Pa. Resident facing Simple battery in Georgia.

[lawbird]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

Pennsylvania resident charged in Bibb county Macon Georgia with Battery 01327. Defendant has No prior criminal history.

There is a court date scheduled in about 2 weeks for the charges currently pending in georgia. Since the defendant will be traveling from Pennsylvania to attend his hearing can all of the charges be disposed of then and what would typically be the criminal procedure in Bibb county Georgia for guilty pleas and immediate sentencing.

I've read the potential for minimum and maximum sentences but am not familiar with the criminal rules of court for georgia. To prevent future trips back to Georgia the defendant wishes to just plead guilty and have the charges disposed of on the date of his hearing. Can any member please respond with some familiarity of Georgia court rules and what to expect from Bibb county in regards to disposition of out of state offender cases.

Furthermore, do the courts in Macon Georgia provide for disposition of criminal charges without having to return to the state in person. Or must a guilty plea be entered in person?

Thank you.

 

[TheGeekess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

Pennsylvania resident charged in Bibb county Macon Georgia with Battery 01327. Defendant has No prior criminal history.

There is a court date scheduled in about 2 weeks for the charges currently pending in georgia. Since the defendant will be traveling from Pennsylvania to attend his hearing can all of the charges be disposed of then and what would typically be the criminal procedure in Bibb county Georgia for guilty pleas and immediate sentencing.

I've read the potential for minimum and maximum sentences but am not familiar with the criminal rules of court for georgia. To prevent future trips back to Georgia the defendant wishes to just plead guilty and have the charges disposed of on the date of his hearing. Can any member please respond with some familiarity of Georgia court rules and what to expect from Bibb county in regards to disposition of out of state offender cases.

Furthermore, do the courts in Macon Georgia provide for disposition of criminal charges without having to return to the state in person. Or must a guilty plea be entered in person?

Thank you.

Your best bet is going to be to contact an attorney in Macon and see what they say. An attorney there would KNOW the local court climate and how judges tend to rule/cases are handled.

 

[st-kitts]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

Pennsylvania resident charged in Bibb county Macon Georgia with Battery 01327. Defendant has No prior criminal history.

You don't have a criminal history but you are a Yankee. Having a great deal of familiarity with middle Georgia, I think you might be better off if you had a criminal record but were a southern guy or gal.

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

I've read the potential for minimum and maximum sentences but am not familiar with the criminal rules of court for georgia. To prevent future trips back to Georgia the defendant wishes to just plead guilty and have the charges disposed of on the date of his hearing. Can any member please respond with some familiarity of Georgia court rules and what to expect from Bibb county in regards to disposition of out of state offender cases.

Furthermore, do the courts in Macon Georgia provide for disposition of criminal charges without having to return to the state in person. Or must a guilty plea be entered in person?

Thank you.

You are fixin' to need an attorney. While probation might be the likely outcome for a simple battery conviction, a typical condition of GA probation is not crossing state lines. Thus, a typical part of the probation sentence is not leaving GA. Perhaps a local attorney can minimize your visits and stay in Georgia, but without an attorney, you might be 'round for the Cherry Blossom festival in Macon next year.

 

[lawbird]

Thank you for your responses to my post, they kind of gave me something to laugh about in light of having crimal charges pending below the mason/Dixon line.

Counsel was contacted in the state of Georgia but costs to defend against a simple assault was approximately $8000. For that much I could commit crimes for an entire year in Pennsylvania hire an attorney and still have part of their retainer left over.

However this is not a Pa. Issue that must be addressed in the courts of Georgia. After calling the courts they advised me that a public defender would not be available until an appearance is made.

This is obviously an issue I would like resolved favorably and not one that requires me to become a resident of Georgia's department of corrections.

I am hoping that Georgia's rules of crim. procedure allow me to enter a plea and be sentenced on the same date, perhaps if a probation period is imposed supervision can even be transferred back to Pennsylvania.

 

[HighwayMan]

I am hoping that Georgia's rules of crim. procedure allow me to enter a plea and be sentenced on the same date, perhaps if a probation period is imposed supervision can even be transferred back to Pennsylvania.

If you're counting on that then you may have a big problem.