The phone call already happened, or it’s about to. Maybe you’re standing in a holding cell in Cobb County right now, or maybe someone you love is. Your mind is racing through the same questions: will I lose my job, will my family find out, how long could I go to prison.
You’re not the first person to sit exactly where you are tonight, and you’re not without options. Georgia treats violent crime charges as some of the most serious in its criminal code, so we treat defending them the same way. We’re former prosecutors who’ve stood on the other side of these cases, and now we fight every one of them like it’s the only case we have.
Whatever charge you’re facing tonight, call before you talk to anyone else. You’ll reach a real person, not a voicemail, and we call back fast. The consultation is free.
What Counts as a Violent Crime in Georgia and Why the Charge Level Changes Everything
Georgia’s criminal code splits these charges into two very different worlds: misdemeanors and felonies. Which one you land in changes almost everything that happens next.
Misdemeanor
- Up to twelve months in county jail
- Handled in State Court
- Usually bondable right away
Felony
- Can mean years in state prison
- Moves your case to Superior Court
- Bond can take longer to secure, especially on the most serious charges
That single classification, misdemeanor or felony, often decides whether you post bond within a day or your family waits weeks for a hearing.
Here’s something prosecutors rarely admit out loud: they routinely charge cases higher than the facts support, betting that fear pushes people toward a fast plea. A charge that actually involved no weapon, no serious injury, and no real intent to harm can sometimes get knocked down once we start asking the questions the State would rather skip. That’s why we prepare every case we take for trial, from a first misdemeanor to the most serious felony on the books. It’s the same standard we hold ourselves to as a criminal lawyer for families across Cobb County, whether the charge in front of you is a violent crime or something else.
Aggravated Assault Charges in Marietta Can Mean One to Twenty Years, and We Fight Every One
One to twenty years in prison. A felony aggravated assault conviction in Georgia carries that range, and the State doesn’t need much to get there: just proof you used a deadly weapon or meant to cause serious harm. Higher bar than most people assume. We’ve watched prosecutors turn a bar fight, or a heated argument, into an aggravated charge when the real facts point to something far smaller. Sometimes nothing criminal at all.
The moment we take a case, we’re already building the other side of it. Security footage gets pulled before it disappears. We track down witnesses while memories are still fresh. We also question whether the object involved even meets Georgia’s legal definition of a deadly weapon, since that single word can be the difference between a felony and a much smaller charge. Call us before you say another word, and let an aggravated assault lawyer start working the case in your favor tonight.
Assault and Battery Charges Often Start With One Bad Night, Not a Pattern
They rarely start as a plan. An argument outside a bar gets physical. A shove between neighbors turns into something more. One bad night, not a criminal streak. Georgia still takes these charges seriously, though, and a case can slide between misdemeanor and felony territory fast, depending on how bad the injury actually was.
So we dig in. Who threw the first punch? What did the injuries really look like? Do the witnesses even agree with each other, or does the story fall apart the moment you compare notes? If you’re carrying an assault and battery charge right now, talk to an assault and battery lawyer before your next court date so you know exactly where you stand.
Simple Assault Is a Misdemeanor, But It Can Still Follow You for Years
No physical contact required. None. Simple assault in Georgia only needs an act that puts someone in reasonable fear of getting hurt, and it still carries up to twelve months in jail plus a fine of up to one thousand dollars.
Doesn’t sound like much on paper. But a conviction shows up on every background check from here on out, and that can cost you a job offer or a license years down the road. Get a simple assault lawyer involved early, though, and reduced or dismissed stops being a hope and starts being realistic.
Simple Battery Charges Move Fast Through Cobb County Courts, So We Move Faster
Simple battery is a misdemeanor too, but it needs actual contact: a shove, a slap, something physical, not just a threat. And because it’s a misdemeanor, these cases move through State Court fast. Sometimes faster than you’ve had time to think.
That’s exactly why we step in early. You shouldn’t be standing in a courtroom without someone who already knows the facts. A simple battery lawyer on your side from the first hearing can be the difference between walking away clean and carrying a mark on your record for years.
Aggravated Battery Charges Hinge on Intent, and That’s Where We Attack the State’s Case
The word that matters most here is malicious. Aggravated battery carries the same one-to twenty-year sentencing range as aggravated assault, but Georgia’s test for it is different: the State has to prove you caused a serious injury on purpose, like a broken bone, a disfigurement, or the loss of use of a body part, not that an injury simply happened.
That word, on purpose, is where we focus. An injury from the heat of the moment, without any real intent to cause lasting harm, is a very different case than the one prosecutors like to describe. Bring in an aggravated battery lawyer before that intent question ever reaches a jury, not after.
Every charge on this page, from a first misdemeanor to the most serious felony, gets the same answer from us: we prepare it for trial. Call now and let’s find out exactly what you’re facing.
Manslaughter Charges Punish a Split Second Decision With Decades in Prison
Georgia calls it voluntary manslaughter: a sudden, violent reaction to serious provocation, not a planned killing. It’s still a felony that carries one to twenty years, and prosecutors often try to push these cases toward murder instead, hoping a jury won’t see the difference.
That’s exactly why we dig into what actually provoked the moment. The line between manslaughter and a far more serious charge often comes down to who’s asking the right questions, and how early. Make sure hiring a specialized manslaughter lawyer is one of the choices you make right away.
A Murder Charge Is the Fight of Your Life, and We’re Ready to Take It to Trial
Life imprisonment. The death penalty. Those are the real numbers on the table with a murder charge in Georgia, the harshest penalties anywhere in the criminal code. There is no version of this charge we treat casually, and no version we walk into unprepared. We were prosecutors before we were defense attorneys, so we’ve watched the State build a homicide case from the first police report to closing argument, and we’ve seen exactly where those cases are vulnerable.
Every murder case is different, and the defense has to fit the facts, not the other way around. Self-defense. Mistaken identity. An unreliable witness. A broken chain of evidence. We’ve built cases on all of it.
What we won’t do is treat a murder charge as something to plead your way out of quickly. We treat every case like it’s headed to trial from day one, because that’s the only way to protect someone facing this much. If you or someone you love needs a murder attorney tonight, don’t make the next decision alone. Call us first.
Kidnapping Charges Are Often Overcharged, and We Know How to Prove It
Ten years minimum, twenty at the high end for a standard kidnapping case, and the penalties climb sharply from there depending on the victim’s age or whether anyone was hurt. What surprises most people, though, is how little movement the law actually requires.
Moving someone just a few feet during another crime can sometimes get charged as kidnapping on top of everything else, even when it was never the point of what happened. That’s exactly the kind of overcharge a kidnapping lawyer knows how to unwind.
Cruelty to Children Charges in Marietta Demand a Lawyer Who Understands Both Sides
Parents and caregivers rarely hear this distinction explained to them: cruelty to children in Georgia isn’t one charge, it comes in three degrees, and the gap between the top and bottom is enormous. First degree carries a felony sentence of five to twenty years, while second degree runs one to ten. Third degree is different still: it covers narrower situations involving a child present during certain offenses, and it’s often charged as a misdemeanor on a first or second offense.
The degree you’re actually charged with matters more than the label, and prosecutors don’t always spell that out. A cruelty to children lawyer who knows the difference between these three degrees can push for the charge, and the outcome that the facts actually support.
Call The Freedom Lawyers Tonight
Every one of these charges moves fast. Evidence disappears. Memories fade. Your options shrink with every day you wait. Call us, and you’ll get a real person, not a phone tree, and Thomas often calls back himself, usually within the hour.
The consultation is free, and you’ll get straight answers about where you stand. We’re former prosecutors who prepare every case like it’s headed to trial, because for your freedom, that’s exactly how it should be treated. Call The Freedom Lawyers today at 678-986-7866, day or night. Your freedom is everything, and it’s our fight.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the real difference between a misdemeanor and a felony violent crime charge in Georgia?
Mostly, it comes down to time, and which court hears your case. A misdemeanor caps out at a year in county jail and stays in State Court. A felony’s a different animal. It can mean years in state prison, and the case moves up to Superior Court, where things get heavier fast: the process, the stakes, sometimes even bond. That single label, misdemeanor or felony, can shape the rest of your case. Worth fighting over early.
Can you get bond on a violent crime charge, or does it depend on what you’re charged with?
It depends on the charge. Most violent crime charges are still bondable, and we move quickly to get a bond hearing scheduled. A small group of the most serious charges, including murder and certain kidnapping cases, can only be granted bond by a Superior Court judge, which takes longer and requires a specific motion. Either way, the faster we’re involved, the faster we can push that process forward.
Will a violent crime charge cost me my job or my gun rights, even before a conviction?
A charge alone doesn’t usually strip away your rights the way a conviction can. A felony conviction, though, is a different story. Georgia law bars anyone convicted of a felony from owning or even possessing a firearm, and it can cost you certain jobs and professional licenses too. There’s a path to restore some of those rights later through Georgia’s pardons and parole process, but the far better strategy is keeping the charge from becoming a conviction in the first place, whether that’s a reduction, a dismissal, or a win at trial.
Is self-defense actually a valid legal defense, or does it rarely work?
Self-defense is a real, recognized right under Georgia law, not a long shot. If you were protecting yourself, your family, or your property from immediate harm, that’s not a crime, that’s survival. We’ve had assault and battery charges dismissed once the evidence showed our client wasn’t the one who started it. It’s one of the first angles we look at on any violent crime case.
How fast do I really need to call a lawyer after being charged?
As fast as you can. Camera footage gets erased. Memories fade, yours and every witness’s. And every day that passes hands the State more time to build its case while your options quietly shrink. Call us before you talk to police again or consider any offer from the prosecutor. There’s no cost to talk it through with us first, and waiting almost never works in your favor.
