How to find the top criminal defense lawyers in Atlanta, GA

Looking for the best criminal defense lawyers in Atlanta? Start here. We’ve curated a list of the top lawyers in Atlanta based on four key criteria:

  1. Recognized by reputable rating services.
  2. Specialize exclusively in criminal defense.
  3. Have over 15 years of dedicated experience in representing clients accused of crimes.
  4. Hold leadership positions in their firms.

To help you make an informed choice, we filmed exclusive interviews with each of these top lawyers. In these interviews, we dive deep into their practices, exploring their expertise in various areas of personal injury law. We also asked them the types of questions you’d likely have if you were considering them to handle your case. Watch their videos below.

Sex Crimes Attorney in Decatur, Georgia

Marcia G. Shein - The Law Firm of Shein, Brandenburg & Schrope

What is your experience in handling child pornography cases?

In this video, Atlanta, GA criminal defense attorney Marcia G. Shein shares her experience in handling child pornography cases. She discusses the seriousness of child pornography cases, whether in federal or state court, emphasizing the harsh consequences of a conviction. In the federal system, there’s a point system that can lead to a longer sentence. Since most child pornography cases result in conviction due to the prevalence of such material on the internet, the lawyer’s goal is to reduce the potential sentence by highlighting mitigating factors about the defendant’s background. The lawyer prides themselves on successfully presenting these factors to the court, having achieved a high success rate (over 90%) in reducing sentences for clients in these cases.

 

 

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Child pornography cases in federal court or in state court are very serious. Unfortunately, in the federal system, there’s a point system that can exacerbate the amount of time someone might have to serve should they be convicted of a child pornography case. So, the goal is to try to mitigate the outcome as soon as possible. Most child pornography cases do result in a conviction, either by guilt or by trial, because a lot of it is already on the internet. So, the important feature of that is to try to reduce the exposure that person has and to try to get the court to look at variances in the types of sentences that can be imposed by looking at the background of the client. And that’s one of the things we really take pride in. We take a lot of pride in looking at the background of the client and presenting that to the court for mitigation purposes. Of the number of cases we’ve handled, which have been many in child pornography, we are over 90% successful in mitigating the outcome of the sentence.

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Drug Crimes Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia

Sanford (Sandy) Wallack - Wallack Law

What defenses might be available in a Georgia drug case?

In this video, Atlanta, GA criminal defense attorney Sandy Wallack discusses the defenses that might be available in a Georgia drug case.

He says there are three possible defenses in a drug case:

  1. The substance in question is not actually drugs.
  2. The drugs are present, but they don’t belong to the defendant.
  3. The drugs belong to the defendant, but they were obtained through unlawful or unconstitutional actions by law enforcement.

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The defenses that are available in a drug case are: that it’s not drugs, that it is drugs but it’s not mine, and that it is drugs and it’s mine, but law enforcement obtained it unlawfully and unconstitutionally.

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Fraud Crimes Attorney in Decatur, Georgia

Elizabeth A. Brandenburg - The Law Firm of Shein, Brandenburg & Schrope

What trends do you see in the prosecution of fraud cases?

In this video, Atlanta, GA criminal defense attorney Elizabeth A. Brandenburg discusses the trends she sees in the prosecution of fraud cases.

She discusses recent trends in federal fraud prosecutions, focusing on two main areas:

  1. PPP Fraud: The government is increasingly targeting individuals and small businesses that fraudulently applied for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, which were intended to help employers cover payroll during the pandemic. While large companies received larger amounts of these loans, the government has focused on prosecuting smaller businesses and individuals, a pattern similar to what was seen during the mortgage fraud crisis in 2008.
  2. Social Security Fraud: Another trend is the rise in social security fraud, where scammers pose as representatives of the Social Security Administration to steal personal information or illegally request funds. The government has been actively pursuing cases involving this type of fraud as well.

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Some trends in federal fraud prosecutions, one that’s really hot right now is PPP fraud, the Paycheck Protection Program that was passed as part of the CARES Act giving the opportunity for employers to get a loan from the government that could potentially be forgiven in order to cover their payroll and in order to keep employees on. The government has, in the last couple of years since PPP was enacted, started to focus on people who fraudulently requested these loans. One sort of a trend that we’ve seen before that is popping up again with these PPP loans is that the government seems to be going after smaller businesses and individuals who they feel have committed fraud rather than the larger companies who got many, many more and much higher amounts of these loans. For one reason or another, the government is focusing on smaller individuals, and that’s something we saw, you know, in the mortgage fraud crisis back in ’08 and beyond. It was the small guys that the government was going after rather than the big lenders or the big banks, and now they’re doing the same with PPP. Some other trends that I’ve seen are social security fraud, phone calls being made to individuals posing as a Social Security Administration in order to get personal information or to request funds illegally. That’s another level of fraud that I’ve seen the government going after recently.

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Armed Robbery Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia

Sanford (Sandy) Wallack - Wallack Law

What are the penalties for armed robbery in Georgia?

In this video, Atlanta, GA criminal defense attorney Sandy Wallack talks about the penalties for armed robbery in Georgia. He explains that armed robbery carries a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years, with a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence. This means that even if a judge wants to impose a lesser sentence, they cannot go below 10 years for a conviction. Therefore, the goal in an armed robbery case is to have the charge reduced to a less severe offense, such as robbery or theft by taking, in order to avoid the harsh mandatory sentence.

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Armed robbery carries from 10 years to 20 years of prison time, and the serious aspect of armed robbery is that 10-year mandatory minimum, which means that even if a judge wanted to, if you are convicted of armed robbery—whether by entering a guilty plea or being found guilty at trial—the judge would not be able to sentence you to less than 10 years. So, the importance of an armed robbery charge is to try to get that charge reduced to something lower than armed robbery, which typically would be robbery or theft by taking.

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Post Conviction Relief Attorney in Decatur, Georgia

Leigh S. Schrope - The Law Firm of Shein, Brandenburg & Schrope

After a person is convicted in Georgia, what post conviction options are available?

In this video, Atlanta, GA criminal defense attorney Leigh S. Schrope talks about the post conviction options available in Georgia.

She explains that in Georgia, the legal process following a conviction involves several key steps:

  1. Motion for New Trial: This is the first opportunity to raise issues like ineffective assistance of counsel. If not raised at this stage, it is considered waived. The motion is filed before the same judge who presided over the trial, and trial counsel may be called as a witness.
  2. Direct Appeal: If the motion for a new trial is unsuccessful, the next step is to file a direct appeal. Murder cases and cases with constitutional questions go to the Georgia Supreme Court, while others go to the Georgia Court of Appeals. The case is briefed, and sometimes oral arguments are held before the court makes a decision.
  3. State Habeas: If the direct appeal is unsuccessful, a state habeas petition can be filed within four years of the conviction becoming final. However, to preserve federal appeal rights, the state habeas must be filed within a year.
  4. Federal Habeas: If the state habeas petition fails and time was preserved, a federal habeas petition under 28 USC 2254 can be pursued. If unsuccessful, extraordinary remedies, like a motion for a new trial or successive habeas, may be considered, though these are rarely granted.
  5. Parole: In Georgia, individuals are eligible for parole after serving one-third of their sentence, though some offenses are not parole-eligible. Those sentenced to life must serve 30 years before becoming eligible for parole.
  6. Conviction Integrity Units: Some district attorneys’ offices have started forming conviction integrity units to review past convictions for potential errors or injustices. These units are still rare but growing, and the attorney helps clients navigate this process.

 

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The next step in Georgia is to file a motion for new trial. Unlike in federal cases, this is a critical step in Georgia because this is where your first chance is to raise ineffective assistance of trial counsel. In Georgia, if you don’t raise it at the first opportunity, it’s considered waived. So, you have a motion for new trial, which is before the same judge that heard the trial. If you’re raising ineffective assistance of counsel, you try calling trial counsel as a witness.

If you’re unsuccessful at the motion for new trial, you then file your direct appeal. Murder cases go directly to the Georgia Supreme Court, and cases with constitutional questions that were preserved go to the Georgia Supreme Court. All other cases go to the Georgia Court of Appeals. You brief the case, sometimes you have oral arguments, and sometimes the court wants to decide on the briefs. Then you wait for a decision.

If you’re unsuccessful on direct appeal, your next step would be to file a state habeas. In Georgia, you have four years to file a state habeas from the time your conviction became final after review by the appellate courts. But if you want to save federal time, you actually have to file your Georgia state habeas in less than a year.

After that, if you’re unsuccessful on your habeas and you’ve saved time for federal habeas, you can pursue that. It falls under section 28 USC 2254. After that, if you’re unsuccessful in the federal habeas, you’re into extraordinary remedies—things like an extraordinary motion for new trial or successive habeas. Both of those require new things that you couldn’t have found or raised before, and they are very rarely granted.

Aside from that, we also help people when they pursue parole. People become eligible in Georgia for most offenses after they’ve served one-third of their sentence, although there are a few offenses that are not parole eligible. If you receive a life sentence in Georgia, you’re not eligible for parole for 30 years.

There are also many district attorney’s offices starting to form what’s called conviction integrity units that look at the integrity of some past convictions and whether the sentence was appropriate. They’re still rather rare around the state, but they are expanding, and we help people navigate that process as well.

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