What do I do now that "The Man" from DDS took my driver's license?

     Of course you mean what do you do BESIDES learning how bad the public transportation is in Atlanta?  Well once you get your Marta Breeze card and load it up with what money you have left, you may want to consider talking to a Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney about what your appeal options are.
     The first thing he is going to need to know is how/why was your license suspended?  Was it done through an administrative action of the Department of Driver's Services?  Was it done through action of the Department of Human Resources because you weren't paying child support?  Was it done because you were found guilty in court of multiple DUI's, or conviction on other sorts of traffic offenses?
     Here is a list of just some of the laws that allow the state to suspend your license.
     Each method of losing your license may have a different method of regaining it, so either start reading up on all the vagaries of Georgia law, or call someone like, guess who, a West Georgia DUI Lawyer.

Suspension by the DDS

     In the end, this is the way your license is going to be suspended regardless of the circumstances that lead to the suspension.  The Department of Driver's Services is the licensing authority for that little piece of plastic that allows you to motorvate across this state, and across this great country. 

Suspension due to failure to pay child support

     Guess what, not only can the state revoke your driver's license, they can revoke your hunting and fishing licenses too.  So what if you can't drive to work to make money after that license is pulled.  For some reason, money starts showing up for the kid when DHR puts people in jail, so they probably won't listen to you when you make arguments about restrictions short of incarceration.

Suspension due to conviction in state courts

     Well, the suspension itself is still coming from the DDS, but the cause of that pain could have been directly caused by either an administrative hearing initiated by the DDS, or it could have been the result of convictions for traffic offenses being forwarded to them after a trial either in a traffic court or superior court.
     Let's say for sake of argument, that the traffic court judge was having a bad day, and just didn't want to hear your arguments as to why you don't think you should get a DUI for driving that golf cart down the highway with a half drunk bottle of Jack.  You think you were still on the private golf course, and not on public roadways.  Maybe you have a chance to appeal that conviction, erase the points you got, and get your license back!
    Method 1 - Writ of Certiorari  (If you can't pronounce that, just say "Writ of Cert.")  This method points out specific errors that the traffic court judge made, because even though you may deserve the ticket, you may have the law on your side.  If the law is on your side, and the judge made a mistake, the Writ of Cert may be the way to go.
     Method 2 - Direct Appeal to Superior Court.  Since you already waived your right to a jury trial in traffic court,  (otherwise you wouldn't have gotten the trial held there) you only get a review of the record by the Superior Court judge.  If the facts of the case are on your side, and the prosecution just didn't make their case, this may be the way to go.
     HOWEVER, whether the facts or the law are on your side, that is NOT the only consideration in choosing your appeal method.  TALK TO A GEORGIA LAWYER NOW!  (You only have until 30 days after your conviction to do something.)

Veni Vivi Venue. (I came, I lived, I got venue.)

     Its the simple things in life that make going to court hard.  Like the fact that in the United States, you have the substative due process right of free travel amongst the states.  Not "free" like you don't have to pay for it, "free" in the fact that you don't have to pass government checkpoints or get permission to travel somewhere.
     Well, all that may change for latino's living in The People's Democratic Republic of Arizona, but as Eddie Murphy taught us long ago, white people can still pretty much do what they want throughout the country.
     Well all that freedom to go frolicking about, both between states, and within the state of Georgia can cause significant issues when you either want to get a divorce, need a court order to keep them from stalking you, or just generally need to sue them for any reason in general.  It causes an issue because the Georgia State Constitution requires that the target of a civil action (the "Defendant") has to be sued in the county in which they reside.  (Article VI, Section II) or (page 41 of 89).
     Now that sounds all nice and simple, doesn't it?  Well that part IS simple, but it is the exceptions that immediately destroy the illusion of simplicity.  And the exceptions start right away, and in that same old Georgia Constitution for which I just gave you the link.  So in a divorce case, where the Defendant has left not only the home, but has left the state, the Plaintiff can file suit in the county where the Plaintiff resides.  If the Defendant has not left the state, and still lives in Georgia, you can file suit either in the county where s/he has moved to, or, if it is within 6 months of them moving out, you can file in the county where you had the marital domicile.
     Now wait just one hot minute!  Domicile?  Residence?  What is the difference?  And why did the Georgia Supreme Court imply that the word "Residence" means something different in a domestic violence context than in any other context??  Davis-Redding v. Redding, 246 Ga. App. 792, 793 (2000).  I don't know.  But what I do know (I think) is that "residence" is where you generally sleep at night and have mail sent to, and maybe even pay some bills for gas and electric and such.  A residence becomes a Georgia "domicile" when you intend to stay there for any length of time.
     As clear as an unmuddied lake?  As clear as an azure sky of deepest summer?  Don't even get me started on contempt or interstate custody actions.
     Just call up your Georgia Trial Lawyer and have him look at OCGA 19-2-1 before you file your divorce, or any other civil lawsuit.

Here it is in case he doesn't have his code books handy:

O.C.G.A. 19-2-1. Place of domicile; change of domicile

(a) The domicile of every person who is of full age and is laboring under no disability is the place where the family of the person permanently resides, if in this state. If a person has no family or if his family does not reside in this state, the place where the person generally lodges shall be considered his domicile.

(b) The domicile of a person sui juris may be changed by an actual change of residence with the avowed intention of remaining at the new residence. Declaration of an intention to change one's domicile is ineffectual for that purpose until some act is done in execution of the intention.

Is it true that I can kill anyone I want in Georgia, as long as I kill them in my house?

     Now before I say a single word on this topic, how about you think about how much sense that actually makes. . . . Do you really think that it is O.K. to kill anyone you want as soon as they cross the threshold of your front door?  Nevermind.  There are people out there who still think that Obama is a Muslim, so I guess I can waste some time talking to you about this Georgian urban myth about killing in your home.
     It is true that there is a lowered bar for proving "self defense" for a defendant who uses deadly force when that defendant is in his home (or his car) in Georgia.  However, it is not a carte-blanche license to kill anyone who annoys you during dinner by offending your irrational neo-con sensibilities by laughing in your face when you insist that Obama is promoting an African anti-colonial agenda.
     But this article isn't about talking about how stupid you are for listening to Newt Gingrich about morality issues or for listening to political pre-chewed pulp in today's polarized "discussions" that have been dumbed down to historic levels due to the 24/7 media.  It is about getting you to go to Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity!  Whoops. 
     No, this post is about me trying to release a tiny amount of knowledge out there on the internet about Georgia law without giving you the impression that you are entering into any sort of attorney-client relationship with me.  What IS happening is that I am shamelessly linking on this blog to a website where you CAN create an attorney-client relationship, with this West Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney.
     But who am I, you may ask?  I'm SKIP WALTERS DAMMIT, and don't ask any personal questions about me, or I will drag your ass to my yard, and in a violent and tumultuously manner throw you in through the back door and kill you there, because I know how to pull that shit off.  You don't.  Even after I tell you who you can kill in your house you won't know how to do it right.
     Why?  Because I'm Skip Walters and you're not.  That's why. 
     Walters.  Skip Walters. 
     Dammit.

     Anyway, in Georgia,  OCGA 16-3-23 explains when you can use force in the defense of your home, and that is why it is titled "Use of force in defense of habitation."
     It says that you are justified in threatening or using force in defending your home to the extent that you reasonably believe that such force is necessary to prevent or terminate the unlawful entry; and, you are justified in using deadly force only if one of the following three situations exist:
     1) entry is made in a "violent and tumultuous manner" AND you believe it is made for the purpose of assault AND deadly force is needed to prevent the assault;   or
     2) the deadly force is used against a non-family member who entered the house unlawfully AND forcibly AND you know that that person entered unlawfully AND forcibly; or
     3) the deadly force is used against a person that you reasonably know has entered the house for purposes of committing a felony in the house.

     Basically, what this means, is if you know how to set up the situation, and fake the evidence, you pretty much CAN kill anyone in your house, provided you are going to hide the fact that they really were invited to the house, and you really just killed them because they said some really stupid shit about Obama.
     Hey, wanna come over tonight?

     Hah!  Just joking.  I'm not going to kill you.  Manny is.    (here is a longer clip of that scene.)

     Ok, if you really did kill someone, and then dragged the body into your house because you thought you could get away with it that way, you are going to need to talk to a Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney now!

Your first day dealing drugs or selling blow jobs? Well asking “are you a cop?” won’t help screen your customer base for police.

     Do people still believe asking if you are a cop will save you before you commit your criminal act? Apparently so, despite a million online resources that will tell you otherwise. I guess people are still watching old 70’s blacksploitation movies where this apparently was the screening method.  To convince yourself if won’t work, start with Snopes, or do your own online search.  If you are still not believing, call your Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney and ask him directly.

     In the meantime, let’s talk a little bit about the three things that you have to prove to show entrapment in Georgia.
(1) the idea of the crime started with the police officer
(2) the defendant did the crime because of undue persuasion, incitement, or deceit
(3) the defendant was not predisposed to commit the crime
     Now before you get all excited about #2, remember that all three have to be shown for a successful defense of entrapment.

     OH YEAH! I almost forgot.  Entrapment is what is called an affirmative defense to the crime.  That means that to start arguing that you were entrapped, you have to first admit that you did the crime.  Maybe admitting that you did the crime isn’t a big deal, but it is showing that you have come to the last gasp of your legal defense.

So anyway, back to those three things you have to show to prove entrapment.
     FIRST, you have to prove that the police officer initiated the idea of doing the crime.  An undercover officer pretending to be a drug dealer is NOT initiating the crime.  You driving up to that undercover agent (in your station wagon with the kids in the back seat) and asking to buy “half a slab for fifty” is not entrapment, it is you committing the crime of attempted possession of cocaine, even if the undercover cop only has wax pellets to sell you.  See Guzman v. State, 206 Ga. App. 170. (1992).
     SECOND, you have to show that you did the crime because the cop somehow tricked or coerced you into it.  Keep in mind though, that even if the undercover agent becomes extremely irritating by asking you repeatedly over a two week period to sell him hard drugs, he didn’t trick you or coerce you.  Garrett v. State, 133 Ga. App. 564. (1974).
     Additionally, if the police have a really hot female undercover informant, just because your little head took over control and made you do what she told you to do that still isn’t entrapment.  That’s just part of being a dumb guy. Lightsey v. State, 289 Ga. App. 181 (2008).
     THIRD, you have to show that you weren’t predisposed to committing the crime anyway.  So, don’t even think about an entrapment defense working if you are caught on tape voluntarily going to, and feeling completely comfortable in, a meeting where you are discussing the sale of 400 grams of meth.  Urapo-Sanchez v. State, 267 Ga. App. 113 (2004).

     Don't want to read all that caselaw?  Just call your Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney.

Things that work, and things that don't work in court for a credit card collection case.

     Ok, now I am going to say this loud and clear before you get all squirrely on me, I have no frigging idea what the facts of your case are, so everything in this post may or may not apply to you.  Talk to a Georgia Defense Attorney before filing ANY court paperwork, and if you are going to appear in court GET A LAWYER.

What are some legal defenses in a credit card collection case?

(based on the merits of the case)

1)  I did not use the card.
2)  I do not owe the money.
3)  I do not owe the amount that the credit card company says I owe.
4)  The third party collection agency has not properly been assigned this debt.

What are some procedural legal defenses in a credit card case?

1)  I was not properly served.
2)  The case was not filed in the right county.
3)  The case was filed too late.

What are things people usually put in their court filings
that have NO LEGAL EFFECT and are NOT valid defenses?

1)  I'm broke and can't pay my bills.
2)  I just got fired and can't pay my bills.
3)  I just got divorced and my wife took everything, and I can't pay my bills.
4)  I just got divorced and my wife took everything, I just got fired, I'm broke, I have cancer, and I can't pay my bills. 
     (I hope you get the picture that any reason which is just an "I can't pay my bills" is ineffective, no matter how elaborate or heartbreaking.  Go listen to some country music and grab a cold one.)
5) I'm really, really sorry, and will the court please have mercy on me.
     (Mercy will come in the form of a judgment against you.)

What do people THINK are legal defenses in a Georgia state court,

but ARE NOT EFFECTIVE defenses?

1)  The credit card company refuses to send me an original signed contract.

(yes you have the right to proof of the debt, but using the card establishes a valid debt, not a signed contract with the debtor.  Nice try, but no good.)

2)  I am my own sovereign nation and reject the government's power to enforce debts I have entered.
(Go watch the Family Guy episode "E. Peterbus Unum" again, and be glad no one is taking you seriously.)
3)  The mean credit card company won't agree to let me pay the 5,000 dollars I owe at the rate of 5 bucks a month.
(There is no obligation for the card company to accept your lousy offer.  Go cancel your cable subscription and pay the 100 bucks a month to your existing bills instead of making new ones.)
4)  I think that the collection agency is violating federal law.
(This is not relevant in state court.  Georgia courts enforce Georgia state law.)

Other stupid things people do that are not effective in court filings:

1)  Failing to answer the initial complaint. 
     ANY response, whatsoever, even a pleading that only has the case information, one complete sentence stating anything whatsoever, and your printed name and signature will be considered an answer to the complaint.  YOU NEED TO FILE ONE OF THESE within 30 days or you automatically lose the case.  (hopefully one with an actual legal defense, and not one as described in this paragraph)
2)  Failing to state a legal defense in your answer.
     The judge, and everyone who reads your truly tragic story of personal loss may in fact get all teary eyed when they reach chapter three where your dog is run over by the ambulance, but if you do not dispute something that has legal significance, you might as well have said "I can't pay the bill" and saved everyone the scrutinizing of your novel for a hidden actual defense.
3)  Failing to respond to discovery.
     One of the sneaky little facts of civil litigation is that if you do not respond to a party-opponent's request(s) for admissions, those requests are considered to have been admitted as true, and are evidence that the court can use in issuing a summary judgment.
4)  Failing to present evidentiary support in response to a motion for summary judgment.
     Once again, get a Georgia Defense Attorney!  Do you know the rules of evidence?  All of them?  Or do you think that shouting "hearsay!" in a courtroom is all you have to do based on your experience watching Boston Legal?  You cannot rely solely on pleadings in a summary judgment motion.  (And even if you went to law school, you may not know what I mean by that.)
5)  Believing that you have a right to a hearing because you asked for one in your answer.
     Yeah, you filed a request for a jury trial in your answer to the lawsuit.  So what.  You probably have your own wacky theories on all of the Amendments.  The fact of the matter is that if you get caught by one of the extremely basic procedural mechanisms before you get to the trial stage, the court can and will enter judgment against you.  How many times do I need to tell you to go get a Georgia Defense Lawyer?? 

     But you're all smart and stuff.  You solved the rubik's cube without cheating, and you scored over 150 on your internet IQ test.  Fight the lawsuit without professional guidance.  After you are done with that, you can perform an emergency appendectomy on yourself.

Ignoring that lawsuit your credit card company filed is like closing your eyes in a boxing ring.

     So you got a knock on your door, and when you opened it, some guy threw papers at your feet and said "You're Served!"  Maybe you got lucky, and an actual Sheriff's deputy gave you this notice of lawsuit, and did it a little more tactfully, but either way, you now have a choice.
1)  You can ignore it; or,
2)  You can do something about it.
     Whether you like it or not, you have just been placed in a boxing ring, and choosing path #1 is the equivalent of closing your eyes and tensing up as you wait and hope that it won't hurt too much.
     You HAVE to choose path #2, and believe it or not, you might even have a chance to win.  It may not even be necessary to consider bankruptcy, but if that ends up what you need to do, call a Georgia Bankruptcy Attorney.

     BUT, BEFORE you do anything drastic like bankruptcy, lets do some basic damage control.  Those silly papers that were either handed to you or thrown at your feet are a summons and complaint.  The summons tells you what court you are being sued in, and the complaint tells you why you are being sued.
     If you do not respond to this lawsuit, in 30 days you automatically go into default, and in 45 days, you lose the right to open that default.  What that means is the party that filed suit against you can start taking money out of your bank accounts, can garnish your wages, or can put a lien in place against property that you own.  Maybe you think you have all your assets hidden and are paid under the table, but if you are all "off the grid" smart, why don't you use some of that brainpower now and fight this lawsuit?!?
     Now don't start getting too smart for your own good, because declaring you are a sovereign nation, or demanding that the credit card company produce an original signed contract WILL NOT WORK.  Fighting the validity of service, arguing venue or jurisdiction, or possibly arguing statute of limitations MIGHT work, but you need to talk to a Georgia Debtor Defense Attorney about what legal defenses are available.

     There are several phases that this lawsuit will go through, and several ways that you can have a judgment entered agaisnt you.
Judgment type 1 - automatic Default Judgment
If you do not file an Anser to the lawsuit, the lawsuit goes into Default in 30 days and a
Judgment type 2 - Judgment entered on motion based on the pleadings filed
After you file an Answer to the lawsuit, if your answer does not raise a legal defense, the party filing suit can obtain a Judgment on the Pleadings
Judgment type 3 - Summary Judgment
If your Answer to the lawsuit raises a legal defense, "discovery" commences.  If you do not respond to discovery, the party who filed suit against you may be able to have Summary Judgment entered against you.  If you respond to the discovery requests, but your responses fail to support your legal defense, or if you do not file your own evidentiary support in response to the motion for summary judgment, the court may enter judgment against you.
Judgment type 4 - Final judgment after bench trial (judge only) or jury trial
If judgment is not entered based on the above mechanisms, you go to trial.  After either a bench or jury trial, judgment is either entered, or you walk out as a winner.

OH . . . by the way . . . all of these judgments are in the end, exactly the same.  Whether you fail to respond to the lawsuit, or lose after a jury trial, the entry of judgment is as final and has the exact same effect.
Can you guess what I am going to say next?

You DO NOT know what the valid legal defenses in a debt collection case are, but a Georgia Defense Lawyer does. CALL ONE.

That Farging Bastage is HIDING from me! | Service by Publication

     The first thing that you will find out when you first look to the courts to resolve a dispute, hopefully instead of looking to your AK-47 to resolve that same dispute, is that until you give proper notice of the officially declared war against your sworn enemy to that sworn enemy, the court will not give you the satisfaction that you seek.
     It is not as easy as slapping him/her across the face with a well starched glove, and declaring that you demand satisfaction and the restoration of your honour (with or without the "u").  But, either relying on olde English spelling, or olde English customs will not serve you well in a Georgia Superior Court.
     Georgia law requires that the defendant in a civil suit must properly give personal service to the target of that suit (the Defendant) before the court has power to enter a judgment of any kind against him/her.  So whether you seek a divorce, a money judgment, or an injunction to keep your neighbor from having a Tea Dance at 10 am on a Sunday morning, you need to have that rascal properly served.  (please note at this point that "personal service" means service by legally recognized means of the complaint and summons which orders response from the Defendant.  It is not any term recognized by the Urban Dictionary)
     You need to ask your West Georgia Attorney about which method of service is most cost effective, but here is the general layout of what you need to do or know when you file a civil lawsuit.
     First, and easiest, is just paying the county Sheriff to go strolling up in mid-day to the miscreant's place of work or to his/her residence and banging on the door.  It is supremely better if the person is served in their home, as the Georgia State Constitution requires that civil suits occur where the Defendant lives.  However, the unsuspecting, and unrepresented Defendant is often ruled against even when they are served outside their home county, because they don't know what their rights are, or because they think that closing their eyes will minimize the pain of the punch that is being thrown at their face.
     Second, hire a process server who either is a permanent (yearly) appointee of the county, or is appointed for the specific case you are filing.  (have a Georgia Attorney file this paperwork)
     Third, if no-one can find the rascal, you may be able to serve them through publication in the legal newspaper of the county.  (But seriously, if you can't find them, what good is this going to do?)  Maybe it is a divorce case and you desperately want to make the same mistake, and can't until you are legally able to be re-insitutionalized, but perhaps you need to consider whether having a court judgment against a non-findable individual is a suitable expenditure of your time.  (look up "judgment proof")
     Whatever.  It makes no difference whether you are driven by hatred, irrational fear, or by an ignorant boss or client.  In any case, your anarchic situation will be calmed by the soothing balm of a court judgment; and, service by publication is available.  (someday, a comment, and a link to an irrational unethical attorney will be inserted here, but until I leave my current job, this remains unlinked.)
     The critical portion of this process is stating in a sworn affidavit the specific steps that you have taken to find that illusive, tortious, criminal, and/or immoral foe.  Don't just state that you have taken all steps humanly possible, please do explain what those steps were.
     If your efforts were truly adequate (as heroic efforts are not required), the court will issue an order that service by publication is allowed, and the Defendant will have 60 days from the date the court order was entered to respond to the complaint as if they were personally served by the Sheriff or appointed process server.  The Clerk of Court in the meantime had better have published the order 4 times as requred, but that is out of your hands for the most part.  (You may want to follow up with them though)
     Yeah.  But what form do I fill out? . . . .  Listen bub.  You reaaaalllly need to talk to a Georgia Trial lawyer who gives a flip about your personal issues.  Paying him a couple bucks might help as well.  You don't think lawyers are useful?  Well mostly, they think you are  . . . . well . . . . lets just say that you need to improve your attitude more than they do.