Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Chiman Rai was sentenced this afternoon to life in prison. That's the best sentence possible after a murder conviction.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the breaking story from just a few minutes ago.

A life sentence offers Mr. Rai a shot at parole. But parole is never guaranteed, and usually isn't even possible until the person has served 30 years in prison. Mr. Rai would be 98 years old.

While the case will almost certainly be appealed, Mr. Rai will remain in custody and will likely be sent into the state prison system soon. His lawyers will have to file a notice of appeal or motion for new trial within 30 days. Because this is a murder case, the appeal will go directly to the Georgia Supreme Court.

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Posted In: Georgia Criminal Law

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I didn't see the trial, but I was surprised by this verdict. This afternoon, Chiman Rai was convicted for the murder of his daughter-in-law.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.

Prosecutors claimed that the murder was racially motivated. Rai's son (of Indian descent) had married an African-American girl. The state's theory was that Rai disapproved of the marriage because an interracial marriage would be frowned upon in "caste-conscious" Indian society (the AJC's word, not mine) .

Because prosecutors decided to seek the death penalty, Rai's defense lawyers will now have to prepare for the sentencing phase of the trial. The jury will have the option of sentencing Rai to death, life without parole, or life with the possibility of parole after 30 years. The penalty phase usually focuses more on the circumstances of the defendant (his background, character, etc.) than the facts of the offense. Rai's lawyers are two of the best defense lawyers in Atlanta and I am sure they will do everything they can to save Rai's life.

I heard about this case shortly after Mr. Rai was arrested. It did not sound like a death penalty case then, and it still doesn't. I would be very surprised if Rai is sentenced to death. Juries generally shy away from the death penalty, especially in urban areas, unless the crime is horrific and the evidence overwhelming.

Every murder is tragic, but the evidence presented at trial against Rai was far from overwhelming. It was, however, enough to convince the jury that he arranged for the murder of his daughter-in-law. I am sure the prosecutors will now try to convince the jury that the murder was racially motivated. In my opinion, that would be the only way they could secure a death sentence in a case like this.

The penalty phase of the trial starts on Friday.

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Posted In: Georgia Criminal Law

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A new mortgage fraud indictment was returned in federal court in Atlanta last week.

The new indictment alleges a mortgage fraud scheme involving the purchase of condos on Memorial Drive in Atlanta. The government alleges that the scheme involved fraudulently inflated appraisals. One of those charged is a former IRS employee.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.

There have been several large federal mortgage fraud prosecutions in Atlanta over the past few years. Our firm has been involved in many of them. We have represented closing attorneys, mortgage brokers, appraisers, investors and the inevitable "straw buyers." The alleged losses have been staggering, usually in the many millions of dollars.

While the government has been mostly successful in these prosecutions, defense lawyers who have represented defendants in these cases often try to point the finger at the lenders who were accepting obviously false loan applications and inflated appraisals without question. There's no doubt that mortgage lenders had a role in the rampant fraud that plagues the residential mortgage industry, especially in the so-called "sub-prime" market. The lenders were approving loans left and right with little concern if the borrowers later defaulted. While that sounds strange, the fact is that most lenders sell the mortgage on the secondary market shortly after the borrower closes on the property. At that point, it's someone else's problem.

But a false statement is still a false statement, and we expect both federal and state prosecutors in Georgia to continue to purse mortgage fraud indictments. There is certainly no shortage of foreclosed properties to review.

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Posted In: Federal Criminal Law , Theft and Fraud

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More drama in the Brian Nichols death penalty case currently pending in Atlanta.

Judge Bodiford recently granted the State's request to have Brian Nichols interviewed by a state doctor. The State requested this examination so that they would be able to present expert testimony to counter the mental illness defense that Nichols' lawyers intend to present at trial

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.

This is not a surprising request, and it is routinely granted in cases where the defendant intends to raise any type of mental illness defense through the use of medical experts. Once the defendant notifies the State of its intent to raise this defense, then the State has the opportunity to have its own expert examine the defendant.

The only thing unusual about this request is the timing. The State has known for a long time that Nichols' defense attorneys intended to raise a mental illness defense.

I was interviewed yesterday on WABE (Atlanta's public radio station) about this development. I was asked why Nichols' defense lawyers would want to prevent the State from having Nichols interviewed by another doctor. Nichols' attorneys, like most criminal defense lawyers, would want to prevent the examination because the request came so late in the process. Nichols' lawyers have also argued that they did not want to subject Nichols to questioning that might incriminate him in the offense.

While these are certainly understandable concerns, Judge Bodiford granted the State's request. He did, however, did put some limitations on the length of the examination.

The trial is still supposed to start this Summer.

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Posted In: Georgia Criminal Law , Violent Crimes

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We've seen this before.

A federal grand jury in Savannah recently indicted Christian and Jennifer Navoy, a couple from Roswell, Georgia, on illegal distribution of controlled substances through the internet.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.

We are currently representing a doctor who is being charged with a similar offense for his involvement in an internet medicine business operated out of Atlanta. I discussed the case in a previous post.

In the Atlanta case, our client reviewed medical information submitted by patients through an online questionnaire. It was the same information they would have had to provide if they made a personal visit to the doctor's office; it just saved them time and money to do it this way. The drugs involved in our case are non-narcotic drugs like Viagra and weight loss medication, some of the same drugs involved in the Savannah case.

One of the doctors in the Atlanta case has already gone to trial. The jury deadlocked and could not reach a decision. A retrial for this doctor, and any other defendant left in the case, is set for this Fall.

The government is not guaranteed a conviction in this type of case. We think juries will require more evidence than just the fact that someone used the internet to order drugs. Ultimately, the jury's verdict may depend on whether there was a doctor involved, and whether the doctor had sufficient information available to determine the person's need for the medication he ordered. Some jurors may find it difficult to convict a doctor for doing the same thing he would have done if the person had made an appointment to see him at the office.

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Posted In: Drug Crimes , Federal Criminal Law

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