The Hames Law Firm

02/28/2025

I am happy to announce that I have been selected as a “Super Lawyer” in appellate practice for the twelfth time. I appreciate my colleagues that voted for me.

There are several really great attorneys who did not make this list including Leigh Ann Webster, Sydney Strickland, Andrew Fleischman to name a few. When choosing an appellate lawyer look for someone that knows what they are doing and has been there before.

03/20/2024

Atlanta lawyers, please consider voting for Miguel A. Dominguez for State Bar Board of Governors. Miguel is a strong and compassionate voice that would be an asset to all Georgia Lawyers.

11/16/2023

Spent most the week at the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit . Tuesday I watched argument in a white collar Anti-Kickback case I helped with . Wednesday argued a case of first impression on the scope of the Second Amendment . Today I argued a confrontation clause claim in a RICO gang case.

Now back to work .

06/23/2023

It is not often that I walk into a courtroom with a client charged with murder, albeit murder in the second degree, and walk out with my client sentenced to misdemeanor probation.

It took a motion to suppress and someone to look at the actual evidence before the murder charge was dismissed. It was a case that should have never been indicted.

Cases like this are the reason why I am a criminal defense lawyer. I was fortunate enough to stand up for my client at a time when the weight of the world came crashing down.

I appreciate that the prosecutor came to realize the value of this case, more specifically the lack of value, but it saddens me that my client was indicted in the first place.

Have a good weekend.

06/07/2022

Got a good result for a client. I filed a habeas corpus petition challenging a DUI conviction in Gwinnett County. The State looked at this case and agreed that the conviction needed to be set aside as the client had not waived his right to a jury trial. The Constitution still means something.

05/27/2022

This week marked the end of federal habeas case that I have been fighting for three years. After two sets of briefing on two new Supreme Court cases, my client had his sentence set aside and reduced by five years.

That decision resulted in his immediate release from prison. Such a result does not happen in a vacuum. First, the US Attorneys Office for the Northern District and AUSA Mary Webb did the right thing in this case. Second, Matthew Dodge with the Federal Defender Office helped me immensely with the legal arguments.

Also, Natasha Silas made the correct legal argument in the trial court and in the 11th Circuit. Judge Batten got it right the first time, the 11th Circuit’s strained reasoning reversing Judge Batten was ultimately undone by the Supreme Court in a different case.

Habeas Corpus cases are difficult under the best of circumstances, but my client was fortunate that the law finally caught up with reason.

04/19/2022

It is not often that having a motion to dismiss a federal habeas granted is a good thing. However, recently I had such an experience.

I was appointed by the court to represent a man who had filed a federal habeas petition under 28 USC 2255. He was challenging pending criminal charges in Douglas County. The events underlining these charges occurred in 1993. As one might imagine there were significant constitutional issues involved. Getting to the constitutional issues required transversing the maze of federal post conviction impediments.

I was able to convince the court that the proper legal vehicle was a petition under 28 USC 2241. Then the state moved to dismiss under the Younger doctrine, which holds that federal courts should not interfere with ongoing state criminal prosecutions. That issue was briefed and we were able to overcome that motion to dismiss. We were able to address the merits of the constitutional claims.

In the meantime I had reached out to the Douglas County DA’s office to see if there was a resolution to this matter. As I was gearing up for another round of briefing, I received another motion to dismiss from the state. This time the state moved to dismiss because the charges had been dropped and the habeas petition was now moot. That is the best way to have a habeas petition dismissed.

10/07/2021

Got a good result in a DUI case a couple of weeks ago. Normally I do not handle DUI charges, as there are many great lawyers that specialize in them.

Thankfully the Fourth Amendment still has some importance. I filed a motion challenging the arrest and shortly thereafter the prosecution drastically reduced the charge and penalty for my client. Happy to be of service.

If you need help with a DUI call Justin Spizman, Michael Hawkins, Julie Kert, Ben Sessions, or Maddox Kilgore. They have all forgotten more DUI law than I may ever know.

02/19/2021

Honored to have been selected for the eighth time as a Georgia Super Lawyer in Appellate Practice. I look at the other lawyers included on that list and I am humbled to be mentioned alongside them.

10/01/2020

Curious about your PPP loans and making sure you are utilizing them properly and not inadvertently committing fraud? Check out our latest blog post giving you all the details.

What do do when you find yourself accused of committing PPP (Paycheck Protection Plan) loan fraud

07/15/2020

Good news for a client. A 72 year old client with serious medical issues was granted compassionate release and had his sentence reduced to time served. This saved him two and a half years in prison and most importantly increases his chances of avoiding COVID-19 in federal prison.

I appreciate BJay Pak and the USAO for taking a reasonable position on this matter.