Law Offices of Thomas J. Thomas, LLC

Just had the State agree to return a $30,000 truck that had been "forfeited" under Georgia's draconian forfeiture statute (OCGA 16-13-49). The State eventually conceded that Timbs v. Indiana, decided last year by the US Supreme Court, now prohibits such disproportionate property grabs by the State. We also managed to get the underlying felony drug charge reduced to misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct. Though it involves a lot of paperwork, it is not imperative to dispute every forfeiture that the State attempts following drug arrests.

People ask what kind of lawyer/person does it take to be a criminal defense lawyer - well this sums it up pretty well.

Recommend to any that want to get a theatrical perspective on what a real court transcript sounds to an audience.

Attorney Thomas J. Thomas focuses his practice on representing clients charged with alcohol and drug violations. He graduated cum laude in 1980 from Indiana Un...iversity’s law school, one of the topped rated law schools in the country. Since 1993 Mr. Thomas has practiced law in Georgia and is admitted to practice before both the Georgia Court of Appeals and George Supreme Court. He has argued and won several important cases before both the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court including: Spencer v. State, 302 Ga. 133 (2017), Keller v. State, 275 Ga. 680 (2002), Fraser v. State, 263 Ga. App. 764 (2003), Colon v. State, 256 Ga. App. 505 (2002), Keller v. State, 247 Ga. App. 599 (2001), Brahm v. State, 230 Ga. App. 407 (1998), and Davis v. State, 236 Ga. App. (1999). Besides his work as an appellate attorney he has years of experience as a trial lawyer having conducted both bench and jury trials throughout the metro Atlanta area. Because of his skills as a trial lawyer he has been asked to speak at numerous seminars on topics ranging from Opening Trial Statements to Preservation of Error for Appeal. In conjunction with his speaking engagements he has published several papers on these and related topics. In 2015 he was named one of the Top 100 DUI Attorneys in the State of Georgia by The National Advocacy for DUI Defense. In 2017 he was recognized as one of the 10 Best Attorneys for Client Service by the American Institute of DUI/DWI Attorneys. Thanks to his reputation as a top trial lawyer, he is often able to negotiate the reduction or even dismissal of pending charges. His ability as a top negotiator has also lead to many requests for him as a lecturer. He has published two papers on the subject: Thirty Ideas for Negotiating a Criminal Case and Thirty Ideas for Negotiating a DUI case. Mr. Thomas has completed the Mastering Scientific Evidence training seminar and the National Highway and Traffic Safety Association’s (NHTSA) Standardized Field Sobriety Training course. Mr. Thomas was a founding partner of the firm Head, Thomas, Webb & Willis which won Georgia Best Lawyer’s award for DUI defense in 2013. He has a Superb 10 rating from AVVO (an on-line attorney rating service) and an AV Preeminent for 15 Years rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Qualified, experienced and committed to client service, Mr. Thomas is available for a free consultation to consider and discuss your legal needs.

A case I argued before the Georgia Supreme Court with some issues similar to those discussed in "8".

On February 18, 2019 the Georgia Supreme Court published its decision in Elliott v. The State reaffirming that the State cannot compel citizens to incriminate themselves in any manner including being forced to take breath tests in DUI cases. Specifically the court held that the refusal to give evidence against themselves (breath tests in this case) could not be used against them at trial. This ended a long standing exception to the normal rules of evidence in Driving Under ...the Influence cases where it was routine for prosecutors to suggest that a citizen asserting her rights implied guilt. The decision was not unexpected as it reaffirmed a long line of cases so holding in Georgia (Federal law by contrast protects only speech not acts so would not have protected the citizen in this case). The opinion runs to over 90 pages but a three page concurrence at its conclusion may have the most impact in the long run. This concurrence pointed out that the Implied Consent card read to all DUI suspects now contained false and misleading information in that it threatened citizens that asserting your right to refuse would be used against you at trial. The natural effect would be to induce citizens to waive their right and give evidence against themselves by taking a breath or blood test. Anticipating this decision our firm has been raising this issue in every DUI case not just refusal cases. So though Elliott apparently only concerned case involving refusals, it in fact has far reaching consequences on all DUIs cases. But to benefit from these consequences an attorney must raise these matters in pre-trial motions in other words they must have anticipated the decision in Elliott and its additional effects on other types of DUI cases. A bill is already moving through the Georgia legislature to correct the Implied Consent card read by police officers to citizens suspected of DUI. For reasons unknown the Department of Public Safety, responsible for issuing these cards, had made no effort to fix this problem even though the Georgia Supreme Court in a footnote to a previous decisions had expressed concern over the card’s language. Contrary to alarmist reports in the media this decision does not curtail the ability of law enforcement to make DUI cases. An officer need only show a magistrate (available 24 hours in most counties) that she has sufficient probable cause (the normal standard in criminal cases) to obtain a search warrant for the suspect’s blood. Despite this some law makers are considering a constitutional amendment to the Georgia Constitution to remove this long standing right of Georgia citizens to refuse to do any act that might incriminate them. Depending on the wording of this amendment, this could have far reaching consequences and mean that Federal courts rather than our State courts would have the final word on our rights. See more

Went to see Dustin Black's "8" over the weekend. The "8" stands for Proposition 8 (Cal law banning same sex marriage) and the federal challenge to that law. The author used the actual court transcripts as the "script" with additional material from media interviews and pro/con commercials. As any practicing lawyer can guess that's going to be a real challenge for actors to bring alive for a general audience with no scripted dramatic license to alter the text. Fortunately s...ome of the best local actors I know were in the cast and able to find the humanity of stylized court proceedings. As a veteran cross-examiner it was interesting to watch an actor attempt the rhythms of a cross something, we practicing trial lawyers have internalized and rarely look at with an outside audience perspective. The actual case revolved around what type of scientific evidence courts could except (yes an actor has to say the "Daulbert standard") since I'd just won a case before the Georgia Supreme Court on a similar issue in a criminal case, I was well attuned to what the lawyers were trying to do but not sure a general audience may appreciate the nuance. As one would expect the case was pretty one sided and so lacked the inherent swings back in forth of a closely matched trial where you really don't know the outcome till the jury foreman speaks (which is what I'm used to in the real world). Judge Studdard of the Henry County State Court was also in attendance the night I saw the show (his daughter is in the cast). They still have one performance left and its well worth going both for practicing attorney's who want to get a different perspective and anyone interested in how the media, science and the law interact in trying to resolve a societal issue.

Changes to DUI Law in Georgia A wave of potential changes is coming to DUI law in Georgia based on several new Georgia Supreme Court decisions. Because the law is currently unsettled we are strongly advising clients to not plead guilty to any DUI related offense until these issues are resolved. Most judges in Georgia, if requested, are holding off resolving DUI matters until the Georgia Supreme Court decides several DUI related issues currently being considered. Even if ju...Continue reading