Blawg of Attorney Christine M Bechtold

A police blotter is a written record of daily arrests in your area. Although you may be familiar with the blotter format, some of the terminology can be confusing. Georgia’s Criminal Code is defined in O.C.G.A. §§ 17-1-1 – 17-18-2. http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/ .  A brief explanation of common charges is listed below: ·          Criminal Trespass : intentionally damaging the property of another in the amount of $500 or less; or entering the property of another for an unlawful purpose or without their authorization ·          Theft : taking property from another without their consent o    by Taking: unlawfully taking the property of another o    by Deception: obtaining the property of another by misleading o    by Shoplifting: taking merchandise from a retail establishment o    by Receiving: receiving another person’s property when you know it was obtained in a criminal matter ·          Robbery : intent to commit theft in the presence of another by use of force, int

YES! It is important to monitor your online profile and activity in this modern age. More and more courts are allowing online activity to be discussed in court.   “There are strictly defined legal limits on what information can be lifted and what is in the private domain and can be obtained only through legal procedures like subpoenas, depositions and discovery.” NYT 5/13/11 . Many people do not set their privacy settings high which may make their online activity in the public domain and easily used against them in court.   Even if your settings are limited, it is important to re-evaluate your settings from time to time.   Maybe one of your 300 facebook friends is also facebook friends with your future ex-spouse and they post a picture of you doing something you would rather keep private and not discussed in open court.   In fact, “sixty-six percent of the attorneys surveyed by the AAML [American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers] called Facebook the unrivaled leader for online divo