Types and Levels of Crimes in Georgia

What is a Felony? A felony is a crime for which the punishment is usually in excess of one year in prison or on probation and a fine of more than $1000.00. A person may also lose some or all of their civil liberties, such as the right to vote or own a handgun, if they are convicted of this type of crime.

What is a Misdemeanor? A misdemeanor is a crime for which the punishment is usually one year or less in the local jail or on probation and a fine of less than $1000.00. Punishment may also include a variety of other hardships such as community service at a recycling plant or picking up trash along the highway with the jail patrol; mandatory drug and alcohol counseling; waiver of your right to travel or your fourth amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure; and other types of punishments.

Criminal conduct usually falls under one of seven (7) categories. Within each category there exists both misdemeanor and felony offenses. The less serious crimes are usually treated as misdemeanors the more serious crimes are treated as felonies. Remember, whether a type of crime is a misdemeanor or felony depends upon the level of punishment attached to the offense. See below for a description of the seven (7) general categories of crimes. 

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The Seven Categories of Georgia Criminal Offenses

If you are a suspect of a crime in the Augusta GA, Evans Georgia, Richmond County, or Columbia County GA area, call one of our criminal defense lawyers for a consultation.

1) Property Crimes - Offenses involving some type of allegation of taking or damaging the property of another person without their knowledge or consent. Misdemeanor examples include theft by shoplifting ($300 or less in merchandise), theft by taking ($500 or less in value) and criminal trespass. Felony examples include burglary, robbery (taking by force), forgery (passing a phony check for example), and arson. Offenses known as "white collar" crimes.

2) Serious Traffic Violations - Offenses involving serious misconduct while driving a motor vehicle. DUI is the most common misdemeanor example, although multiple convictions for DUI can lead to the accused being charged with a felony as a habitual violator. Felony examples include vehicular manslaughter and vehicular homicide. These cases involve the accused driving in a very reckless manner - extremely drunk for example - and then causing death or serious injury to another innocent driver. The classic example is where a very drunk driver hits another car while driving, killing the other driver.

3) Sex Crimes - Offenses involving illegal sexual conduct. Examples of misdemeanors include pandering (soliciting a prostitute), indecent exposure, and sexual battery (uninvited sexual advances). Examples of felonies include rape, child molestation and possession of child pornography. These offenses are highly volatile in nature, and merely being investigated for such an offense can ruin a person's personal and professional reputation.

4) Drug Crimes - Offenses involving the possession, distribution, or sale of illegal drugs. Whether a particular offense is treated as a misdemeanor or a felony usually involves the weight or amount of the drugs involved. Normally, courts treat simple possession of drugs less seriously than selling or distributing drugs, as the user is seen partially as a victim in need of treatment by many judges whereas a dealer is viewed as part of the problem. There may also be considerable class bias in the punishment of these offenses as "upper class drugs" such as LSD, powder cocaine, and marijuana are punished less severely than "working class" or "inner city drugs" such as methamphetamine and crack rock cocaine.

5) Violent Crimes - Offenses involving an act of violence against another person. The violence can be verbal or mental - making terroristic threats or stalking - but usually the violence is physical in nature. Examples of misdemeanors are assault, battery, sexual battery and stalking. Felony examples are murder, aggravated assault, manslaughter and aggravated stalking.

6) Domestic Violence Crimes - This is really a sub-category of Violent Crimes, but deserves to be treated as a separate category. Domestic Violence offenses are relatively new as they are a political and legislative response to the increasing awareness of violent behavior between spouses and other persons living in the same house. They take crimes such as battery and simple assault, normally misdemeanors, and treat them as felonies if the accused and the victim are husband and wife or two people otherwise living together. The victim is also not allowed to dismiss the charges once the accused has been arrested and the prosecutor will attempt to prosecute the accused even if the victim - usually the spouse or other domestic partner - refuses to testify and wants the charges dismissed. The punishment for these charges has increased over the years, as public awareness of the problem of domestic violence increases.

7) Crimes Against Public Order or Public Administration - Offenses involving some kind of action against a public official, a government institution, or a breach of the public peace. Examples of misdemeanors include disorderly conduct, public intoxication, failing to appear in court, unlawful assembly, and giving a false name or driver's license to a police officer. Examples of felonies are possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, treason, violent obstruction of a police officer, and violation of an oath of office. These types of cases may involve constitutional challenges as they can bump into constitutional protections under our Bill of Rights. At the same time, some of the more misdemeanor offenses may also be treated as "civil ordinance" violations, where the accused is allowed to pay a small fine for disturbing local community standards instead of being punished for a crime under state law. 

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Car Accidents

Our firm represents clients who have suffered personal injuries or property damage in automobile, motorcycle or truck accidents in Georgia and South Carolina. Such motor vehicle accidents include those involving drunk or hit and run drivers, uninsured or underinsured drivers, as well as accidents occurring from motor vehicle and semi-tractor trailer collisions and rollovers.
We also represent those injured in car accidents, collisions or crashes resulting from defective products or designs in automobiles and trucks, such as defective seatbelts, tires or gas tanks.
Injuries suffered as a result of these types of accidents can be severe and life altering. You may have suffered burns to your head or neck, have nerve damage or spinal chord paralysis, broken or dislocated a bone or limb, or even have lost the use of a limb. Our firm understands that your immediate goals after going through such trauma are to get your medical bills paid and covered, make sure you do not suffer financially through any lost wages, and make sure your insurance company or the responsible party will pay for future treatment relating to your injury. Our experienced attorneys will discuss your situation and go over the options available to you to make sure all your needs are handled quickly and appropriately.

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Decoding Car Accident Reports in Georgia - The Georgia Uniform Motor Vehicle Accident Report

Each year we review hundreds of accident reports. I recently found a good guide to help people figure-out the cryptic codes and other information contained in Georgia accident reports.
The Georgia Department of Transportation, headquartered in Atlanta, has created a nice guide for deciphering accident reports which can be found here.
Jurisdictions throughout Georgia pretty much stick to a standard accident report form called the Georgia Uniform Motor Vehicle Accident Report. Of course, there are a few law enforcement agencies, most notably in and around Atlanta, that use their own forms or use a modified version of the standard auto accident form.
I think that this guide will be helpful for the public as well as attorneys handling the occasional auto or truck accident case.

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Experienced Atlanta Trial Lawyers Here to Fight for You

The Georgia attorneys of Garland, Samuel & Loeb are experienced and skilled in the areas of personal injury and civil litigation. Under the leadership of Robin Loeb, the firm has tried or settled numerous civil cases with judgments exceeding $1 million. Ms. Loeb has gained a reputation throughout the state for her meticulous preparation of complex civil litigation cases involving:

• Personal Injury: Serious Bodily Injury, Brain / Head Injuries, Burn Injuries, Spinal Cord Injuries, Back Injuries, Catastrophic Injuries, Injury or Damage by Animals, Injuries from Explosions, Fires, and Gas Leaks, Prenatal Injuries, Emotional Distress, and more
• Wrongful Death: Compensation for the death of a loved one due to Car Accidents, Health Care Negligence, Faulty Products, Dangerous Places, and more
• Automobile Accidents: Motor Vehicle Accidents, Tractor Trailer Accidents, 18 Wheeler Crashes, Truck Collisions, Car Accidents, Motorcycle Crashes, Pedestrian / Vehicle Accidents, Boating Accidents, Aviation Accidents, Plane Crashes, and more
• Malpractice : Medical Malpractice involving Hospital Negligence, Physician Errors, Nursing Mistakes, Birth Injuries, and other forms of Professional Malpractice
• Defective Products: Product Liability, Product Recalls, Warranty Liability, Products with Inadequate Warnings, Dangerous Products such as Accutane, Baycol, Bextra, Celebrex, Ephedra, Meridia, Prempro, Serzone, Sillica, Vioxx, Welding Rods, Asbestos, and more
• Premises Liability: Nursing Home Abuse, Swimming Pool Accidents, Parking Lot or Parking Garage Attacks, and more
• Business Dispute Litigation: Business Torts, Racketeering, Business Fraud, Breach of Contract, Class Actions, Intellectual Property, Shareholder Derivative Actions, Tortious Interference with Business Practices, and more
• Appeals: Handling Appeals and Habeas Corpus cases related to Criminal Convictions and other Unfavorable Judgments in civil cases, including injury and fatality cases

The law firm of Garland, Samuel & Loeb has won many significant victories. Our civil litigation lawyers represented the Plaintiffs in Peller v. The Southern Co., a shareholder derivative action filed against the directors of The Southern Company and Georgia Power Company alleging waste, mismanagement and negligence in planning and building two of their power facilities. The case settled for $ 9 million.
In Jackson v. City of Douglasville, the firm filed a civil rights case on behalf of the children of a man who was fatally shot by a police officer. That case settled for close to a million dollars.

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Atlanta, Georgia Personal Injury Attorneys

If you have suffered a catastrophic personal injury, you can’t afford to lose your case. The more serious your injury, the greater the challenges you will face, both medically and financially. To meet these challenges successfully, you have to be willing to fight.
At the Atlanta law firm of Watkins, Lourie, Roll & Chance, we have helped hundreds of injured people throughout Georgia take up the fight against the parties who injured them. Our victories include many multimillion dollar recoveries.

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Should Fulton Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall Be Appointed To The Georgia Supreme Court? Part Two

Earlier this week I blogged about Judge Craig Schwall, a Fulton Superior Court judge who has been nominated for promotion to the Georgia Supreme Court. Here is the conclusion of my thoughts on the matter.
Consider this comment from an attorney who was involved in one case I mentioned in my last post - the case where Judge Schwall banned a doctor from testifying for life:
" . . . there is such a thing as judicial temperament. It assures the public that a judge is making rational decisions instead of just spouting off unsupported views to degrade people who cannot defend themselves. Unfortunately this judge does not have it and he never will."
Saying "he never will" develop judicial temperament is a little strong for my taste. I for one hope very much that we will see a change for the better in Judge Schwall. No one is beyond redemption, no one beyond the reach of grace.
But I think it would be wiser to give Judge Schwall some time off the bench so he can work on developing the necessary attributes and temperament rather than promoting him to higher office.
I have seen Judge Schwall in action and can personally attest to his demeanor on the bench.
I had a wrongful death case in his courtroom when he was on the State Court bench. I went in to defend a motion to dismiss my client's case and Judge Schwall let the other side make their argument but did not permit me to make my argument. When it came time for our oral argument he turned into devil's advocate and I didn't get to present our response. He gave every impression of having no intention of giving us a fair hearing.
We dismissed that case and re-filed in Superior Court to get a judge who would listen. This caused much delay and unneccesary additional court costs for my clients.
Interestingly, Judge Schwall's office somehow didn't have a record of our dismissal and months after we dismissed and re-filed in a different court we got an Order from him granting the defendant's motion to dismiss the case. His Order was moot at that point, thank God!
Here is the rub - the case went on to settle for close to half a million dollars! The case had merit (Judge Schwall said it did not). The case had value (Judge Schwall said it had none). The clients deserved their day in court (Judge Schwall tried to deny them that).
That experience with Judge Schwall is the worst I've ever had with a judge becoming an advocate for one side.
I hope others have better things to report about Judge Schwall, I truly do. But I can not support his candidacy and am constrained to oppose it.


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