What Criminal Damage to Property Means in Georgia Criminal damage to property is Georgia's offense for knowingly damaging or interfering with property that belongs to someone else. Georgia grades the offense in two degrees. Both degrees are felonies, which makes this charge more serious than most people expect. People often arrive at this topic using…
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What Counts as Stalking Under Georgia Law Georgia stalking laws make it a crime to follow another person, place them under surveillance, or contact them without consent. The conduct must be done for the purpose of harassing and intimidating that person. The offense of stalking is set out at O.C.G.A. § 16-5-90. A charge generally…
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How Georgia Probation Tests for Alcohol What kind of drug test does probation use for alcohol? Not the standard five-panel or ten-panel drug screen, which usually will not catch drinking. Those panels look for drugs, and ethanol clears the body within hours. Georgia supervision officers use alcohol-specific methods instead. So what alcohol test does probation…
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What an EtG Test Is and What It Measures An EtG test is a laboratory test that looks for ethyl glucuronide, a direct metabolite the liver produces when the body processes beverage alcohol. It detects recent alcohol exposure, not current impairment. In plain terms, it answers one question: did this person drink recently? It never…
Continue reading ›Typical Fine Amounts for a Disorderly Conduct Ticket in Georgia If you are asking how much is a disorderly conduct ticket in Georgia, the honest answer is that there is no fixed price. Georgia treats disorderly conduct as a misdemeanor criminal charge, not a payable traffic-style citation like a window tint ticket that you settle…
Continue reading ›What Is Aggravated Battery in Georgia? Aggravated battery in Georgia is a felony. The crime happens when a person maliciously causes bodily harm. The harm must fit one of three types. In the first, the victim loses a body member. In the second, a body member no longer works. In the third, the victim suffers…
Continue reading ›How Far Back Insurance Companies Check for a DUI in Georgia Georgia drivers who ask how far back do insurance companies check for DUI usually want one number. There is no single number. Most auto insurers pull a motor vehicle record covering roughly the last three to five years when they rate a policy. Some…
Continue reading ›Georgia's Ban on Firearm Possession by Convicted Felons Can a convicted felon have a gun in Georgia? Generally, no. The controlling statute is OCGA § 16-11-131, Georgia's felon in possession of a firearm law. It makes it a felony for a person convicted of a felony to receive, possess, or transport any firearm. Each of…
Continue reading ›What Does Improper Equipment Mean? In Georgia, an improper equipment charge means a driver operated a vehicle in an unsafe condition. It also covers driving without the equipment that Title 40, Chapter 8 of the Georgia Code requires. The charge targets the condition of the car, not the way the driver was driving. So what…
Continue reading ›What Georgia Law Requires After You Hit a Parked Car In Georgia, the penalty for hit and run parked car cases is usually a misdemeanor. That means up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, and points on your license. Most first offenses with no injury resolve through probation and restitution…
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