Monticello Criminal Lawyers

I enjoy practicing law at The Goolsby Law Firm, LLC with my oldest son in Augusta and Martinez, Georgia. We deal with divorce cases, personal injury, criminal defense and other litigation on a daily basis. As a former federal prosecutor in Augusta, Georgia for over 20 years, I have tried some of the largest fraud and public corruption cases in Georgia and U.S. history.

I'm here to provide the aggressive criminal defense that you deserve.

If you are charged with a crime, you need a dedicated and experienced trial attorney. I have the legal knowledge, experience, and confidence that you need. The criminal legal system can be intimidating and the consequences are often severe. Put a former prosecutor in your corner.

I am a former prosecutor- both felony and misdemeanor

I have handled thousands of criminal matters in my career covering the entire spectrum of criminal charges. Don't go it alone! Don't just plead guilty! Get the aggressive criminal defense that you deserve.



Tested in...

The Law Offices of Daniel W. Mitnick & Associates, P.C. is a Georgia law firm devoted to providing clients with personalized attention and legal counsel they can trust. Attorney Daniel W. Mitnick received his Juris Doctorate degree in 1993 from John Marshall Law School, and his Master of Laws degree in 1994 from Atlanta Law School. He is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia, and is also admitted to practice law in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, and the U. S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit. Attorney Jared L. Mitnick received his...

Brian Tevis graduated from the University of Georgia in 2002 and Wake Forest University School of Law in 2007. He has aggressively and successfully defended the criminal accused since 2008. He is an experienced trial lawyer and handles every kind of criminal charges including, but not limited to, complex felony cases including Drug Trafficking, RICO and Gang cases, Aggravated Assault, Armed Robbery, Sex Crimes, and Murder. He is also admitted to all U.S. District Courts in Georgia (Southern, Middle, and Northern, ) and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and has defended federal clients in drug trafficking, bank...

Michael D. Murphy is an attorney with Farnsworth & Murphy LLC in Atlanta, GA. Before opening Farnsworth & Murphy LLC, Michael worked as a Senior Associate attorney at one of the largest criminal defense firms in Georgia. Michael has handled a wide range of cases from serious felony charges to minor traffic offenses. He has appeared in courtrooms all over the State of Georgia. While in law school, Michael spent time working as an intern with the Dekalb County District Attorney's Office. While in Dekalb. Michael assisted in handling a broad range of cases with the majority of his cases...

Joshua Sabert Lowther, Esq., is a native of coastal South Carolina. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, magna cum laude, from the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia. Since he became an attorney, Mr. Lowther has practiced law exclusively in the areas of Healthcare Fraud, Federal Crimes, and Criminal Defense. He began his career defending clients in federal and state courts in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area, and he has since expanded that practice to include federal trial, appellate,...

Since starting Rachel Kaufman Law in June of 2015, Rachel has provided top-notch legal representation to hundreds of clients throughout the State of Georgia. In that short time, Rachel has gained a reputation for being a highly passionate and highly effective courtroom advocate. Amongst her colleagues, judges and courtroom personnel, Rachel is known for being a smart fighter, who can see through the tumbleweeds and intuitively zero-in on which strategic routes need to be taken to get to the best outcome possible. No matter the charge (DUI, Murder, Drug Offense, etc.), Rachel approaches each client’s situation with family-like loyalty and...

Benjamin Von Schuch has a relentless passion to seek justice and help others gain a second chance at life. He fights to protect the rights of men, women and minors accused of misdemeanor and/or felony crimes in and around Atlanta, GA. As a compassionate criminal defense attorney and owner of an Atlanta based law firm, Benjamin Von Schuch aims to give each of his clients the means to a solid defense so they can move on with their lives without the repercussion of a criminal record. Benjamin Von Schuch has made it his priority and mission to help others through...

Attorney Akil Kenneth Secret is a licensed attorney in the States of Georgia and Nebraska. His practice focuses on Serious Personal Injury Litigation, Wrongful Death Litigation and Major Criminal Defense. Mr. Secret has represented defendants in numerous high profile state and federal cases. He has tried hundreds of cases with extraordinary success. Mr. Secret has represented Lawyers, Doctors, Accountants, Real Estate Brokers and Agents and Corporate Executives. Attorney Akil Secret attended University of Nebraska and transferred to attend Morehouse College where he pursued his undergraduate studies until 1973 with a major in Political Science. He attended Atlanta Law School and earned...

Norm Sawyer’s early career was spent representing the clients of large insurance companies, so he offers a unique perspective to his clients and the Litner + Deganian team. Norm knows how the insurance companies think and act, which can be a big advantage in a personal injury case. He also has a substantial amount of experience working with mediators as well as in state and federal courts.
“Insurance companies have so many clients that there’s very little interaction and a lot of rigid processes,” Norm commented. “I wanted to impact people’s lives, not just their insurance rates.” Norm met Arman Deganian...

Reid Thompson started his own criminal defense law firm in May of 2009 with an emphasis on serious felony offenses. Since March 2010, he has tried ten felony jury trials winning not guilty verdicts in Murder trials in Fulton and Dekalb Counties. Previous experience includes work as an Assistant District Attorney for the Fulton County District Attorney's Office in the Complex Trial Division and at the Douglas County District Attorney's Office. During and after law school, Reid also worked at the Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia, at the FultonCounty Solicitor's Office, and at the Georgia Justice Project....

Tom started The Church Law Firm in 2022 after graduating with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law and becoming a partner at an elite law firm in Atlanta. Since becoming an attorney, Tom has been handling cases involving high profile federal crimes, serious felonies under Georgia law, and civil claims against overreaching government officials, including small businesses that have been unlawfully targeted by law enforcement based on their sale of legal cannabis products (hemp). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tom also secured the release of over a dozen federal inmates based on their age, medical conditions, or excessively...

Justin W. Chaney is a native of Atlanta. Prior to becoming an attorney Mr. Chaney was a Border Patrol Agent on the US-Mexico border in California and Texas. He was an Adjudications Officer with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) at the New Orleans District Office. While with the INS Mr. Chaney conducted interviews and adjudicated thousands of various petitions and applications. After graduating from Whittier Law School in 2002, Mr. Chaney’s practice has focused on immigration law and criminal defense for non-citizens. He is a member...

Willis Law Firm is the most distinguished and recognized Georgia DUI defense firm that focuses on aggressively defending DUI cases. Lawyers, police and court personnel hire and refer friends and family to the Willis Law Firm for DUI defense. Why? Greg has successfully defended over 93% of his DUI clients over the last 10 years by closing the cases without a DUI conviction. The Willis Law Firm lawyers are experts in DUI negotiations, motion hearings, bench trials, jury trials, and appeals. The team possesses more than 45 years of combined experience. Greg is the only lawyer in Georgia that...

Evan Watson is a criminal defense trial lawyer specializing in DUI, drug, and theft offenses. In his 8 years as a member of the Georgia Bar, Evan has represented hundreds of clients successfully in the Municipal, State and Superior Courts throughout Georgia.

Eric Coffelt earned his Juris Doctor from Georgia State University College of Law. Prior to that, Eric attended Mercer University, where he studied criminal justice and graduated magna cum laude. While in law school, Eric competed in national mock trial competitions as part of Georgia State's distinguished Student Trial Lawyer's Association, was the Vice President of the Criminal Law Association, and was awarded the prestigious Georgia Civil Justice Foundation Scholarship for Excellence in Trial Advocacy. Virtually all of Eric's litigation experience has been in the area of criminal defense. His passion for helping those accused of criminal offenses began...

DeKalb County Bar Association (President, 2006-2007), Atlanta Bar Association; National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (Vice Chairman, DUI Committee, 2005-Present); Georgia Defense of Drinking Drivers Group; Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; National College for DUI Defense (Elected to Board of Regents, 2008, Dean 2017-18, Dean Emeritus 2018-19, Fellow 2019-Present).

Villard Bastien, licensed in Georgia, New York and New Jersey, has been a Litigation Attorney for more than sixteen years. He was first exposed to the practice of law at the District Attorney's Office in Queens New York. Prior to actively practicing law he worked on the claims side of the insurance industry for three years. He continued to practice for various insurance carriers and various defense firms as an Attorney. The past seven years have been mainly dedicated to the representation of individuals seriously injured as a result of the negligence of others. He also represents individuals for...

Matthew Van Dyke has a service-driven practice with a specific focus of adding value and maximizing efficiencies for the Client. Mr. Van Dyke believes that it takes a cooperative effort in order to accomplish the Client’s goals.

For his business clients, Mr. Van Dyke will work with you to add value to your organization while being efficient and minimizing the risks for litigation. However, if litigation does arise, Mr. Van Dyke will represent your interests zealously, both in the courtroom and in the boardroom. For clients who have been charged with a crime, Matthew will work with you and for you...

Mr. Leonard is a Georgia DUI lawyer practicing in all of the courts in the peach state. He gets excellent results for his clients because he takes the time to learn about their individual DUI case and to stay on top of the ever changing DUI law. He has been NHTSA trained in DUI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, just like your arresting officer. In addition, he is a SFST Instructor. He is also a U.S. Department of Transportation certified operator of the Intoxilyzer 5000. He is a member of the National College for DUI...

Speaks clearly and can even be loud at times. Very honest and ethical. Always loyal to every client, hard worker and sometimes does pro bono work. Highly experienced and very knowledgeable with Georgia law. Senior Attorney practicing part time.

DUSTIN W. HIGHTOWER grew up in Carroll County, Georgia where he graduated from Central High School (“CHS”) in 2000. While attending CHS, Dusty lettered in football, wrestling, and baseball. During Dusty’s senior year he served as captain of CHS’s football team along with his cousin Brian Maxwell (now a mechanical engineer at Southwire), and fellow classmate Josh Hubbard. Dusty also received the honor of representing his class as Homecoming King and Mr. CHS his senior year. Upon graduating from CHS, Dusty attended the University of West Georgia (“UWG”) where he graduated cum laude. During...

Amanda Gaddis Speights represents clients in divorce or family law matters, criminal matters, appeals, and other civil litigation. In family law matters, Amanda has guided and counseled clients in settling uncontested divorces, fought for clients' rights in contested divorces and child custody or child support proceedings, and ensured that clients resolved their family disputes with the best resolution possible for their family given the situation. In addition to her work on family law cases, Amanda has represented clients arrested for various crimes, including DUI, felony and misdemeanor drug offenses, theft crimes, assault or battery charges. Amanda is very...

Ruslyn D. Ruby has practiced law since 2017. She focuses her practice on family law, probate and general civil litigation. She was born and raised in Georgia and has lived in Forsyth County since her childhood. Mrs. Ruby graduated with a bachelors degree in Business Management, cum laude, from the University of South Carolina Aiken. While at USC-Aiken, she was the captain of the cheerleading squad and a member of Alpha Omicron Pi. In 2016, Ruslyn received her Juris Doctorate from Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law. While in law school, she was a member of the Association of...

On the morning of July 3, 2003, I was driving to cover Court for another attorney during a tropical storm, when I was blown off the road by the intense rain and high winds. I was informed by a third party whose judgment and observation I trust that my estimation of time during that period was very wrong. I spent a short time in a medically-induced coma, followed by about three weeks of being unconscious. The accident left me paralyzed on my right side, and I spent approximately four to five months after I awoke re-learning...

JD Univ. of Ga. Law School 1986 LLM in Taxation Emory University 1994 Litigated thousands of cases.

I began prosecuting felony cases as an Assistant District Attorney in Cherokee County, Georgia, right out of law school. After 10 years in Cherokee County I took over as the Senior Assistant District Attorney in Pickens County, where I prosecuted for 5 years. In 2013, I transitioned into private practice and now represent people who have been charged with committing a crime. After prosecuting for 15 years, I know first-hand that not everyone who has been arrested is guilty, and I work tirelessly to protect my client's rights in court.

Cortney M. Stuart's legal background began with the Superior Court of Athens, Georgia, where she interned while studying as an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, from which she graduated with Bachelors in Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Political Science. She later graduated from the Florida Coastal School of Law, cum laude, receiving her Juris Doctor in May of 2011, subsequently sitting for the Georgia and Tennessee Bars in July of 2011, and being admitted to both in November of 2011. In 2012, she began her career as an associate at the Law Offices of Edwin Marger, LLC. Under Edwin Marger's...

The Smith Williams Law Firm’s owner, Yolanda Smith-Williams, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from North Carolina A&T State University in Political Science with a minor in English. She received her Juris Doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. While in law school, Yolanda gained valuable legal work experience by working with a Circuit Court Judge. This was the start of her experience in working in the area of Family Law. She later received a highly sought after internship with the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office. In this position, Yolanda assisted in prosecuting individuals charged with felonies and...

Katie has spent her entire legal career advocating for her clients. She spent over 14 years as a public defender in Fulton County, representing individuals charged with felony crimes at the trial and appellate level. Most of her career at the public defender’s office was spent in the complex felony unit, representing people charged with the most serious crimes; murder, armed robbery, sex crimes and drug trafficking. More recently, Katie was a partner in a boutique law firm, trying cases and representing clients all over the Metro Atlanta area. Her many years in the courtroom have earned her a reputation...