certain what the police are investigating you for. Any evidence that makes it seem that your testimony is false, even when it is not, can be used to make you appear unreliable. If the witness was confused or had inadequate information, they will still seem more credible than you if you had told the police something contrary to what a witness says.
Example: A juvenile, being charged as an adult, who truthfully confessed to a series of thefts and assaults. Unfortunately, at the same time, his elderly grandmother, who was his guardian, had told a different story that she also thought to be true. Both the client and the grandmother stated truthful, yet contradictory stories. The primary element of the case was whether or not he had permission to drive a vehicle. Ultimately the word “permission” was related to what extent he was allowed to drive the vehicle. As a result, the sheriff added automobile theft charges to the other less severe charges. The client said he had permission to drive the car and the grandmother said he did not, but the extent of the “permission” was taken out of context because she meant he did not have consent to use the vehicle to commit another crime. Finally, he was convicted of automobile theft even though we believed he did not steal his grandmother’s car; he simply used it for different reasons than his grandmother would have allowed. The prosecutor made it seem like to the jury that he stole his grandmother’s vehicle.
8. The police do not have the authority to make deals or grant a suspect leniency in exchange for getting a statement. Many people are under the misconception that the police can get them a better deal if they confess. However, the police are not the ones that have the authority to make deals. The Prosecutor, which is the District Attorney in Superior Court or the Solicitor General in State Court is the only party that can negotiate plea agreements, grant immunity, or make deals. Therefore, it is better to wait until you have your Georgia Criminal Attorney speak with them to work out an arrangement or plea deal.
Example: Countless clients that have been told by police officers that if they cooperate things will go easier. It occurs in a wide range of crimes from DUI to Aggravated Assault cases. Ultimately as stated above only a prosecutor can offer a negotiated plea.
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- Published in Criminal, Criminal Defense, Moral Terpitude
11 Reasons Why You Should Never Talk To The Police When Arrested or Questioned (Part 3)
Saturday, 27 July 2019
5. Even if you are innocent and only tell the truth and do not tell the police anything incriminating, there is still a grave chance that your answers can be used to crucify you if the police do not recall your testimony with 100% accuracy. Police officers do not always write every word down, yet they are then called upon to remember what someone said in a police interview. Months or years later, they are called upon to testify at trial where they are forced to remember precisely what you said. Mistakes can easily be made, and these mistakes can cost you the outcome of the trial, even though you were honest from the beginning.
Example: Neither the FBI nor GBI records their interviews. Many accused people have been interrogated by sheriffs and police investigators who have had their statements misconstrued. A GBI agent spent a great deal of time discussing with someone about the terrible things that would happen to them in prison. He also said all the ways he would help him if our he came forward. Then, that same GBI agent had him provide a written confession that was used to send him to prison. Of course, the agent has not “recollection” of his offer to help the accused if he was honest.
6. Even if you are innocent and only tell the truth and do not tell the police anything incriminating and your statement is videotaped, your answers can be used to crucify you if the police do not recall the questions with 100% accuracy. If police officers do not remember 100% accurately the questions they asked, your answers could be made to look as untruthful, even if it was the truth. Police officers are human too and can make mistakes when testifying about the questions asked.
Example: This often happens when a suspect’s questioning was taken out of context. Many suspects have had their interviews videotaped. Yet, the prosecutor, just like the news media, will selectively play parts of their interview to take the answers out of context, making the accused appear to in a bad light. Also, incriminating parts of interviews are properly recorded, yet the parts that would be likely to prove your innocent are sometimes mysteriously misplaced. Then, only the damaging parts get played in court.
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- Published in Criminal, Criminal Defense
Understanding the 5th Amendment
Thursday, 18 July 2019
The Fifth Amendment protects people from having to testify against themselves. Therefore, the prosecution must use evidence and witnesses instead of the testimony of the accused person to convict them. The point of the 5th Amendment is to protect people from saying something incriminating. However, people who invoke this right and refuse to say anything are often thought of as guilty or have something to hide. It seems that either way you are doomed because if you talk, you could mistakenly say something that could be used against you but if you do not, people assume you are guilty. If you do decide to talk to the police, you could make mistakes when explaining where you were at the time of the crime or you could be tricked into saying the wrong thing, and those statements could lead to you being convicted of a serious crime.
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- Published in Criminal, Criminal Defense, Moral Terpitude
Why a Person Should Never Speak to The Police
Monday, 15 July 2019
As stated eloquently by Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, “Any lawyer worth his salt will tell the suspect in no uncertain terms to make no statement to the police under any circumstances.”
A criminal defense attorney would be a fool to ever let his client speak to the police. One of the foremost experts, Professor James Duane, lectured upon reasons why people should never talk to the police. Our office is very thankful that he has allowed us to put these ideas on our website and we have included his 45-minute video presentation that explains why a person should never speak to the police under any circumstances whatsoever along with his lecture on: “You Have the Right to Remain Innocent.” We recommend that you purchase his book “You have the Right to Remain Innocent” as well. We also tell anyone who calls our office to “never talk to the police.”
In our law practice, we comprised some examples of when our clients spoke to the police before retaining our office. It is of our opinion that of all the things that we have placed on our website, if a reader only looks at this one section of our website, then that would be more important than anything else we have posted. NEVER SPEAK TO THE POLICE.
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- Published in Criminal, Criminal Defense, Moral Terpitude
What Does Not Constitute an Acceptable Defense of Armed Robbery in Georgia
Friday, 12 July 2019
I didn’t have a real weapon, just a toy: Even if you used a toy gun, you could be guilty of armed robbery. The Court looks at whether it was a believable replica and if it was, you will still be charged with armed robbery.
I had consent at the beginning to have the property: Recent case law has found that even if you had permission to have custody of the property at the beginning, you could still be guilty of robbery if you forcefully dissuaded the owner from making you return the object. An example of this is if you had permission to borrow a necklace and then when they asked you to return it, you forced them through violence to let you keep it. Even though you had consent at the beginning, it is still robbery because you used force to retain the property.
The victim never saw a weapon: Even if the victim never sees a weapon, a defendant can still be guilty of armed robbery. Since the purpose of using any weapon or device is to create a reasonable apprehension that an offensive weapon is being used, it is immaterial whether the fear is created by seeing or by any other sense, provided the apprehension is reasonable under the circumstances. An example of this is when a defendant told the victim “do as I say or I’ll blow your head off.” Although the victim never saw the weapon, the statement was enough that the robbery had been accomplished by use of an offensive weapon.
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- Published in Aggravated Felony, Criminal, Criminal Defense, Moral Terpitude, Theft
Is a Threat of Harm Alone Sufficient to be Found Guilty of Armed Robbery?
Saturday, 06 July 2019
In 2006, the Court found a defendant guilty of armed robbery where he threatened the victim with a knife and took money from him. The defendant threatened the man with a knife and then threw the knife on the bed. While the defendant admitted holding a knife in his hand, he argued that since he never harmed the victim, he was not guilty of robbery. The Court found that the defendant’s threats and demands were sufficient to establish the element of intimidation and that he did not have to actually harm the victim to be guilty. By testifying to the threats and holding a knife over him, the victim satisfied the requirements, and the defendant was convicted.
What about words alone?
In another case, in 2008, the Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of armed robbery of the defendant. The Defendant, Jerome LeMon, went to a party with some friends. While at the party, he held a video camera in the face of girls and would ask them inappropriate questions. The host made LeMon leave, and he got into a car with two other men. While in the car, LeMon became infuriated and started yelling at the two other men. LeMon ordered them to turn over their cell phones, and when they refused, LeMon told them that he had a knife in his pocket, and he was going to stab him in the heart if he didn’t give up his phone. The man gave LeMon the phone, and he threw them on the floor of the car. The Court found him guilty of armed robbery because he threatened the two men with his knife to get them to turn over their cell phones.
Penalty for Armed Robbery in Georgia
Armed robbery is is a felony conviction in Georgia. The penalties for Armed Robbery in Georgia are very stiff. A conviction of Armed Robbery carries a potential sentence of ten to twenty years in prison with the very minimum being ten years in prison with no early release. Prison terms for life are another common penalty for Armed Robbery.
The most severe penalty in Georgia for Armed Robbery is the death penalty.
There are even stricter penalties for Armed Robbery of a Pharmacy. If you rob a pharmacy and steal prescription drugs and also inflict serious bodily injury upon someone during the crime, you will face a prison sentence of no less than fifteen years. You must do at least ten years in prison with no early release program available to you.
If you have a serious violent felony conviction anywhere in the United States, and then you are convicted or another serious felony in Georgia that does not require the death penalty, you will be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
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- Published in Aggravated Felony, Criminal, Criminal Defense, Felony, Theft
What Constitutes an Offensive Weapon in Armed Robbery
Wednesday, 03 July 2019
Georgia Courts have gone back and forth through the years as to what constitutes an offensive weapon as well as if replica or toys can be considered offensive weapons. After years of debating, it has been established that an offensive weapon includes not only weapons which are offensive per se, but also embraces other instrumentalities not normally considered to be offensive in and of themselves but which may be found by a jury likely to produce death or great bodily injury depending on the manner and means of their use.
Weapons that have been found to be offensive per se include a machete, sword, knife, and gun. These have been categorized as offensive per se because they do not have innocent qualities to them. Weapons that have honest qualities to them are things like ordinary razors, or penknives because they have an innocent purpose. The Court decided that hands and feet do not constitute weapons under the armed robbery statute.
The test for other unconventional weapons is whether the manner in which it was used constituted an offensive weapon. Whether an instrument represents a deadly or offensive weapon is one for the jury’s determination. Over the years, a starter pistol, nun chucks, tire tool, screwdriver, pellet gun, and skillet are just some of the things the jury found to be an offensive and/or a deadly weapon.
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- Published in Aggravated Felony, Battery, Criminal, Criminal Defense, Felony