Thinking a criminal dismissal is a final judgment? Not so fast. Under Georgia Law a person can be prosecuted on prior charges if subsequent offenses occur. Criminal defense attorney, Anne Bishop, explains why.
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Prosecutors are not in the business of dismissing cases. Generally speaking, if they have a problem with their case they’re likely to reduce the charge to a lesser charge and do some type of plea bargain. It is very rare to get a dismissal in a criminal case.
Generally, two things come about that may lead to a dismissal:
1) The case is just bad or there is some type of error and the prosecution goes ahead and dismisses it for lack of evidence.
2) The prosecution is unable to prove their case the witness does not show up or the witness changes their testimony.
If either of these two types of situations occur, then there is potential for the prosecution to dismiss the case at trial.
Result of Dismissal: A dismissal does not completely get rid of a case. If the case is dismissed, then it could potentially be brought back up later. For example, if a person is charged with a crime and that crime is dismissed, and let us say a year later, that person is charged with another criminal violation, the prosecution can bring that first charge AND the second charge against that person. This is because a dismissal does not completely get rid of the charge completely, but it does for almost all situations unless the person gets charged again.
Keep in mind, that if the State attempts to prosecute charges that were previously dismissed, there are legal time frames limiting when those charges may be prosecuted.
It is important to know that a criminal dismissal in Georgia is not final.
At A. Bishop Law, our Georgia Criminal Defense Attorneys welcome any questions on Criminal Defense and Georgia DUI laws.  Please Call or Email us with any questions, your initial consultation is free and confidential.
About the attorney:  Anne Bishop is a Georgia Lawyer with Breakfield & Associates, Attorneys in Gainesville, Georgia and handles various DUI / DWI, Marijuana Arrests and other Georgia Criminal Defense matters.  The law office of Breakfield & Associates, Attorneys can assist clients throughout Georgia including: Hall County (Gainesville, Oakwood, Flowery Branch), Jackson County  (Jefferson, Braselton) White County (Helen, Cleveland), Lumpkin County (Dahlonega), Dawson County (Dawsonville), Habersham County (Demorest, Cornelia), and all of Northeast Georgia.
This article should not be considered nor relied upon as legal advice since it is only intended for general overview and informational purposes. Please consult with an attorney on your specific situation in order to determine an appropriate legal course of action.