Recent Cases
Page Pate recently won a criminal trial for a doctor who had been charged with unlawful distribution of controlled substances by “issuing” pre-signed blank prescriptions. The case had already been appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court prior to trial. It raised a number of difficult legal issues concerning the interpretation of Georgia statutes and the intersection of professional regulation and criminal law.
A recent article in the Daily Report describes how the case arose from an investigation into the ...
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Today, 12 people in locations across the Metro Atlanta area were arrested on racketeering charges for operating a major “pill mill” operation, ending a yearlong investigation involving a number of federal and state agencies. The individuals arrested include 7 pharmacists, a physician, a psychologist, and owners of clinics and pharmacies in Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Marietta, Canton, Calhoun, and Douglasville.
Dekalb County prosecutors claim that for over a year the men conspired to illegally distribute the painkiller Oxycodone in large quantities to ...
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In the sixteen months since Georgia’s new sex offender law went into effect, certain convicted sex offenders have been able to take advantage of new opportunities to be removed from the state’s sex offender registry. Before it passed the new legislation in 2010, Georgia was notorious for having some of the most severe sex offender laws in the country. In the wake of successful lawsuits brought against the state by civil rights advocacy groups, Georgia was forced to change numerous ...
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The Department of Justice announced Tuesday, September 20th that it had filed new charges against Full Tilt Poker for defrauding its customers out of hundreds of millions of dollars. These allegations came on top of previous claims by the government that the company—along with other online poker companies—had committed massive banking fraud during the operation of its online gambling operation. Additionally, two top executives at Full Tilt Poker also face criminal charges.
Since 2006, online gambling has been illegal in the ...
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Officers of the Marietta Police Department have seized approximately $1 million in counterfeit goods at a Marietta flea market.
The indoor flea market, located at 550 Franklin Road, has been under investigation for a period of months after police received tips of possible illegal activity. Over the weekend, nearly 40 officers executed search warrants and arrested eight individuals. Police expect to make additional arrests in the coming days.
The seized items include designer name wallets, purses, clothing and jewelry. Authorities ...
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On Thursday, Governor Nathan Deal and other Georgia officials announced their intentions to purge Georgia of "illegal" internet gambling cafes. Officials believe that there could be as many as 100 internet cafes within the State that function as illegal gambling businesses.
In addition to the current cafes, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation believes that many more gambling cafes will soon spring up as the industry continues to expand. Officials are also worried that the gambling industry is intimidating District Attorneys ...
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In 2010, Georgia was forced to make changes to its notoriously harsh sex offender laws after a number of lawsuits by civil rights groups successfully challenged the laws’ constitutionality. Certain limitations on where convicted sex offenders may live and application of new sex offender laws to those previously convicted were among the provisions that were overturned.
One of the most important changes now provides certain convicted sex offenders with the possibility of having their names removed from the state’s sex offender ...
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In an opinion released June 30th, the Georgia Court of Appeals overturned the conviction of Leonel A. Dominguez for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. It found that Mr. Dominguez was wrongfully detained and his car unlawfully searched, and thus that his conviction could not stand.
This decision reaffirms the Fourth Amendment right of all Americans to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. It also sends a message to Georgia law enforcement officers that their arrests will not ...
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Federal prosecutors in Atlanta have indicted five Georgians connected with Atlanta Medical Group on federal money laundering and drug charges. Atlanta Medical Group is a pain clinic in Cartersville, Georgia that has been in operation for approximately one year. Prosecutors allege that the clinic operated as a pill mill and unlawfully distributed prescription pain medications to a high volume of patients.
The individuals who have been indicted are Dr. James Chapman, Jason Cole Votrobek, Jesse Violante, Roland Rafael ...
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On Tuesday, federal and state law enforcement officers began arresting individuals across Georgia accused of sharing child pornography online.
The statewide sweep spanned 37 counties and included the cities of Kingsland, Villa Rica, Augusta, Canton as well as many others. Officers expect to net approximately 55 arrests before the sweep has concluded.
In addition to making arrests, police are looking to seize computers, hard drives, DVDs and any electronic storage devices that may hold child pornography. The investigation, known ...
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