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Appellate Attorney Case Examples

Case #1: Unconstitutional Statute/Criminal Charges Dismissed
McKenzie v. State, 279 Ga. 265 (2005)

McKenzie was charged by the Forsyth County Solicitor’s Office with five counts of obscene telephone calls which were collect telephone calls that he made to his girlfriend and which she accepted. At the bench trial, the Forsyth County State Court Judge convicted him of two counts of obscene telephone calls and he was found “not guilty” of three counts.

Attorney Parker McFarland challenged the statute on First Amendment grounds and the trial judge ruled that the statute was constitutional. McFarland filed an appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court and McKenzie’s convictions were unanimously reversed. The Supreme Court ruled that the obscene telephone calls statute was unconstitutional because it violated the free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Therefore, McKenzie was exonerated of all charges.

Case #2: Child Molestation and Sexual Battery Convictions Reversed
Pointer v. State, 299 Ga. App. 249 (2009)

Client (N.P.) was convicted of child molestation and sexual battery in 2002 in Lamar County Superior Court. In 2008, Client retained new counsel, Parker McFarland, to handle his appeal.

Client had just begun serving a seven-year prison sentence for a probation violation when Attorney Parker McFarland filed a motion for new trial, alleging that a state expert improperly bolstered the credibility of the victim and invaded the province of the jury when he testified that his evaluation “strongly suggests that the victim had been sexually abused as alleged.”

McFarland also stated that Client’s trial attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to object, move for a mistrial, or ask for an instruction from the judge to the jury to disregard the improper testimony.

The trial court denied the motion and an appeal was filed to the Georgia Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals ruled that this testimony was improper and that trial counsel was deficient in failing to object to it.

Moreover, the Court of Appeals agreed with Parker McFarland that the evidence was not overwhelming and that trial counsel’s failure to object contributed to the verdict. Therefore, the Court of Appeals reversed all convictions and granted a new trial.

Case #3: Sentence Reversed
Wnek v. State, 262 Ga. App. 733 (2003)

Client was charged with felony theft by taking and financial transaction card theft in Forsyth County Superior Court. A jury found the client “not guilty” of theft by taking and guilty of financial transaction card theft. The Judge refused to give the client first offender status and Attorney Parker McFarland filed an Appeal to the Court of Appeals, contending that the Judge failed to use his discretion to grant first offender status. The appellate court vacated the sentence and remanded it back to the trial judge for resentencing. This time the Judge granted first offender status to the client, thus saving her from a felony conviction.

Case #4: DUI Charges Reversed and Dismissed

Client (K.B.) was stopped by the City of Cumming Police for failure to maintain lane and was eventually arrested for DUI. The breath test result at the jail was .172. Client asked for an independent blood test and the officer took him to the hospital but would not allow him to use a telephone or go to an ATM to obtain funds for the blood test.

Attorney Parker McFarland filed a motion to suppress the breath test results due to the failure of the officer to reasonably accommodate Client’s request for an independent blood test. The Cumming Municipal Court Judge denied the motion and found the Client guilty of DUI Per Se (unlawful blood alcohol level).

Attorney Parker McFarland filed an appeal from Municipal Court to Superior Court. After an oral argument, the appellate court reversed the Cumming Municipal Court’s ruling and held that the trial court erred in denying Client’s motion to suppress. Consequently, Client’s DUI conviction was overturned and he was cleared of all charges.

More DUI case examples

Case #5: Federal Drug Case/Reversal by U.S. Supreme Court
Constantino Duarte-Benitez v. United States of America, 546 U.S. 944, 126 S.Ct. 440, 163 L.Ed.2d 335, 74 USLW 3229 (2005)

Attorney Robert McFarland was appointed by the Northern District of Georgia, Gainesville Division, to represent one of several defendants in a major drug case. After a week and a half of this federal jury trial, all of the defendants “pled out.” However, the government would only offer the defendant life in the penitentiary.

Attorney Bob McFarland eventually was able to get this reduced to 30 years, but Bob McFarland appealed the case to the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta, Georgia on the issue of the legality of the mandatory sentencing guidelines, which was upheld.

Bob McFarland appealed that decision to the United States Supreme Court, which reversed the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and remanded to the 11th Circuit for further proceedings.

Read more about our experience representing clients in appeals court.