Random Thoughts with a Smith-Corona

I don’t remember if it was close to Veterans Day, but it was cool and the leaves lined the streets in West Point, Georgia, waiting for the street sweepers to come along and sweep them up.  As was usual for this 9 year old boy back in 1967, I departed the house for a 15 minute trip down the street to visit one of my friends. As I got close to his house, I saw the line of cars parked along the street, among them an Army staff car and folks going in and out of the house. I walked on over to my friend’s house, but he wasn’t there, and turned around and walked home, slowly observing the scene as I walked back by the house that was the center of all the activity.  I wondered why some of the people coming out looked like they had been crying, so when I got home I asked my mom.  Mom didn’t know, but the next day I found out that one of the young men that grew up in West Point had been killed in the Vietnam War.  I didn’t cry about it, but to this day whenever the lea...

I think it was Garth Brooks who once had a song in it where the words were "some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers".   As a young man, I grew up wanting to be a fighter pilot in the Navy or the Air Force (I wasn't picky).  I felt as though God did not answer those prayers, because the Air Force turned me down because of my eyesight, and the Navy accepted me into the Naval Flight Officer Program, but because I didn't want to ride in the backseat, I declined the offer. I was able to successfully get a job at Eastern Airlines, but that was not piloting a 727, but a Ford F 350 Lavatory Truck.   While that job did pay for college and my flying lessons, I should note that it was not the ideal job for one to use to obtain the prerequisite flying job. Many years later, upon finishing law school, I met my flying mentor, Bill Baldwin, a member of the Commemorative Air Force in Peachtree City, Georgia.  Bill introduced me to the PT26 Cornell,...

The process of a trial is unknown to a great many of my first time clients.  Most clients only know courtroom legal procedures from watching "Law and Order" on TV.  Most of the TV shows will get some of the terminology right, but other than that, it's pure Hollywood.  In Georgia, the following procedures are very likely to occur in most situations.  I hope this is informative for you.  Once again, this is not to be construed as legal advice, unless you and I have entered into a contract for representation.  How Most People View Court Pretrial Procedures There are a number of things that can happen to a criminal case. It can be dismissed by the prosecutor, you can enter a pretrial intervention program, you can plead guilty, or the case can go to trial. Under certain circumstances your attorney may be able to get your case dismissed via a nolle prosse or dead docket. If you're convicted following a trial or if you plead...

The following information is presented as a courtesy, and I need to throw in a disclaimer that nothing in this article constitutes legal advice unless there is a written and signed agreement for representation between me and you.   The First Appearance Following an arrest, you will most probably appear at a First Appearance hearing. This is simply a formal hearing at which you will be informed of the specific charges against you, advised of your rights and where the court will set a bail.  Among the factors that a judge uses when setting bail is the severity of the crime, your contacts in the local area, your prior record, and are you likely to threaten any witnesses.  The Judge may also ask you at this point if you want to hire your own attorney of if you want the court to assign you a court appointed attorney.  The judge will set your bond and in most cases bond can be posted by a bail-bondsman, cash or property. If you elect to use the services of ba...

It never ceases to amaze me as to how people act in court regardless if it is the attorney or the client.  As with all things in life, common courtesy and respect are skills that will take you far.  But sometimes what I think is second nature to people are things that others just don’t think about or simply don’t know because no one has ever shared this knowledge with them. So please allow me to share some basic courtroom etiquette with you. “Please” and “thank you” are always good basic starters.  Think about how wonderful you feel when you go to hold the door for someone and they say “thank you”.  It kinda gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.  The same thing is true if you are dealing with your attorney, the prosecutor, the government's trial attorney, or the judge.  All these people are human beings who liked to be treated with kindness and acknowledged that you are on their turf taking their time.  Even if they are not courteous...