Often, traffic stops lead to other criminal charges such as drunk driving or drug possession. This pattern continued during a recent traffic stop near Atlanta, Georgia. A Somali man who is living in the United States on a work visa was pulled over and now faces multiple drug charges after police found a rare drug […]

Atlanta criminal defense attorneys have praised legislation that President Obama signed into law Tuesday. The new law reduces the sentencing disparity between criminal defendants caught with crack and those caught with powder cocaine. For the past 20 years, America’s minority populations where crack is most popular have been routinely subject to unfairly long prison sentences […]

An American-born man alleged to be the head of a Mexican drug cartel was charged on June 11 in an indictment in an Atlanta federal court in a case that a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman says “strikes directly at the core of Mexican drug cartel leadership.” The indictment alleges that 36-year-old Edgar Valdez Villareal, born […]

Georgia has the fourth highest incarceration rate in the nation. Georgia taxpayers finance that system at the rate of $1 billion per year. Tough on Crime Many people — even people who are “tough on crime” — are wondering if spending that much money on prisons is wise, and if it is making Georgians any safer. […]

Last year, roughly 50 percent of those in federal prison were serving time for drug offenses. 37 million non-violent offenders were arrested for crimes like drug possession – about 10 million were brought in for possession of marijuana. How much was spent to arrest and incarcerate these individuals? The bill for one year was nearly […]

Along with marijuana possession, prescription drug crimes rank high on the list for most prosecuted drug offenses. In late April, the Georgia House and Senate agreed to a bill that will establish a system for monitoring the drugs prescribed and dispensed in the state. Monitoring Prescription Pills The Patient Safety Act, Senate Bill 418, places the task […]

University of Georgia students accused of drug possession or underage drinking could be up for lighter sentences following a policy change approval by UGA administrators on Tuesday. Under the new guidelines, school officials at the University will have more flexibility in determining proper punishment for students caught with alcohol or in possession of drugs. Better For The […]