Georgia Violent Crime Defense Lawyers

Georgia law provides that a person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being. Express malice is a deliberate intention to take the life of another human being which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart. A person also commits the offense of murder when, in the commission of a felony, he causes the death of another human being irrespective of malice.

A person convicted of the offense of murder shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for life.

Aggravated assault

Georgia law provides that a person commits the offense of aggravated assault when he or she assaults:

(1) With intent to murder, to rape, or to rob;

(2) With a deadly weapon or with any object, device, or instrument which, when used offensively against a person, is likely to or actually does result in serious bodily injury; or

(3) A person or persons without legal justification by discharging a firearm from within a motor vehicle toward a person or persons.

A person convicted of the offense of aggravated assault in a manner named above shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years.

A person who knowingly commits the offense of aggravated assault upon a peace or correctional officer while the officer is engaged in his or her official duties shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than five nor more than 20 years.

Any person who commits the offense of aggravated assault against a person who is 65 years of age or older shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than three nor more than 20 years.

Any person who commits the offense of aggravated assault in a public transit vehicle or station shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than three nor more than 20 years.

Any person who commits the offense of aggravated assault involving the use of a firearm upon a student or teacher or other school personnel within a school safety zone shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than five nor more than 20 years.

If the offense of aggravated assault is committed between past or present spouses, persons who are parents of the same child, parents and children, step-parents and step-children, foster parents and foster children, or other persons excluding siblings living or formerly living in the same household, the defendant shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three nor more than 20 years.

Any person who commits the offense of aggravated assault with intent to rape against a child under the age of 14 years shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than 25 nor more than 50 years.

Homicide by vehicle

Georgia law provides that any person who, without malice aforethought, causes the death of another person through the violation of overtaking and passing school bus, or of failing to stop for an accident involving injury or DUI, or of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer commits the offense of homicide by vehicle in the first degree and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three years nor more than 15 years.

Any person who commits the offense of homicide by vehicle in the second degree when such violation is the cause of said death shall be charged with a misdemeanor.

Obstruction of police officers

Georgia law provides that a person is guilty of obstruction if he knowingly and willfully resists, obstructs, or opposes any law enforcement officer, prison guard, correctional officer, probation supervisor, parole supervisor, or conservation ranger in the lawful discharge of his official duties by offering or doing violence to the person of such officer or legally authorized person. Upon conviction thereof, he shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years.

A person who knowingly and willfully obstructs or hinders any law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of his official duties is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Recent cases

• Gibbs v. State - A person is not justified in taking the life of a spouse or spouse’s lover in order to prevent adultery.
• White v. State - To be found guilty of murdering a newborn baby, the state must prove that the baby was born alive and independent from its mother.
• Latimore v. State - Premeditation is not necessary for a murder charge in Georgia.
• Fleming v. State - A person’s fists may be considered deadly weapons for purposes of an aggravated assault charge, but the indictment must specifically identity the fists as the deadly weapon involved.
• Williams v. State - Firing shots just past a victim with no intention of hitting him or her may still be aggravated assault.
• Perkins v. State - Dogs can be a deadly weapon.
• Rhodes v. State - The difference between aggravated assault and pointing a pistol at another is the victim’s state of mind. Aggravated assault requires reasonable apprehension of immediate violent injury on behalf of the victim. Without this, the offense is only a misdemeanor charge of pointing a pistol at another.
• Sutton v. State - The victim does not need to know that the weapon is pointed at him or her for an aggravated assault charge.
• Green v. State - An obstruction charge requires evidence that the officer was engaged in the lawful discharge of his duties.
• Tankersley v. State - Flight from an officer can constitute a misdemeanor obstruction charge.
• Whitener v. State - The victim’s failure to wear a seat belt is not a defense to a vehicular homicide charge.

Our criminal defense lawyers have successfully defended Georgia murder, assault and other violent crime cases for over a decade.

Our law firm of top defense attorneys has extensive experience in defending serious felony violent crime charges in the metro areas of Atlanta, Athens, Macon, Augusta and in all other Georgia courts. Please contact us if you need a criminal defense lawyer who has successfully resolved alleged violations of Georgia’s violent crime laws.

PATE & BRODY
Centennial Tower,
Suite 3300
101 Marietta Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Telephone:
(404) 223-3310

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