What being charged with battery visible harm was like for a student in Cobb County, as told by the student.
The morning of my calculus test I stopped by my boyfriend’s house to grab my calculator. Upon entering, I found him in bed with another girl. After leaving in a hurry, I returned later to have a conversation with my boyfriend. Unfortunately, she was still there and the conversation turned into a fight between the girl and myself.
About a month later, two well-dressed men from the Cobb County Police Department knocked on my door. After informing me they had questions for me, they escorted me to the station and placed me in a brightly lit white room. After about 20 minutes of sitting alone, the officers returned. At this point, they read me my rights and told me I was being arrested. I was placed in holding around 9 p.m. and released around 3 p.m. the next day.
I was charged with battery with visible harm and faced more jail time and a serious fine. I spoke to at least ten lawyers and decided to meet three. The first two were nice and told me that I was the victim in the situation and none of this should have ever happened. They went on to tell me that they could get it reduced and would charge me later to have it expunged. After many more calls, I finally called Mathew. He asked me to come in for a consultation so we could talk in person. I felt like this was my responsibility to take care of, but I really needed guidance. He helped me understand the laws. He told me exactly what I was charged for and on what premise they had to charge me with it. He also talked about loopholes and my side of the story and how these were the things we could use to dismiss my case and/or get it reduced. He also spoke about a diversion program which would in my case maybe the best thing for me. He had reason and fact behind what he was telling me. While he was sympathetic he was realistic. I hired him the next week.
From that point forward he handled all my court appearances, and would call me after to let me know what happened. With my permission we decided to go the alternate route (diversion) which allowed me to do only community service and an anger/drug evaluation. I had no jail time and no probation. The only day I had to go to court was my very last court date when I was given a sheet of paper that said everything was expunged and I was free to go.
After everything I would not have chosen another lawyer. He took care of everything for me and was easy to get in touch with if I ever had any questions or concerns. He cared about both me and my case and looked out for my best interest, which is why I would go back to him and recommend him to anyone who asked.