A 20-year-old UGA student, who famously smiled for her mugshot picture after an early March reckless driving arrest, was arrested again less than a month later after she allegedly committed multiple misdemeanors.
On March 8, 2025, the woman said she was on her way to a party when she was pulled over for speeding twice. The second offense was most likely reckless driving as opposed to ordinary speeding. According to Georgia State police, she was issued a ticket after twice going 85 mph in a 55 mph zone. At book-in, she was pictured smiling widely at the camera with her hair and makeup done and wearing pearl earrings.
Some two weeks later, the woman was arrested by the University of Georgia Police Department and booked at the Athens–Clarke County jail on two misdemeanors – obstruction of a law enforcement officer and loitering. She once again smiled for the camera.
According to jail documents, she was released after posting a $4,600 bond.
Jail Release and Re-Release
Times have apparently changed. When we were in college, we would’ve been hard-pressed to come up with $46 in an emergency, let alone $4,600.
For people with access to resources, cash bail, which is basically like a rental property security deposit, is usually the way to go. There’s very little paperwork, and bail conditions are like hospital discharge instructions. They’re pretty generic and easy to follow, at least in most cases. However, unlike hospital discharge instructions, bail supervision conditions are mandatory. More on that below.
Two other, less expensive options are OR (own recognizance) release and a bail bond. OR release is usually available in nonviolent misdemeanor cases if the defendant has no criminal record. Bail bonds are like insurance policies. If the defendant pays a 10 or 15 percent premium and the judge revokes bail, the bonding company assumes the financial risk.
The two most important conditions are appearing at all required hearings and avoiding further trouble with the law. If a defendant violates one of these conditions, the judge usually revokes bail and issues a bench warrant.
If a defendant fails to attend a hearing, especially a procedural hearing, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer usually reschedules the hearing, and everything’s fine, at least from a jail release perspective. If a defendant catches a new case, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer must arrange for a new bond, if possible.
Warrantless Arrests
The constitution’s search warrant requirement has a few narrow exceptions. The arrest warrant requirement has so many broad exceptions that the exceptions basically swallow the rule.
An offense committed in an officer’s presence, or within the officer’s close knowledge, is, by far, the most common exception. The misdemeanor Big Three (DUI, drug possession, and assault) are good examples. The arresting officer usually personally witnesses DUI and drug possession. Legally, the victim’s statement in an assault is sufficient to fulfil the “within presence” requirement.
Additionally, officers can arrest people without warrants if they’re attempting to escape from custody. As for the underlying offense, they can tell it to the judge.
In some cases, private citizens can make arrests in Georgia. Under Section 17-4-60, the actual presence/immediate knowledge rule applies to all felonies and misdemeanors. Additionally, private citizens can arrest (or more properly detain) offenders “upon reasonable and probable grounds of suspicion” (e.g. someone yells “Stop, thief!”).
The Fifth Amendment’s right to remain silent usually doesn’t apply in private arrest cases. So, even if a defendant isn’t properly Mirandized, any statements s/he makes are usually admissible in court.
Criminal Records and College Students
Two of the misdemeanor Big Three often have consequences in civil court. Since drunk drivers are negligent, they’re responsible for damages, such as lost wages, medical bills, and emotional distress, in civil court. Either the assailant or property owner, or both, could be legally responsible for assault damages.
Similarly, criminal cases have consequences for college students. Many times, these consequences are worse than the criminal law consequences.
Most criminal offenses, especially those committed on campus, normally trigger disciplinary proceedings. At public institutions, these proceedings always include notice and hearing. But disciplinary proceedings vary significantly at private universities and colleges. In many cases, these institutions can unilaterally take adverse action, including expulsion.
An attorney can reverse these decisions as violations of the student’s civil rights. Traditionally, however, reversing something bad is much more difficult that preventing something bad from happening in the first place.
Financial assistance is a major issue as well. Once again, there’s a significant difference between private scholarships and public scholarships, loans, or grants.
Private scholarships, like private universities and colleges, largely make their own rules. Additionally, in many cases, they make up these rules as they go. Therefore, a criminal conviction, or even an arrest, could easily compromise eligibility for private scholarships.
Technically, criminal cases, arrests and convictions alike, don’t adversely affect public tuition assistance. However, in many cases, any recent criminal history forces a student to the end of the line. When the student’s name comes up, the money may be gone.
Since the rules vary, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer’s game plan varies as well. Usually, a lawyer delays proceedings until the case is resolved. A favorable resolution in criminal court makes it easier to successfully resolve college student disciplinary issues.
Resolving the Case
Resolving a case is a process that usually begins with challenging the state’s evidence. For example, in a DUI, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer may argue that the Breathalyzer result was flawed.
If a Marietta criminal defense lawyer successfully chips away at the state’s evidence, the trial odds come much closer to 50-50. As the risk of a not-guilty verdict increases, a prosecutor’s determination to go to trial decreases, making a favorable plea deal more likely.
Assault negotiations also involve some non-evidence factors which are common in other cases as well. Certain kinds of assault, mostly domestic battery, are political hot buttons. Politicians sometimes hamstring prosecutors in these cases, so they can’t make good deals. Furthermore, the alleged victim, if any, must usually sign off on a plea bargain agreement.
Incidentally, alleged victims cannot “drop” criminal changes, like they could back in the day. Nowadays, an alleged assault victim is simply a material witness.
Usually, prosecutors make the first offer, based on the defendant’s criminal record, the strength of the evidence, and non-evidence factors, if any. Then, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer makes a counteroffer. Finally, the two sides usually split the baby.
Resolving a criminal case is a long, delicate process in Georgia. For a free consultation with an experienced Marietta criminal defense lawyer, contact The Phillips Law Firm, LLC. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
