Additional Practice Areas

Criminal Appeals in Georgia

When a trial court gets it wrong, the appeals process gives you a second shot at justice. But appellate law isn’t just “another trial.” It’s a specialized, technical process governed by strict deadlines, procedural rules, and legal strategy.

At Hogue Griffin, we have deep experience handling both direct appeals and discretionary appeals in Georgia’s appellate courts. We identify errors in the trial court, such as:

• Improperly admitted evidence
• Faulty jury instructions
• Prosecutorial misconduct
• Constitutional violations

We review trial transcripts line by line, prepare precise legal arguments, and file persuasive appellate briefs. If necessary, we argue the case before the Court of Appeals or Georgia Supreme Court.

Timing is critical. In Georgia, you typically have just 30 days from sentencing to file a notice of appeal. Miss that deadline, and your opportunity may be lost forever.

Post-Conviction Relief: What Happens After Appeal

Even if a direct appeal fails or if the appeal window has closed, post-conviction remedies may still be available. These legal tools exist to fix miscarriages of justice that weren’t adequately addressed at trial or on appeal.

Post-conviction relief can include:

• Extraordinary motions based on new evidence
• Writs of habeas corpus, challenging the legality of your detention
• Sentence modification or review

These remedies are highly technical and governed by strict rules about what can be raised, when, and how. They’re not for beginners, and they’re not for general practitioners.

At Hogue Griffin, we specialize in this work. We prepare every motion with appellate-level rigor and build every petition around the core constitutional rights that should have protected you in the first place. We are often brought in by other attorneys when cases become too complex for routine defense work.

Post-conviction relief is sometimes the only path left. We know how to make it count.

Civil Forfeiture Recovery: Reclaim What’s Yours

If you’ve been charged or even investigated in connection with a drug crime, theft, or other criminal offense, the government may attempt to seize your money, vehicles, or other property through civil asset forfeiture. What many people don’t realize is that the government can do this even if you’re never convicted of a crime.

Civil forfeiture allows law enforcement to take property they believe is connected to illegal activity. And unlike criminal prosecution, civil forfeiture doesn’t require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In fact, it’s not even a criminal case at all—it’s a lawsuit against your property.

We take an aggressive approach to civil forfeiture cases. Most people don’t understand the scale of forfeiture in the United States today. In recent years, government seizures through civil forfeiture have totaled more than some categories of traditional theft. And it happens fast: accounts are frozen, cash is seized, cars are impounded, and the burden falls on you to fight back.

We file timely claims, challenge procedural missteps, demand strict adherence to forfeiture statutes, and contest the government’s assumptions at every stage. Whether it’s $1,200 or $120,000, we make the state prove every detail—or return what they took.

If your money or property has been seized, don’t wait. The deadlines for filing a claim are short, and the process is stacked against you. We know how to fight it—and we do.