NOT GUILTY

NOT GUILTY!  Those were the words of a Gwinnett County jury on 9/6/2012.  WSSPC attorney Michael Murphy appeared with a client who was facing some serious jail time if convicted.  When the client initially met with WSSPC he insisted that he was NOT GUILTY and that he was being railroaded by the system.   The police report was a tale of incriminating statements, field sobriety tests, and allegations of extreme intoxication.  In addition, the State proceeded with allegations of loitering and prowling from a witness who stated our client was sitting her driveway and refusing to leave.   The State wanted to put our client in jail for 60 days and indicated that the jail time would increase drastically if we went to trial and lost!   Needless to say, our client maintained his innocence throughout the process and insisted on a trial by jury.

 

Knowing we had a difficult task ahead of us, WSSPC got to work.   Paralegal Alison Dewitt put her detective hat on and found out that the State’s independent witness had been convicted of a crime of dishonesty.  She also filed several open records requests that revealed that the Officer involved was young and had only been a police officer for eight months!  WSSPC attorney’s Michael Murphy and Mike Jacobs went to the scene of the alleged crime and took several pictures that later proved to be crucial in the jury’s decision to acquit.

 

On 9/4/2012 attorney Michael Murphy and our client appeared and announce ready for trial.  The trial and legal motions took a total of three days.   The jury took the case on the third day and deliberated for three hours.  In the end, the jury came back NOT GUILTY.  Attorney Murphy was able to speak with one of the jurors after the case.  The juror told attorney Murphy that there was too much doubt and that the only verdict they could render was NOT GUILTY.

 

Our client walked out of the courthouse a free man having never given up hope and trusting WSSPC to show that he was innocent.