Georgia Bill Relaxes Mandatory Drug-Related License Suspensions

            Governor Nathan Deal recently signed into law Senate Bill 365, which makes several significant changes to Georgia’s criminal code. Among other changes, SB 365 authorizes judges to deviate from the mandatory drivers license suspensions that formally resulted from minor drug possession.

            Until recently, Georgia law required the Department of Drivers Services to suspend or revoke the drivers license of any person convicted of  “any violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act” including minor, non-violent possession of marijuana. O.C.G.A. § 40-5-75 (emphasis added).

            SB 365 now grants judges the authority to “order the [DDS] to restore a defendant's driver's license that has been or should be suspended pursuant to Code Section 40-5-75 or issue a defendant a limited driving permit . . .” as long as the underlying offense did not involve the operation of a motor vehicle.

            This is an encouraging and much needed amendment to the code that will potentially allow low-level drug offenders to avoid the draconian license-suspension consequences of minor offenses. It’s important to note, however, that the onus will be on defense attorneys to affirmatively ask the court for the deviation permitted by SB 365 as the authority to grant licenses is entirely in the court’s discretion and certainly not automatic.

 The full bill can be found here:  http://gov.georgia.gov/sites/gov.georgia.gov/files/related_files/document/144870.pdf

$400,000 for a Georgia Man Wrongly Convicted

            The Georgia State Legislature seems poised to compensate a man $400,000 for the wrongful arrest and conviction that cost him 11 years of his life. Lathan Rydell Word was convicted of armed robbery on September 7, 2000 and sentenced to 15 years in the State prison system. However, the conviction was overturned in 2011 when the victim of the alleged crime recanted and testified that Mr. Word was not the man who robbed him. After serving 11 years, 9 months, and 6 days in prison for a crime he did not commit, Mr. Word was released.

            Georgia House Resolution 73, which overwhelmingly passed the State House and Senate, proposes to pay the sum of $400,000 to Mr. Word for the

            “loss of liberty, personal injury, lost wages, injury to reputation, emotional             distress, loss of consortium, loss of familial association, and other damages as a result of his more than 11 years of incarceration and expenses in trying to prove his innocence.”

The entire text of the bill can be found here:

http://legiscan.com/GA/text/HR73    

            Word’s case is interesting not only for the State’s quiet attempt to compensate for destroying a man’s life, but also for its procedural history.

            Word’s initial conviction was overturned because Word received ineffective assistance of counsel at the trial level. The Georgia Court of Appeals, guided by the two-prong test set forth in Strickland v. Washington, found that Word’s trial counsel made unreasonable errors that likely affected the outcome of the trial. As such, a new trial was granted. It appears that at his new trial, Word’s alleged victim recanted. Read the Court of Appeal’s opinion here:

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-court-of-appeals/1561212.html

            It’s shocking to read about cases of wrongful conviction and lives lost to prison time, but it’s somewhat hopeful to see our legislature attempting to make amends for such judicial failures. Hopefully Governor Deal will sign HR 73 immediately and Mr. Word can begin to put this injustice behind him.

Fulton County Teachers' Unusual Bonds

One of the more interesting elements to emerge from the ongoing Atlanta Public School system scandal thus far has been the issue of bond. As has been widely reported, this week 35 public school educators and staff surrendered to the Fulton County jail after a grand jury returned indictments alleging the school officials engaged in racketeering , false statements, and illegally influencing witnesses. The case will undoubtedly play itself out in time, but the bonds set for the various educators have already perked the ears of Georgia’s legal community.

            In Georgia, the purpose of a bail bond is to ensure that a defendant will show up for upcoming court dates. The statutory factors to be determined when deciding bond are the defendant’s (1) risk of flight, (2) risk of posing danger to the community, (3) risk of committing a felony while out on bond, and (4) risk of intimidating witnesses. Further, bond is a judicial matter, meaning set by a judge. This is usually a magistrate judge but may also be a Superior Court judge in certain circumstances.

            The generally reported bonds set for the APS defendants are noteworthy in two respects. The first being their amount.  The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that former APS superintendent Beverly Hall’s bond was set at $200,000 and several other teachers had bonds originally set at $400,000.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/first-aps-cheating-scandal-defendant-surrenders/nW9Zx/

These bond amounts seem strangely high considering the bond factors listed above. None of the APS defendants have felonious criminal histories that have been publically reported. Additionally, all 35 defendants voluntarily turned themselves into the Fulton County jail. Given the high-profile nature of the case and the interest these educators have in defending against the charges, a risk of flight seems unlikely.

            However, the most curious thing about the bond amounts pertains to the grand jury’s involvement in the amounts being set. USA Today reports that Beverly Hall’s bond was initially set at $7.5 million and “the grand jury hearing the case suggested bond of $7.5 million for Hall” (emphasis added).

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/02/atlanta-school-cheating-scandal/2045139/

As mentioned above, setting bond in Georgia is a judicial function governed by statute. As such, only judges may grant bonds and it seems anomalous that a grand jury would take an active role in bond determination, even if only “suggesting” a bond amount.

Luckily for Hall and the others indicted, bond reductions were obtained for most of the educators and it seems as if they have all bonded out on the charges. It will be very interesting to see how the merits of this case develop and if the seemingly unique bond procedures bear any further legal challenges.

Davis & Jones - April 1, 2013 Launch

Davis & Jones, Attorneys at Law are extremely proud and excited to announce the opening of our law firm ​on April 1, 2013.  Joel Davis and Lincoln Jones have a history of dedicating themselves to criminal defense and we are focused on maintaining that dedication with our new firm.  Davis & Jones is centered on criminal defense in the metro Atlanta area.   We provide representation in criminal matters ranging from violations of probation and misdemeanor offenses to serious felony charges.  We look forward to serving the metro Atlanta region and the state of Georgia.  Please feel free to contact us at (404) 487-8678 or email us at davisandjoneslaw@gmail.com.

Thank you,​

Joel Davis and Lincoln Jones