1. Use your right to remain silent. Tell law enforcement that you do not want to answer questions and that you want to speak with a lawyer.
2. Follow every bond condition, no-contact order, and court instruction. A violation can create a new problem while the original case is pending.
3. Save your citation, warrant, bond paperwork, property receipt, court notice, and any document given to you by law enforcement or the jail.
4. Preserve possible evidence. Save texts, call logs, photographs, videos, social-media messages, location data, receipts, and the names of witnesses. Do not edit or delete anything.
5. Do not discuss the case on social media or with potential witnesses. Statements, posts, and messages can become evidence.
6. Contact a Gainesville criminal defense lawyer promptly so the defense can investigate while video, electronic records, and witness memories are still available.

How We Build a Criminal Defense

A criminal charge is an accusation, not a conviction. The defense should test every part of the State’s case instead of accepting the first police report as the complete story. Depending on the facts, our work may include:

• Comparing body-camera footage, surveillance video, photographs, and digital records with the written reports.
• Investigating witnesses and locating records that law enforcement did not obtain.
• Challenging an unlawful stop, entry, search, seizure, or interrogation.
• Testing forensic, medical, and scientific conclusions with the appropriate records and experts.
• Examining the accusation or indictment to determine whether every required element was properly alleged.
• Preparing for negotiation and trial from the beginning, while explaining the risks and options at each stage.

Every result below arose from a criminal case in Hall County, Georgia, and was handled by Brett Willis Law. Names have been changed to protect client privacy. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every case depends on its own facts, evidence, charges, court, and law.

Charges Dismissed or Case Closed

Client SK – Attempted Murder (Arsenic Poisoning) – All Charges Dismissed

When SK came to us, she was broken. Her new husband had gone to the hospital with strange symptoms, and the hospital had performed a routine heavy-metals screen of his urine. To the surprise of everyone in the room, the doctor told SK and her husband that he had been poisoned with arsenic. Suspicion soon fell on SK because, police reasoned, she would gain financially if her husband died.

For more than two years, SK suffered as we investigated her case, but we never wavered in our belief in her innocence. To make matters worse, TruTV filed notice that it would be covering the trial on national television. Then we broke the case.

We discovered a laboratory test buried deep in the medical records that conclusively showed SK’s husband had not been poisoned with arsenic. We secured a leading arsenic expert from Harvard University, who concluded that there had never been any arsenic poisoning. Faced with the truth, the government’s expert reluctantly agreed with us: there had never been any arsenic poisoning. All of SK’s charges were completely dropped.

Client SK – Family Violence – Charges Dismissed in One Day

SK and his wife had been married for more than 15 years. They were very much in love, but like most married couples, they argued from time to time. One night, a neighbor called police. Even though his wife did not want him arrested, SK was taken to jail.

The process was humiliating and dehumanizing. He had never gone through anything like it before, and SK had no intention of returning to jail. His wife tried to get the charges dropped, but the State steadfastly refused.

That is when SK called us. Within one day, we had all of his family-violence charges dismissed. He was able to go back home, and he and his wife are still going strong.

Client HD – Possession of a Sawed-Off Shotgun – All Charges Dismissed

Police came onto HD’s home property and looked into his car, where they saw a shotgun and shells on the front seat. They later determined that the shotgun had been sawed off below the legal barrel length and charged HD with felony possession of a sawed-off shotgun.

We filed a motion to suppress the illegal entry onto the property and the subsequent illegal entry into the car. The Court agreed, and all charges against HD were dismissed.

Client Pam – Murder – Murder Charge Dismissed Before Trial

Pam killed her longtime boyfriend with a knife one night in their apartment. Our investigation uncovered that Pam had long suffered physical and mental abuse at this man’s hands. Before trial, we persuaded the prosecution to dismiss the murder charges. Pam is now back home with her family.

Client Eric – Murder – Murder Charge Dismissed During Trial

Eric sent a text message stating, “If he comes up here to the apartment, I will shank him.” Minutes later, the young man appeared at the apartment, and Eric stabbed him to death with a knife. Eric promptly confessed to the crime, offering only the explanation, “I warned him.”

On cross-examination, we persuaded a critical prosecution witness to agree with our version of events. The prosecution could see the case slipping away and agreed to dismiss the murder charges.

Not Guilty and Trial Outcomes

Client Selena – Child Molestation and Child Cruelty – Jury Verdict of Not Guilty

Selena was all alone when we met her in jail. Her mother had died, Selena had become pregnant, and the father had run off, leaving Selena and her child to fend for themselves. Selena met a woman online who seemed to care for her and claimed that she wanted to help. Within a few months, however, Selena was charged with molesting this woman’s son, and the woman then tried to take Selena’s child.

The woman purported to have legal adoption paperwork showing that Selena had signed custody of her child over to her. The young man accusing Selena cried on the stand as he recounted his version of the alleged molestation. Things did not look good for Selena.

Then we broke the case. We located the notary public listed on the woman’s purported adoption papers, and he testified that he had never notarized them. The woman had forged the papers in an attempt to take Selena’s child. The jury found Selena not guilty. Several months later, one of the jurors saw our lawyers in the car next to him at a stoplight. He climbed out of his car in tears and thanked them for their work on Selena’s case. He took our business card but said he prayed that he would never need it.

Client NV – Burglary – Not Guilty of All Charges

NV worked at a local restaurant and bar. Late one night, after the business was closed, someone broke in and stole money from the register. The entire incident was captured on surveillance video. The burglar was wearing distinctive clothing that the prosecution claimed matched clothing police had found in NV’s home.

After studying the surveillance video, we discovered several aspects of the burglar’s clothing that simply did not match the clothing police had found in NV’s home. We went to trial, and NV was found not guilty of all charges.

Client Carlos – Aggravated Assault – Jury Acquittal

Carlos shot a man in the neck at close range with a .45-caliber pistol. Carlos and his brother had been at a child’s birthday party, and on the way home they were teased and insulted by a group of teenagers. Carlos’s brother got into a fistfight with one of the teens, but the teen was getting the best of him. The teen was beating Carlos’s brother badly in front of him. Carlos ran across the street to get his gun from under his bed. He was scared.

His brother’s wife and children were crying and screaming for Carlos to help. When Carlos returned, his brother was on the ground and being beaten savagely. Carlos shot the teen, and the others scattered. Carlos was charged with aggravated assault.

We tried the case to a jury, and the jurors quickly agreed with us that Carlos had properly defended himself and his brother. Carlos was acquitted and went home to his family.

Client Benny – Aggravated Assault – Not Guilty on Both Charges

Benny had a running dispute with renters who had been living in a trailer near his house. Benny kept noticing property disappearing from his land and confronted the renters. The last straw came when Benny’s DirecTV satellite dish disappeared from his garage and he noticed that the renters now had a DirecTV dish on their front porch. Benny went to the house with a gun and asked for the property to be returned. When they refused, Benny fired several shots into the satellite dish.

The renters called police and claimed that Benny had assaulted them. Benny was also charged with first-degree criminal damage, an offense that applies when someone interferes with another person’s property in a manner that threatens or endangers others.

We tried the case to a jury. The jury agreed with us that Benny had assaulted no one. He also had not interfered with the property of another because the satellite dish belonged to Benny. The jury returned a not-guilty verdict on both charges in less than two hours.

Client John – Child Molestation – Not Guilty of All Charges

John was charged with molesting two 14-year-old girls. The prosecution had a 26-page Facebook conversation in which John allegedly stated that he wanted to perform several sex acts with one of the girls. We tried the case to a jury, and John was found not guilty of all charges within two hours.

Client Michael – Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon – Not Guilty

Michael had pleaded guilty to a felony charge decades earlier. His wife was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and Michael was her sole caregiver. She had an old family-heirloom shotgun locked away in a gun cabinet. Police came to the home after a neighbor complained that Michael’s wife was wandering around the yard. Police discovered the shotgun and charged Michael with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The prosecution wanted Michael to go to jail for a year.

We took the case to a jury. We waited until the jury was sworn and the prosecution tried to introduce a certified copy of Michael’s prior conviction into evidence. We objected under Nash v. State, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Boykin v. Alabama because the government could not prove that Michael had been represented by an attorney in the prior felony case. The Court agreed, barred the conviction, and entered a verdict of not guilty for Michael. He returned home to care for his wife until she later passed.

Convictions Overturned and Registry Relief

Client KR – Sex-Offender 1,000-Foot Law Violation – Conviction Overturned and Client Released

KR had ended up on the sex-offender registry after a consensual relationship with his girlfriend. They attended the same high school, but KR was 17 and she was 15. KR was subjected to a lifetime of registering as a sex offender.

He got a job but later learned that the workplace was too close to a city park. At trial, KR argued that he did not know his workplace violated the registry law. A jury convicted him, and he was sentenced to prison.

We got the case after the conviction. Within a month, we discovered a legal problem with KR’s indictment: it was void because it failed to include an essential element of the offense. KR’s conviction was overturned, and he was released from jail.

Client Roger – Release From the Sex-Offender Registry – Court Granted Release From Registration

When Roger was 18 years old, he had a consensual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. When the girl’s parents found out, they called police, and Roger was convicted of statutory rape. This meant that Roger went on the sex-offender registry. He could not find a place to live that complied with the registration restrictions, and he struggled to find work.

After more than 20 years of carrying this burden, Roger came to us. We filed a motion to release him from the sex-offender registry, and the Court agreed.

Client Dwight – Child Molestation – Convictions Reversed

When we first met Dwight in prison, he had very little left to live for. He was serving several life sentences for child molestation. Upon reviewing the trial record and transcripts, we discovered a serious legal issue with how the Court had instructed the jury.

We filed briefs with the trial court, and the Court agreed, as did the prosecution, that the convictions should be reversed.

Client Robert – Rape Conviction – Conviction Reversed and New Trial Granted

When we met Robert, he had been tried and convicted of rape. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. We began investigating and realized that Robert’s lawyer had made serious errors in representing him.

After presenting our investigation to the Court at the motion for a new trial and submitting briefs, the Court reversed the conviction and granted Robert a new trial.

Past-results disclaimer. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts, evidence, charges, court, and law.