Kilgore & Rodriguez, Criminal Defense Attorneys

A 15 month nightmare for our client and his parents is over ! Following a consensual intimate encounter with a 17-year-old (legal adult) classmate our 15-yea...r-old juvenile client was arrested and charged as an adult with aggravated sexual battery. He was jailed and held in juvenile detention without bond. But when we reviewed the actual video evidence, it was clear that the high school sophomore (with an IEP) was absolutely NOT guilty. We disputed the false allegations in a school disciplinary trial and the hearing officers in the Cobb County School District returned a verdict of NOT GUILTY. The felony charges were then sent to juvenile court. But it took more than a year of fighting the case before a conscientious prosecutor rolled her sleeves up, really reviewed the evidence, and did the only just and right thing by dismissing the charges. Despite having false allegations hanging over his head for more than a year, this young man has flourished and is on track to graduate in May. We are delighted to give him this early graduation present.

We had a client die in prison this week, which has given us a somber occasion to reflect on how we spend our days. Our client Gary was elderly and in extremely bad health. His jury trial was just two months ago. And the results were not favorable for Gary. He knew then that he would, in fact, spend his final days in confinement. But despite the disappointment of conviction and the fear of prison, Gary was kind and inspiring in his final words with us. He thanked us for b...elieving in him. He expressed amazement in how hard we fought for him. Even as he was condemned following a jury verdict, Gary told us that we had restored his faith in the justice system. Such tribute expressed in his darkest hour revealed the kind of grace and humanity we came to recognize in Gary. As lawyers we are blessed to get to glimpse into our clients’ hearts at a time of crisis when they are most vulnerable. We are blessed to be reminded daily that the character of a man or woman is not defined by the worst thing they have ever done. We are blessed to spend each day advocating for our neighbors, fighting for them and providing hope in times of chaos. And it was indeed an honor and blessing to serve as Gary’s champion in his final days.

Six years of defending a falsely accused teenager finally ends with a complete dismissal. Since 2013, Kilgore & Rodriguez have fought for a then 19-year-old young man facing 40 years in prison for sexual exploitation. He is innocent. In the last six years we have taken this case to the Georgia Supreme Court fighting for the right to fully investigate cases involving electronic evidence. We continued to fight even after a renowned computer forensics expert assumed that o...ur client was guilty and declined to help us. But our continued belief in our client paid off. We located a brilliant and talented computer forensics expert who agreed to take the case. With our expert’s help, we discovered proof that our client was innocent and that police had tampered with evidence. When presented with the fruits of our six-year effort, the Cobb District Attorney’s Office did the right and moral thing. The prosecutor’s experience and professionalism is to be commended and an innocent young man now has his life back. See more

We keep hearing that the Supreme Court of GA's decision in Elliott v. State will make it harder to prosecute DUI cases. That may be a short term collateral consequence, but the truth is the Court finally -- and correctly -- put a stop to a law that permitted the government to violate a fundamental Constitutional right as long as you were charged with DUI. For decades leading up to yesterday's decision, prosecutors were not allowed to argue or present evidence at trial that yo...u exercised your right to remain silent and refuse to give evidence against yourself -- compelled self-incrimination -- in every single criminal case EXCEPT in a DUI case. So instead of reflecting on how this decision makes it harder for the government to prosecute DUI's, we should be reflecting on how hard it was to stop our government from violating our rights. https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-conte/uploads//02/s18a1204.pdf See more

Carlos was selected again in 2019 to the list of #RisingStars by #SuperLawyers and Top Rated in the area of #CriminalDefense. Though Maddox and Carlos don't measure success by number of recognitions, they're a useful tool for prospective clients and colleagues. If you needed a lawyer to help you out of a jam, wouldn't you want a #SuperLawyer? https://profiles.superlawyers.com//2b7ba78a-3a4e-4647-bc44

The Cobb County Bar Association welcomed legendary criminal defense attorney Bruce Harvey as our guest speaker today. Great storyteller. Passionate advocate.

We are better than this. So we should have the compassion and decency and humanity to place mentally ill defendants into a safe hospital environment for treatment. Giving a severely mentally ill man or woman a pill in a cup twice a day is not treatment. That's the extent of "treatment" when a mentally ill individual is just locked away in a jail or prison. God help us how we minister to the least of these.

Maddox and Carlos invigorated and energized to pursue equal justice under the law for the wrongfully accused after a visit this week to observe oral arguments in the Supreme Court of the United States.

Carlos and Maddox are both honored to serve on the 2018-2019 Board of Trustees for the Cobb County Bar Association. On March 27th, Superior Court Judge Ann Harris administered the oath as Maddox was installed as president of Georgia's best bar association.

Kilgore & Rodriguez are proud to announce the launch of our new website. Check it out.

Thank you to "Super Lawyers" for selecting Carlos J. Rodriguez to the 2018 list of Georgia's "Rising Stars"

Shop for everyone on your gift list at smile.amazon.com/ch/58-1524893 and Amazon donates to Marietta Schools Foundation Inc.