Avoiding a Criminal Conviction

If you've been charged with a crime here in Georgia, there are several ways your criminal defense attorney can try to help you avoid a conviction on your record for a given a charge. Certain convictions, especially felonies, can severely limit one's options in life, and so every reasonable possibility should be pursued at maximum effort to try to avoid this life altering consequence.

When I am helping my clients here in Coweta County and surrounding areas try to get the best possible outcome for their case, I consider all options including the following:

• Negotiate with the prosecutor to reduce or dismiss certain charges

  • Often the best chance at accomplishing this is before the prosecutor has made a formal charging decision (pre-indictment), and confirmation bias affects their ability to consider new information with an open mind

  • Post-indictment a dismissal or reduced charge can sometimes be accomplished through plea negotiations, which are affected by the strength of any motions, the risk of the State losing at trial, and additional investigation or other changes in the evidence

    
    

• Go to trial

  • Avoiding a conviction after a trial requires a jury (or judge at a bench trial) to find that the State failed to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt

  • Deciding whether to go to trial is a very serious and often complicated decision which requires an experienced trial attorney to help a person make that call

    
    

• Pretrial Diversion (PTD)

  • This is a program offered by many prosecutor's offices where they dismiss a person's charges after they complete certain agreed upon requirements (such as a PTD fee, community service, anger management, etc.)

  • It is often only an option for more minor charges and for those with little to no criminal history

  • The terms of the PTD program, eligibility requirements, and whether to allow someone this opportunity is solely in the discretion of the prosecutor's office

  • You can learn about the Coweta County District Attorney's Office Pretrial Diversion Program here

  • You can learn more about the Coweta County Solicitor's Office Pretrial Diversion Program here

    
    

• First Offender (OCGA § 42-8-60)

  • A guilty plea under First Offender is not a conviction, and the charges get dismissed without any "adjudication of guilt" (a.k.a. conviction) once the First Offender sentence is successfully completed

  • It is available to individuals with no felony convictions who have never used First Offender before

  • It is often saved for used on felony cases, although it can be used for misdemeanors

  • First Offender is unavailable to be used for DUIs or certain serious violent and sexual offenses listed under OCGA § 42-8-60 (j)

    
    

• Conditional Discharge (OCGA § 16-13-2)

  • A guilty plea under Conditional Discharge is not a conviction, and the charges get dismissed without any adjudication of guilt once the Conditional Discharge sentence is completed successfully completed

  • It is available to one who has never been convicted of any drug offense under Article 2 or Article 3 of Title 16 Chapter 13.

  • It can only be used for simple drug possession charges (not on intent to distribute, trafficking, etc.), and it can be used for first time nonviolent property crimes that were related to a drug addiction (like for someone stealing to get money for drugs).

  • A sentence under Conditional Discharge can be no longer than 5 years and should have a rehabilitative component

    
    

• It should be noted that First Offender and Conditional Discharge are separate options and even if you use one on one case, you can still take advantage of the other option later on (as long as a judge allows it).

If you've been charged with a crime here in Coweta County, Newnan, Troup County, Carroll County, Meriwether County, or Heard County, feel free to request a free consultation by clicking "Send a Message" above or calling (678) 345-8855.