The purpose of this page is to answer some of the most frequently asked questions that I am asked on a regular basis. When we meet, I will be glad to explain these answers in more detail if necessary, however, by reading the answers prior to your consultation, hopefully, many of your questions will be answered without you having to ask them. Many of the questions will not apply to your case, however, in all probability, some of them might. Please understand that the information contained on this page is general information and is not to be relied on as legal advice, specific to your case. If you are involved in a situation that any of this information pertains to, seek the advise of an attorney immediately, whether its another attorney or me.
The underlined questions below are hyperlinks to the question with their corresponding answers. Below the hyperlink questions are all of the questions with the answers. You can simply click on the specific question you are interested in and you will be taken directly to that answer or you can browse through all of the questions and answers.
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Unless specified otherwise, any information contained in these answers is based on Georgia law and the local courts of the Augusta Judicial Circuit.
What are your office hours and what are the directions to your office?
What are your areas of specialty and where do you practice?
When I call your office, will I be able to talk to you or will I have to deal with some assistant?
What time should I arrive at court?
What is a contingent fee, how does it work and what types of cases do lawyers take on a contingency?
What is a statute of limitations and how does it work?
What is an ante litem notice?
What is my personal injury case worth?
When I bought my car insurance policy, I thought I was getting full coverage, but now they are telling me that my medical bills are not covered under my policy. Why?
What is the difference between uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coveage and why is my underinsured motorist settlement offset by the amount I collected from the "at-fault" party's liability insurance?
What is underinsured motorist excess coverage?
What does "stacking" uninsured or underinsured motorist policies mean?
What is medical malpractice?
Why don't we sue the insurance company in a personal injury case?
When can you name the insurance company as a defendant in the lawsuit based on a tort commited by their insured?
I feel down in a store and fractured a bone in my arm. Does that mean I can sue the store?
What is the Georgia Super Speeder law and what does it mean?
My son paid his fine for his speeding ticket. Why was his drivers license suspended?
If I am stopped by a law enforcement officer, what should I do?
How many drinks can I have before my Blood Alcohol Content will reach .08?
I was charged with DUI last week and they kept my license. Does that mean my drivers license is going to be suspended?
I was charged with DUI and the officer gave me a separate ticket for Child Endangerment. What does that mean?
What is the plea bargaining process and how does it work?
What are my chances of you keeping my DUI from going on my record?
How do you become a habitual violator?
What is the First Offender's Act and how does it work?
Can I plead under the First Offender's Act on my DUI?
I have a conviction on my record from twenty years ago. Can I get it expunged?
What are your office hours and what are the directions to your office?
We are open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday on all days except legal holidays. Our office is located on top of the levee on the right side, next to the Georgia side of the Fifth Street Bridge. Coming from west Augusta, get off Calhoun Expressway or Riverwatch Parkway and make your way left over to Reynolds Street. Go down Reynolds Street to Fifth Street. Take a left on Fifth Street and you will immediately go up the side of the levee. When you get on top of the levee, turn right into my driveway. My sign is right beside my driveway. If you make a mistake and turn left, you will go to the marina or if you go straight, you will go over the bridge into South Carolina.
Coming from south Augusta on Gordon Highway, turn left on Walton Way, then take an immediate right on Fifth Street right after you pass the Wendy's. Keep going straight on Fifth Street as if you were going to South Carolina. You will pass under red lights at Telfair Street, Green Street, Broad Street and finally Reynolds Street. After you pass under the light at Reynolds Street, you will you will immediately go up the side of the levee. When you get on top of the levee, turn right into my driveway. My sign is right beside my driveway. If you make a mistake and turn left, you will go to the marina or if you go straight, you will go over the bridge into South Carolina.
What are your areas of specialty and where do you practice?
The focal areas of our attorney, Calvin E. Chance, Jr., are Personal Injury cases and traffic related criminal matters such as DUI. However, we handle a wide variety of other types of cases as listed below. Not only do we handle automobile accidents such as car wrecks, we handle boating accidents, motorcycle wrecks, truck wrecks, tractor trailer wrecks and train wreck cases. We also want to be your Worker's Compensation lawyer. While we handle Personal Injury cases from all over the country and internationally, as well, we do not handle criminal matters or DUI cases outside the Augusta Judicial Circuit, which more specifically is Richmond, Columbia and Burke Counties of Georgia.
When I call your office, will I be able to talk to you or will I have to deal with some assistant?
It is my policy to try to take or return all of my phone calls by the end of the day, myself. Sometimes, due to circumstances beyond my control, it will be impossible to do so that day, however, I assure you, I will return your call as soon as I possibly can. While I attempt to treat every client as if they were my only client, in reality, the practice of law entails juggling performing four different types of tasks. Each of these tasks requires the utmost attention while they are being performed and it is almost impossible to perform more than one of these tasks at the same time as another. First of all, the lawyer must meet with his clients in his office. Next, he must make and take his daily telephone calls. Then, he must do his research, leg work and paper work. Finally, and most importantly, the lawyer must go to court with his clients.
Sometimes, when I'm in trial, it can take up to a week to try the case. Court is the most important task of the four tasks. When I am focused on court, it takes precedence over my other cases. However, I assure you, when the time comes for your case to go to court, it will get the same amount of my attention.
What time should I arrive at court?
For every court except, the State Court of Richmond County, you should try to be in court at least ten minutes prior to the time it says on your notices unless I tell you otherwise. Personally, 99% of the time, I am a very prompt person and I'm not too early or too late. Generally, I am where I need to be within two minutes either before or after the given time.
What most clients do not realize is that when I am listed as your counsel of record, your case is not going to be called until I get there, anyway. Frequently, things arise that are beyond my control that must be dealt with immediately that cause me to be a bit tardy. I assure you that I know where I need to be and if I am a few minutes late, nothing is going to happen until I get there. I will make every effort possibly to try to notify you ahead of time if I am going to be tardy.
As for the State Court of Richmond County, while their notices state court starts at either 8:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m., in reality, court does not start until 9:00 a.m and 2:00 p.m., respectfully. While I try to tell all of my clients that they do not need to be there until just before 9:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m., sometimes I get distracted during our consultation and forget to do so. Nevertheless, as stated before, they are not going to call your case until I am there.
If your case is in the Probate Court of Columbia County, I like you to be thirty minutes early and rather than going upstairs to the court room, meet me in the waiting area downstairs outside the office of Probate Court.
What is a contingent fee, how does it work and what types of cases do lawyers take on a contingency?
Simply put, a contingent fee is a fee with which the attorney is paid by taking a percentage of the money he recovers for his client. There are several advantages to this type of fee. First of all, the client never has to take any money out of his pocket to pay the attorney. This means that even the poorest client can afford the best attorneys. Another advantage to the client is that if the attorney doesn't make a recovery for his client, then the attorney does not get paid. This is a very big incentive for the attorney to do the best job he can. Finally, the client can always be assured that he is getting the maximum amount of money for his case because the more the lawyer gets for his client, the more he gets for himself.
While some of the television lawyers charge more, the standard fee on a contingent fee is 33 1/3% if the case is settled without having to file a law suit and 40 % if a law suit is filed. The reason for the increase is because if it is necessary to file suit, the lawyer must spend a lot more of his money to finance the case and must spend a lot more time working on the case. In actuality, the 40% fee is the better bargain for the client.
Contingent fees do not apply to all types of cases. The only type cases for which contingent fees are proper are cases that involve trying to recover monetary damages from another party such as tort cases, worker's compensation and denials of social security benefits. Criminal, domestic or probate cases are not appropriate for contingent fees.
What is a statute of limitations and how does it work?
In the context of a civil case, when a tort is commited against you, you have a certain amount of time to file a lawsuit against the person that commited the tort and if you do not do so within that prescribe time period, you will be barred forever from filing your lawsuit. There are many different types of torts which have different time periods. As an example, the most common type of tort is ordinary negligence. In Georgia, the statute of limitations for an ordinary negligence case is two years. However, if you are suing a governmental agency, you must first give them a statutorily prescribed ante litem notice (see the next question). This in essence, shortens your period of time. It should also be noted that the two years does not run on the anniversary of the commission of the tort, rather, it expires on the day before the second anniversary. This is a very dangerous law to play with. If you case is approaching the statute of limitations, seek the advice of an attorney immediately.
What is an ante litem notice?
If a governmental employee commits a tort against you, depending on which subdivision of the state you are suing, you are statutorily required to give the government a certain period of time to investigate the case and give them the opportunity to settle the matter without having to be sued. For instance, if you are suing a county government, you must give the county a one year notice that you are going to file a lawsuit, before you can file a lawsuit. However, the two year statute of limitations period continues to run. In essence, this shortens your two year statute of limitations to a one year statute of limitations, because if you do not file the ante litem notice within a year of the commission of the tort, there is not enough time left on the two year statute of limitations to give the required one year ante litem notice. If you have a tort claim against a governmental agency, seek the advice of an attorney immediately to avoid losing your case to this technicality.
What is my personal injury case worth?
While I can generally give you a ball park assessment from my "gut feeling" early on in the case, a true assessment can only be made after you have reached maximum medical improvement from your injuries. At that time, I will accumulate the evidence of your special damages (your medical expenses and lost wages) and apply them to a formula to evaluate your case. At that time, I will be able to give you an accurate evaluation of your case.
When I bought my car insurance policy, I thought I was getting full coverage, but now they are telling me that my medical bills are not covered under my policy. Why?
In my opinion, the type of automobile insurance that is the best bargain for the money is Medical Payments coverage. However, because it is and optional coverage and it is good for you, but bad for the insurance company, they discourage everyone for buying it. Thus, very few people are covered by it. When you have Medical Payments coverage on your vehicle and you are injured in an automobile accident, your coverage will pay 100% of your medical bills, with no deductible, up to the limits of your coverage. As an example, $50,000.00 of coverage can cost as low as less than $50.00 per year. If you are seriously injured in an automobile accident, this coverage is invaluable.
What is the difference between uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage and why is my underinsured motorist settlement offset by the amount I collected from the "at-fault" party's liability insurance?
Uninsured motorist coverage covers claims that arise from the at-fault party not having any insurance, whereas, underinsured motorist coverage claims arise from the at-fault party not having enough insurance. Unlike some other states, in Georgia, uninsured motorist coverage covers both uninsured and underinsured motorist claims. Georgia law also gives your underinsured motorist coverage carrier credit for the amount of money paid by the at-fault party's liability coverage.
As an example, suppose that you are injured in an automobile accident and your injuries make your case worth $125,000.00. Also suppose that the at-fault party has liability coverage limits of $25,000.00 and you have underinsured motorist coverage limits of $100,000.00. You would think that the liability carrier would pay the first $25,000.00 and your underinsured motorist carrier would pay their $100,000.00 to fully compensate you for the true value of your claim, however, it does not work that way. The liability carrier pays the first $25,000.00 and because the underinsured motorist carrier is entitled to the offset, they only have to pay $75,000.00 on top of the $25,000.00 for a total payout on your claim of $100,000.00 rather than the true value of $125,000.00.
What is underinsured motorist excess coverage?
In 2010, the Georgia Legislature enacted law that requires the insurance companies to offer you underinsured motorist excess coverage. Simply stated, if you select this option and pay a small additional premium, your underinsured motorist carrier will not be allowed to offset what they must pay to you by the amount the at-fault party's liability carrier paid. Therefore, under the example in the previous answer, you would receive $100,000.00 on top of the $25,000.00 you received from the liability carrier for a total of $125,000.00.
What does "stacking" uninsured or underinsured motorists policies mean?
Stacking is a principle of law that developed from applying underinsured motorist coverage on top of the at-fault party's liability coverage as exemplified in the previous two answers. Simply stated, stacking means you can stack more than one underinsured motorist policy on top of the at-fault party's liability coverage to reach the true value of your claim.
In Georgia, case law has developed a principle of law refered to as the "household doctrine" or the "resident relative doctrine". Simply stated, if someone that is related to you by blood or marriage, that lives in your same household, has a separate underinsured motorist policy, you can stack their coverage on top of yours to the extent that you are fully compensated.
To understand how it works, read the examples in the previous two answers, then, as a further example, suppose that you are injured in an automobile accident and your injuries make your case worth $300,000.00. Also suppose that the at-fault party has liability coverage limits of $25,000.00 and you have underinsured motorist coverage limits of $100,000.00. The liability carrier pays the first $25,000.00. Normally, if there was not an additional underinsured policy to go after, your underinsured motorist carrier would be entitled to the $25,000.00 offset, so they would only have to pay $75,000.00 on top of the liability carrier's $25,000.00 for a total payout on your claim of $100,000.00 rather than the true value of $300,000.00. However, also assume that your mother-in-law recently moved in with you and she has a separate underinsured motorist policy with a different company that has limits of liability of $250,000.00. Because the secondary underinsured motorist carrier is entitled to the $25,000.00 offset, your underinsured motorist carrier would have to pay their entire $100,000.00 limits on top of the $25,000.00 of liability coverage and you could stack $175,000.00 of your mother in law's underinsured motorist coverage on top of yours to reach a full compenstation of $300,000.00. Under this same example, if your case had been worth $400,000.00, after your mother in law's underinsured motorist company took the $25,000.00 offset for the $25,000.00 that was paid by the liability carrier, you would have been able to get an additional $225,000.00 of her $250,000.00 coverage for a total of $350,000.00.
What is medical malpractice?
Many people think that if something goes wrong with some medical treatment, then its automatically a malpractice cases. More times than not, this is not the case. There is a simple way to understand what medical malpractice is. For every set of symptoms that a medical care provider encounters, there is a set protocol or procedure that is the standard in the local medical community that he or she must follow. When the medical care provider follows the correct protocol and something goes wrong there is no malpractice. It is only when the medial care provider deviates from the standard in the community and as a result, the patients suffers some catastrophic type of injury as a direct result of the deviation, that there is malpractice.
Once medical malpractice is suspected there are many major hurdles that must be overcome before the client can recover damages. The first (and often the most difficult) hurdle that must be overcome is before you can file a lawsuit, you must get another similar medical care provider to sign an Affidavit stating under oath that the original medical care provider commited malpractice. Needless to say, this is a very difficult task, even when the malpractice is blatantly obvious.
Why don't we sue the insurance company in a personal injury case?
In my opinion, this is one of the worst laws that is consistent throughout the entire United States body of law. Not only can you not name the insurance company as a defendant in 99% of lawsuits, if at trial, someone mentions that the defendant is covered by insurance, the case is automatically declared a mistrial and must be started over from the beginning with a new jury. Why is that you ask? The answer is simple: Insurance companies' lobbyists.
When can you name the insurance company as a defendant in the lawsuit based on a tort commited by their insured?
As stated in the previous answer, as a general rule you can almost never even let a jury know that the Defendant has insurance, much less, name them as a defendant in your lawsuit against the person that committed the tort. In Georgia the only circumstance where you can name the insurance company as a defendant is when the tort is committed by the driver of a motor common carrier (a truck used on Georgia highways for commerce). This is set by statutory law and very strict criteria must be met to do so. However, when you can, it automatically increases the value of your case simply because the jury is entitled to know who is going to pay their verdict.
I feel down in a store and fractured a bone in my arm. Does that mean I can sue the store?
Premise liability cases are not as simple as ordinary negligence cases. First of all you must categorize the injured person as an "invitee", a "licensee" or a "trespasser". Depending on which of these the injured person is, there is a different standard applied to each one. Generally, the premise owner owes the greatest duty to an invitee. Still, before an invitee can recover against a premise owner for his injury, the invitee must prove that the premise owner had greater knowledge of the hazardous condition that caused the invitee's injury. In layman's terms, there was a dangerous condition on the premises that the owner knew about, that the owner should have known that the dangerous condition could cause the type of injury suffered by the invitee, that the invitee was not aware of the dangerous condition and the dangerous condition caused the invitee's injury. Absent any of these criteria, the invitee can not recover.
If I am stopped by a law enforcement officer, what should I do?
Regardless of how the officer treats you, you should always treat him or her with respect, courtesy and professionalism. This always works in your favor and failure to do so can only hurt you. Nevertheless, that does not mean you have to give them the farm. If you are stopped while in your vehicle, never get out of your vehicle unless directed to do so by the officer. To do so immediately puts him in fear for his life and he will let you know that immediately. Once you bring your vehicle to a stop at the first safe place, immediately get out your drivers license, your proof of insurance and your vehicle registration so you do not have to fumble around looking for it with him standing there. Do not do his job for him. Cooperate with him to the extent that you can, but do not talk, walk or give him evidence anymore than you absolutely have to. Do not make any incriminatory statement and do not confess to anything. If you have any chance of getting away with a warning, use these hint and you will increase that probability.
What is the Georgia Super Speeder law and what does it mean?
Beginning, January 1, 2010, anyone caught driving 75 mph or greater on a two-land road or 85 mph or greater on any road in Georgia will be considered a "Super Speeder" and will have to pay $200.00 to the Georgia Department of Drivers Services (DDS) to avoid having their driver's license suspended. This will be a payment made directly to DDS that is in addition to any fines paid to the courts of the local jurisdiction where the citation was issued.
My son paid his fine for his speeding ticket. Why was his drivers license suspended?
The law in Georgia is very harsh pertaining to teenager traffic infractions. For teens sixteen or seventeen years old, if they accumulate a total of four points, their drivers license will be suspended. For eighteen, nineteen and twenty year olds, they can accumulate up to fifteen points before their drivers license will be suspended (the same as adults). However, if someone in this age group is cited for a four points offense, their license will be suspended. To examine how many points the various offenses carry, go to the Georgia Points System link on my Resources Page.
How many drinks can I have before my Blood Alcohol Content will reach .08?
There is no exact formula that is consistent for everyone because everyone's metabolism and blood volume are different. However, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation teaches a crude formula to the state's prosecutors at their training courses. Based on a 180 lb. man, for every one ounce of alcohol he consumes, his Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) will rise by .02 and every hour his body will metabolize .02 from his overall BAC. There is one ounce of alcohol in a regular mixed drink, a three ounce glass of wine or in a twelve ounce beer.
As an example, using this formula, if the 180 lb. man drinks two beers per hour, it will take him four hours to reach a BAC of .08. By drinking two beers per hour, his BAC rises by .04 each hour, but it also lowers .02 by metabolism. Therefore at the end of the first hour his BAC will be .02, at the end of the second hour it will be .04, at the end of the third hour it will be .06 and at the end of the fourth hour it will be .08. To apply the formula to yourself, you have to adjust according to your weight. If you weigh more than 180 lbs. you can drink a little more and if you weigh less than 180, you cannot drink as much.
I was charged with DUI last week and they kept my drivers license. Does that mean my drivers license is suspended?
When you receive a citation for DUI in Georgia, the arresting officer will also issue to you a Department of Driver Services Form 1205. On the front of the Form 1205, it informs you that the Form 1205 will serve as your temporary drivers license and after thirty days after the date of the citation, your drivers license will be suspended. On the back of the Form 1205, it informs you that you have ten business days to appeal this suspension of your drivers license. Two thing that the Form 1205 does not inform you is that if you file your appeal within ten business days, it will stop the suspension of your drivers license until you are given a hearing on your appeal. The Form 1205 also does not inform you that you must include a filing fee of $150.00 when you file your appeal.
I was charged with DUI and the officer gave me a separate ticket for Child Endangerment. What does that mean?
Pursuant to the Georgia DUI statute, O.C.G.A. 40-6-391(l), when a law enforcement officer cites you for DUI and issues you a separate citation for Child Endangerment, you are actually being charged with two different DUIs at the same time and the charges do not merge. Consequently, if you are convicted of both counts you will be subject to the much greater penalties for a first and second DUI within ten years. Additionally, your drivers license will be suspended for a one year hard suspension and after that year is over, you will then be required to have an interlock device installed on your vehicle for a period of at least six months.
What is the plea bargaining process and how does it work?
When you are charged with a criminal offense, whether it is a minor misdemeanor or a serious felony, you have several options regarding how to approach resolving your case. First, you can go to court and plead guilty to the charges. This is rarely ever the wisest decision. On the other extreme you can have a full blown jury trial and let a jury of your peers determine your fate. Many times this is your best option, but many times it is not. Sometimes it is better to try your case in front of a judge rather than a jury. A judge understands the technical aspects of the law and is better qualified to eliminate emotions when it is required. Finally, the most often used option is the plea bargaining process.
To lawyers, whether it is a prosecutor or a defense lawyer, practicing law is like a football game in the sense that nobody likes to loose. While it is impossible to predict what the collective mind of either six or twelve jurors will come up with, after years of practicing law, lawyers develop an uncanny knack for knowing when their case is probably a winner or probably a loser.
If the prosecutors had to try ever case that was assigned to them, the judicial system would quickly come to a grinding halt. As a result, the prosecutors know that they must provide the defendants with some incentives to intice them to plea guilty to something, generally, a lesser offense or at least offer them a recommendation of probation.
Defense lawyers know this so they structure the defense of their case to emphasize the strengths of the defense and weaknesses of the prosecution. Then the bargaining begins. The defense will always ask for something close to a full dismissal and the prosecution will suggest that you plea to the accusation or indictment. The final agreement always lies somewhere in between with the side with the better case getting the better side of the deal.
When the negotiating process reaches a stalemate, the defendant must perform a risk analysis and decide to either takes the deal or go to trial.
What are my chances of you keeping my DUI from going on my record?
The most common way to prevent this is to have the DUI reduced to a charge of Reckless Driving. Reckless Driving is the equivalent of a four points Speeding ticket going at least 24 miles per hour over the speed limit, but less than 34 miles per hour over the speed limit. The factors that come into play to get your DUI reduced are what arrests and convictions you have on your previous record, what was the blood alcohol content of your blood or breath test, what the DUI arrest report says and how well you looked on the video of your arrest. Most of the time, the law enforcement officer is going to say that you were more impaired than you actually were and most of the time, you are going to say that you were less impaired than you were. However, the truth always often lies somewhere in between and as a judge once told me, "a video is what it is." I find that how well you look on the video is the most determinative factor. Regardless of what the results of your breath or blood tests are or what the law enforcement officer writes or says, when the video is presented to a jury, they are going to make their decision based on what their own eyes see.
How do you become a habitual violator?
A person is declared to be a habitual violator when they are arrested and convicted within a five years period of time for three of more of the following offenses:
Homicide by motor vehicle;
Any felony in which a motor vehicle is used during the commission;
Hit and run or leaving the scene of an accident pursuant to O.C.G.A. 40-6-270;
Racing;
Fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer;
Impersonating a law enforcement officer;
Operating a motor vehicle with a suspended, cancelled or revoked registration; or
DUI.
The drivers license of a person who is declared a habitual violator will be suspended for a period of five years and if they are caught driving during that period, they will be charged with the felony offense of violation of habitual violator status. After two years of habitual violator status the person may apply for a habitual violator probationary license.
What is the First Offender's Act and how does it work?
The First Offender's Act is a law in Georgia that basically, gives a second chance to a person that is charged with a crime for the first time. For the people that take advantage of the opportunity, it is a great way to avoid ruining your life by being labeled as a convicted felon. However, for the people that squander the opportunity, it is a two-edged sword. The benefical aspects of the First Offender's Act are as follows: If you are charged with a crime and have no previous felony convictions, you can request that the judge allow you to enter a guilty plea pursuant to the First Offender's Act. If you are eligible and the judge accepts your request, the court will sentence you the same as any other sentence, generally with some form of probated sentence. However, rather than the sentence go on your record immediately as a conviction, the court will hold your case until you complete all the terms and conditions of your sentence. If you complete all the terms and conditions successfully, the court will dismiss your case and it will not be considered as a conviction. The benefit of not being considered a convicted felon the rest of your life is very evident.
The detrimental aspects of the First Offender's Act arise if you do not complete all the terms and conditions of your sentence successfully or if you get arrested again. If this happens, the probation office will bring you back in front of the judge and he can terminate your First Offender status and resentence you to the maximum punishment, if he so desires. I have actually seen a judge sentence an offender to three years probation under the First Offender's Act. After two years, the offender violated his probation, was brought back in front of the judge and was sentenced to a new ten year sentence without being given any credit for the part of his sentence that he had completed successfully.
You can only use the First Offender's Act once in your life, and you can use in on a misdemeanor, however, most of the time, I advise my clients not to waste it on a misdemeanor unless there is absolutely no possibility that they might later be charged with some type of felony.
Can I plead under the First Offender's Act on my DUI?
No. The wording of the First Offender's Statute explicitly excludes pleading to a DUI under the First Offender's Act.
I have a conviction on my record from twenty years ago. Can I get it expunged?
Expungement is one of the most misunderstood concepts of law. If you are arrested and later plead guilty or are found guilty, you can never have the arrest or conviction expunged from your record. The purpose of the expungement statute is to give you a tool to attempt to remove from your record, an arrest that did not result in a conviction. As an example, suppose you were wrongfully accused of committing a crime and consequently arrested. When the prosecutor got the case and looked at the evidence, he realized you were wrongfully accused, so he dismissed the case. If you were to take no action, even though there would not be a conviction, there would be an arrest on your record. It is under these circumstances that you would be entitled to have the arrest expunged from your record.
Calvin E. Chance, Jr. P.C.
Attorney at Law
4 Fifth Street
P.O. Box 902
Augusta, GA 30903
(706) 724-2727
(706) 833-2727
FAX (706) 724-2861
Calvin@LawyerChance.com
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