Sometimes cases do get lost in the shuffle, but it's never something to rely upon.

The citation likely gave you a court date. If you missed that, there's probably a warrant out for your arrest and a suspension on your driver's license.

Otherwise, see if you can find... View More

Yes, vehicle equipment violations are permissible reasons to initiate a traffic pullover.

What happens after that point is not necessarily fair game, however.

That code section specifies an increased penalty for DUI while driving a school bus.

Your husband may still nevertheless be culpable for DUI with the more typical penalties.

Georgia's marital privilege is laid out in OCGA § 24-5-503.

It doesn't sound like you can be compelled to testify against him, based on what you've said above.

No, it is common for officers to perform pat-down searches on their oppositely gendered suspects.

Of course, there may still be other legal issues with the search, including why it happened and how it was performed.

There are several ways to fight this type of ticket, depending on which court you end up in.

But regardless of which court it is, ignorance of the law is not a valid defense.

Based on your narrative, the ticket is defensible.

OCGA 40-6-16(b) states:

"The operator of a motor vehicle approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle that is displaying flashing yellow, amber, white, red, or blue lights shall approach the authorized emergency... View More

Maximum allowable sentence is 3 years in custody (jail or prison), with the prosecutor asking the judge to allow the time to be served out of custody, on probation.

Probation revocation hearings require evidence sufficient to meet the "preponderance" (basically, "more likely than not") standard that a term of the probation sentence was violated.

Watch out for a "constructive possession" theory. If you're looking to... View More

OCGA 16-8-14:

A person commits the offense of theft by shoplifting when such person alone or in concert with another person, with the intent of appropriating merchandise to his or her own use without paying for the same or to deprive the owner of possession thereof or of the value thereof,... View More

If you aren't in custody (jail) on the violation, the court needs a "tolling order" in place to stop your probation clock from running.

If you are in jail waiting for a revocation hearing, you should get credit for that time while you wait.

Show the photos to the prosecutor at your arraignment. If that does not work, ask for a continuance and bring a lawyer to your next court date.

Yes, he can be convicted if the evidence shows that he knew he was helping his friend with the drug deal. Maybe his friend throws him under the bus. Maybe there is something in his background that the prosecutor uses. Maybe he said something to the police that can be twisted into an admission.... View More

Your scenario raises issues with the Hearsay rule of evidence as well as the Confrontation Clause protections against absent witnesses.

Whether the evidence is ultimately admissible is very fact-specific, but you are probably on to something there.

You're probably looking at something between 24 hours and 30 days in jail, plus classes, fines, and community service.

The amount of jail time will depend on various factors, including your driving record, your history with drugs/alcohol, whether you gave the police any attitude, and... View More

I concur with Counselor Schiffer. Extreme caution is advised. Do not respond to her messages.

Get a lawyer to prepare a cease & desist letter to send to her. Do NOT do it yourself.

After that, if she continues to try to bait you into violating the TPO, you can file against... View More

Your probation officer should notify the court once you are finished, and the clerk should process the first offender restrictions.

That being said, "should" does not mean "will". You may want to follow up with the clerk's office about a month after you've completed everything, just to be sure.

Online dockets are not very reliable. Sometimes the warrant will show on the system but not always.

The best thing for you to do is get an attorney to walk into the clerk's office to check for a warrant and get you a new court date.

If both charges are consolidated into a single case, you can use a nolo plea to resolve the entire case.

You may not want or need to plead nolo, though, depending on your exact circumstances. You should consult with a traffic attorney for your best course of action.

Missing payments is actually not that big of a deal, so long as you can demonstrate your financial hardship to the court.

Missing your reports, on the other hand, shows the court that you aren't taking the court seriously.

You might be able to avoid the court date altogether by... View More