Arnold & Stafford Legal Blog

The police understand when drunk driving is more likely

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in DUI/DWI on Wednesday, February 12, 2020.

Do you ever feel like you see the police crack down on impaired driving at a certain time or around a certain event? It's not all in your head; you really are seeing more officers on the roads. The police understand when drunk driving is more likely, and they'll often step up enforcement efforts around these times.

For instance, they already did it once in Georgia this year, right around the Super Bowl. They knew that it was a massive event that was essentially a holiday. They knew a lot of people would watch the game at the bar or at parties where alcohol was served freely. When the game ended around 10:00 p.m., they knew they'd see a lot of impaired drivers on the roads.

A DWI conviction can cast a big cloud over your future

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law on Monday, February 10, 2020.

If you are in college or just out of school and focused on your first professional job, your whole life is in front of you, and you probably have big plans for your future.

You may not think much about drinking and driving, believing that if stopped for DWI, you simply pay a fine and go on with your life. However, a DWI conviction can disrupt your future plans in a big way.

How long do drugs show up in urine tests?

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Drug Charges on Friday, February 7, 2020.

Urine tests are one of the most common ways to test for drugs. These tests are often used by employers and may also be used by the authorities.

What you may be wondering, then, is how long the drugs are actually going to show up. The following is a rough guideline, though it should be noted that each case is different and there are many factors to consider. That said, the general time frames are as follows:

MDMA - two to four days
Heroin - one to three days
Meth - two to three days
Cocaine - two to three days
Marijuana and related products with THC - seven days or up to a month or longer

It's important to be honest with your doctor

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Misdiagnosis on Thursday, January 30, 2020.

Have you ever stretched the truth with your doctor? What about telling them something that was completely false?

It happens. People do it for all sorts of reasons. Maybe they know they have made unhealthy choices and they feel ashamed. Maybe they're nervous to talk about specific symptoms. Maybe they just feel uncomfortable being honest with a doctor they don't know very well.

Experts once thought opioids were not addictive

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Drug Charges on Thursday, January 23, 2020.

You may have heard of the opioid crisis, which revolves around drug addiction and often involves overdoses. At this point in 2020, it is clear that these drugs are addictive and many people who take them likely wish they could stop but have no ability to do so on their own.

If you're wondering how things got to that point, though, you should know that the view of opioids has changed dramatically over the years. They provide very effective pain treatment, and doctors started using them more extensively back in the 1990s. The issue is that they honestly thought the drugs were not addictive, which is what they were told by the companies that produced them.

Smuggling contraband into a prison is a serious offense

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law on Friday, January 17, 2020.

If you have a loved one who is sitting behind bars, you may be considering carrying some contraband into the jail or prison. Because incarceration is miserable, some outside comforts may help your friend or relative cope with serving a sentence. You must realize, though, that smuggling contraband into a correctional facility is a serious offense in Georgia.

The CBS affiliate in Macon reports that there have been more than 1,400 arrests for contraband smuggling since June 2010. While this number pales in comparison to arrests for many other crimes, such as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, it is not insignificant. Furthermore, federal, state and local officials have remarked that stopping contraband is a priority for both law enforcement and prison officials.

Georgia comes in 23rd in DUI arrests

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in DUI/DWI on Tuesday, January 14, 2020.

Have you ever wondered where Georgia stands in terms of DUI arrests, if it has more or less than other states in the country? The truth is that it's right near the middle. A recent study found that there were 308.7 arrests for every 100,000 people living in Georgia, which means the state ranks out at 23rd overall.

Some metrics did suggest that DUI arrests are not nearly as common as they used to be. Look at the past decade, starting in 2009 and ending with the statistics for 2018, the highest arrest rate was in 2009. That year, there were 398.74 DUI-related arrests per 100,000 people. When compared to 2018, that shows a drop of about 12.8% over that time.

Which life-threatening conditions do doctors miss most?

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Misdiagnosis on Friday, January 10, 2020.

When you are experiencing worrisome symptoms, you want the doctor to accurately and quickly diagnose and treat you, so you will soon be on the road to recovery. But sometimes, it's not that simple, and doctors misdiagnose their patients.

Below are some common conditions that can be deadly if they get misdiagnosed.

Let us help you pursue justice after medical malpractice

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Surgical Errors on Friday, January 3, 2020.

If you suffer from kidney disease and go to a Hinesville hospital to have your diseased kidney removed, you certainly would next expect your surgeon to remove the healthy and functioning one instead.

The same holds true if you are expecting to be treated for the disease that you have and instead are given a mistaken diagnosis that delays the life-saving treatment you need. Yet, all too often, here in Hinesville and elsewhere around the nation, patients die or are left with worsened conditions due to medical errors and "never events" that somehow keep on happening.

Could I be arrested for my roommate's drugs?

On behalf of Arnold & Stafford, Attorneys at Law posted in Drug Charges on Friday, December 27, 2019.

Many people wrongly assume that anyone arrested on drug charges must be guilty. After all, the police had evidence to arrest you, and the prosecutor made a case. How could it be that you are, indeed, not guilty of the charges against you?

But there are multiple ways that you could face drug charges while not actually being guilty of possessing illegal drugs. Here is but one such scenario you could find yourself facing.