Friday, November 30, 2012

Remember, Remember the Month of November



I only saw it once, but I loved V for Vendetta.  I always get into a good "former-prisoner-seeks-revenge-against-former-captors" story, but it really has no bearing on the rest of this post.  I just really like the famous "5th of November" line in the movie.

Today I am reflecting on the past thirty days because it seems like it went by pretty quick, and I have not had much chance to write.  So consider this a rapid recap of what's been going on at JD Duncan, PC for the past month.

The month started off with a dismissal of a magistrate court suit against one of my debtor clients.  Technically, it happened on the last day in October, but still getting to tell my guy the good news started the month off properly.

On the 6th, I had a bench trial in state court over a contractor dispute.  I was defending a grading contractor that was facing a $45,000 possible judgment for a pond that he excavated, and was very happy to have received a directed verdict in our favor.  That means, the case was decided for my client without my guy having to testify or present any evidence.  Needless to say he was quite happy.

Later in the week I negotiated a possible 90 day sentence in a jail case down to 30 days, ten of which he had already completed, over a suspended license probation violation and new charge.  Quick work, and he got out much sooner than had I not been involved.

On the 12th I was able to persuade the state to dismiss their case against a Mexican national client of mine that had a mixup with his passport and drivers license.  Not a difficult case once I obtained all of the necessary information, but servicing another happy client is always a plus!  The next day, I had a juvenile court hearing for a client that made a seriously bad decision with a friend of his.  The state initially was looking for 12 months of detention, but I was able to convince them that thirty days was more appropriate.  My guy gets out next week.

The 14th was a very busy day for me.  Two days prior, a client of mine had been picked up for a violation of probation.  The jail was telling her that the next calendar she would go on would be after Thanksgiving, so I immediately filed a motion to have her case heard early.  Much to my surprise, I was granted a court date for the 14th and got my girl out of jail that day.  Once finished there, I had to run over to Superior Court to handle numerous family law cases.  Two of those cases reached settlement that day, with another settling the following Tuesday.

I also advised someone on a prenuptial agreement, mediated a legitimation case, and am in the middle of investigating a reckless driving case I'm not sure can stick.  It's been a busy month, but one I'm especially happy fell the way it did.

JD


John D. Duncan is president of J.D. Duncan, PC, founding partner of Prater, Duncan & Craig, LLC in Newnan, Georgia, and is Esquire by Day.  You can find him at www.jdduncanlaw.com, or follow him on twitter and Facebook.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Our First CLE Presented by the Newnan-Coweta Bar Association



My colleagues and I at the Newnan-Coweta Bar Association had an idea about a year ago to offer learning opportunities in our neck of the woods for issues that our local attorneys were facing.  With the Georgia Legislators adopting new evidence rules beginning in January 2013, the time was finally ripe to put on an event.  In the past, our Bar ran into obstacles when trying to put something together but Sandy Wisenbaker, Matthew Swope, Clif Sandlin and I decided to throw caution to the wind.

Today was the first in what we hope to be many learning and social opportunities for our Bar.  Prof. Liza Karsai, from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School, spent two hours with about 35 of us going over the changes to the new GA Evidence Code, and I believe everyone left with some extra knowledge on the subject.  I've got my homework, and a new book to buy and read, but more importantly I'm excited to see what lies ahead for our group.

I am incredibly proud of our Bar for being able to present and attend such a successful CLE.  The hardest aspect of motion is breaking the inertia and starting to move at all.  Now that the Newnan-Coweta Bar has taken the first step, I'm hoping the second step comes a little easier.

JD


John D. Duncan is president of J.D. Duncan, PC, founding partner of Prater, Duncan & Craig, LLC in Newnan, Georgia, and is Esquire by Day.  You can find him at www.jdduncanlaw.com, or follow him on twitter and Facebook.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Mexican National Drivers and Georgia


I just came back from court successfully for my client.  I feel compelled to write this post because, based on my recent experience with international drivers in Georgia, feel that not everyone knows what will be asked of you should you get stopped.

My guy is a Mexican citizen, with a Mexican passport, and was stopped months ago for driving with no license.  He works for a company out of Alabama driving vans and trucks, so he needs a valid license to do so.  Because he lived in Canada prior to entering this country, his drivers license was issued from Ontario rather than his native land.  When the police stopped him, he showed them several documents to attempt to prove he was here legally, but unfortunately he did not have his passport on him.  He was taken to jail, even though he had a valid license from Canada.

I've been working with my client for months to show the State that his ticket was improper.  The State referred me to a letter written by Catherine W. Brown, Assistant Legal Adviser for Consular Affairs of the US Department of State, that was in response to an inquiry posed by the Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia, addressing issues within the 1949 Convention on Road Traffic and international drivers licenses.  Persons in Ms. Brown's position write opinions on international law that are published in the Digest of United States Practice in International Law, which sheds some light on the interplay between federal law, state law, and treaties the US is a participant.

In a nutshell, Georgia wanted to know whether and to what extent they must recognize foreign drivers licenses within its boundaries.  Ms. Brown's letter, dated April 12, 2002, concluded that Georgia must recognize foreign drivers licenses ONLY if the alien-holder has been lawfully admitted to the US.  Georgia may apply more liberal rules, of course, but this is the floor.  Good news for my client.

So on the scene, the officer asked my client (who does not speak great English) if he had entered the US legally and to show his passport.  My client did not have his passport, so he was arrested.

My client had a valid visa to work in the US and did actually have a Mexican passport stamped for entry into the US.  But because he didn't have it on the scene, the officer had no other option but to arrest.  This happens often in Coweta County, and could be avoided if the persons stopped could simply show a US Customs stamp.  After much research and persuading with the State, I was able to show that he did enter the US legally, had a valid visa, and had a valid drivers license - his case was dismissed.

What you need to know:  if you are an alien to this country and carry a valid license issued from another country, and you get stopped by the police they will ask for your passport.  Keep it with you, and be ready to show a stamp for entry into the US.  Often our US-Canadian border will not stamp passports automatically, so ask.  It will save you jail time and a huge hassle fighting a ticket that would otherwise not have been written.

Best,

JD


John D. Duncan is president of J.D. Duncan, PC, founding partner of Prater, Duncan & Craig, LLC in Newnan, Georgia, and is Esquire by Day.  You can find him at www.jdduncanlaw.com, or follow him on twitter and Facebook.

The First Two Rules of Fight Club...



No, I did not just get into a fight.  But yes, this is what my face looks like today, and your welcome for posting in black and white instead of color.  That Murphy's law thing, which says what can go wrong will go wrong, held true last night.  In the midst of preparing for a criminal bench trial for this morning, I thought I'd do a little work around the house.  Without getting into the hows, I now have a fantastic cut right between the eyes that makes me look like I spend my nights with "no shirt and no shoes."  Of course this happens on the eve of trial, when I have to spend hours in front of various people convincing them to do what I want them to.  Not on a Friday evening, or even before a day where I get to sit in the cozy of my office as wounds heal.

And to top it off, when I went to CVS to get some butterfly bandages, they only had bright white.  Great.  So I took it off during court thinking it would actually be better than no bandage at all.  Wrong.  "That's going to scar," was the more popular comment to my cut.  Thankfully we worked out my case without trial, and I now sit coolly back at the office with lovely white bandages over my face.  From now on, when people ask what happened I'm just going to remember the first two rules of fight club (you do not talk about fight club) and keep my mouth shut.

JD


John D. Duncan is president of J.D. Duncan, PC, founding partner of Prater, Duncan & Craig, LLC in Newnan, Georgia, and is Esquire by Day.  You can find him at www.jdduncanlaw.com, or follow him on twitter and Facebook.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Voting: What a great country!


November 6, 2012.  Election Day.  I had the pleasure of taking the two most important women in my life, my bride and my daughter, to our voting location around noon today.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the line was virtually nonexistent, so it only took the Duncan clan a few minutes to cast our ballots.    It was a great family outing, as my child had her first experience in our democratic system.  My mother tells stories about how I "helped" vote for Reagan in 1980, and it was fun to  continue the tradition with my little one.

Regardless of where you stand on the outcome, which has by now been determined (except of course for Florida, God bless them), you have to be proud of a nation that can cast millions of votes in a single day.  The fact that we as citizens get to elect our government officials is a privilege not all societies get to enjoy, and hopefully all you readers exercised your privilege to vote.  Sure, my state was going to Romney whether my single vote counted or not, but I had a say.  So did you.  Be proud of a country that can peacefully settle our differences in the polls rather than in the trenches.

Patriotically,

JD


John D. Duncan is president of J.D. Duncan, PC, founding partner of Prater, Duncan & Craig, LLC in Newnan, Georgia, and is Esquire by Day.  You can find him at www.jdduncanlaw.com, or follow him on twitter and Facebook.