What Should I Do?
If you are about to be arrested, it is important that you do not make an already bad situation worse. The more of the following things you can do, the better your chances that I can help you later.
- Do not resist arrest.
- Do not flee.
- Do not be rude to the officer, no matter how rude they are to you.
- Do not submit to any search of yourself, your belongings, your automobile, or your home, even if the police tell you they are going to search anyway (as they likely will).
- If possible, use your cell phone to photograph and/or record as much of your encounter as you can. (Contrary to popular opinion, you do not have to ask permission to record your own conversation with another person in Georgia, even if the other person doesn't know they are being recorded.)
- Do not engage in any conversation with anyone while inside a police car. Those are usually audio and/or video recorded. Police cars aren't private.
- If you are suspected of driving under the influence, do not submit to any "Field Sobriety Tests", nor any chemical tests of your blood, breath or urine.
- Do not make any statments to police.
If you are under arrest or facing arrest, it is highly unlikely that you will "talk yourself out of it." Police officers are skilled interrogators with an arsenal of tricks to make you say things you shouldn't say. EVEN IF YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG, it is often a mistake to give a statement to police. Talk to a lawyer first. There will always be time to tell your side of the story later.
How long with my case take?
In some counties, cases resolve less than a year after they begin. In other counties, it isn't uncommon for cases to take years from start to finish. Remember that the moment your case began there were already thousands of cases ahead of you in the pipeline. Unless you're taking up space in jail or there's an angry victim demanding the Solicitor General or DA expedite your case, your case is probably not a priority for the prosecutor.
