The Victim-Witness Assistance Program (VWAP) mails case status letters during key events of the criminal justice system. If you do not receive a letter or still have questions, you may call VWAP at (912) 652-7329 for cases involving adult offenders. You can call the VWAP at Juvenile Court (912) 652-6735 or (912) 652-6702 if the offender is a juvenile.

People receive subpoenas if they ever talked with the police about a crime or traffic incident, or if they saw something involving a crime or traffic incident, or if they reported the crime to police. Receiving a subpoena does not mean you are in trouble. Keep your subpoena so you can call for information or call the Witness Information Line prior to scheduled court appearance. Please have the subpoena in front of you if you call Victim-Witness Assistance so you can provide the needed information for your question to be answered.

If a crime has been reported to the police and it has reached the District Attorney’s office, you as the victim do not have the right to drop the charges. You can call the Victim-Witness Assistance Program of the District Attorney’s Office to explain why you want to drop the charges. If you are being threatened to drop the charges, you need to notify the Assistant District Attorney handling your case.

All crimes are to be reported to the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. Law enforcement investigates crimes and makes arrests. Then the Assistant District Attorney (prosecutor) presents these charges in court.

Usually you will not be needed but for a day or two. You need to call the Witness Information Line (912) 652-7330 for Superior Court cases and (912) 652- 7327 for State Court cases to find out reporting times. Or you can call the Victim-Witness Assistance Program for further information.

The Georgia crime victim compensation program can help victims of violent crimes with such expenses as medical, counseling, lost wages, funeral expenses and crime scene clean-up. Also those who witness violent crimes may be eligible for counseling expenses. You must report the crime and cooperate with police and prosecution to be eligible. Please contact VWAP or go to cjcc.ga.gov.

Once you have been served with a subpoena/court notice, you must appear in court on the stated date and time unless excused by the Assistant District Attorney handling the case. Be sure to bring your subpoena with you when you come to court. Please call the  information number listed on your subpoena on the day before your scheduled court appearance. A recorded message will tell you if the case has been continued or perhaps even ended, in which event you need not appear. Otherwise, you must appear in court. If you fail to appear as directed, the judge may impose sanctions upon you, including a fine and/or a sentence to jail. If for any reason you are genuinely unable to appear on the date ordered (because, for example, of a medical emergency),  please contact the District Attorney at 652-7308 as soon as possible. The sooner you call, the better the chance the DA has of rescheduling your case. If you have a serious problem on the very day of court, once again you should immediately call the District Attorney’s Office so that we may speak to the Judge on your behalf.

No. If you are the victim In a criminal matter the lawyers of the Office of the District Attorney proceed on your behalf on the charges brought against a defendant. You are free, however, to consult with a private attorney about your situation if you wish but be advised that the attorney will not be allowed to participate, in any way, in the criminal prosecution of your case.

If you wish, you may discuss your case with the defense attorney but the District Attorney would like to know in advance if you plan to do so, as we might prefer to have someone from our legal staff present when you speak with that attorney. Please also be advised that you are not required to discuss the case with any representative of the defense and may certainly decline to do so. Remember that the attorney representing the defendant is performing a legal duty when that attorney investigates the case but also remember that what you say could damage the case if taken in the wrong context. If you would prefer not to discuss your case with the defense, feel free to refer the defense attorney to our office for any information the attorney wants about the case.

Many people believe that a victim of a crime has the sole power to "press charges" or to later "drop the charges." That belief is incorrect. All crimes are deemed to be offenses against all the people of the State of Georgia, not just the individual crime victim. It is the District Attorney, entrusted with the responsibility to prosecute offenses committed against the citizens of our state, who must make the final decision as to whether or not to pursue a criminal prosecution – and ONLY the District Attorney can dismiss the charges before they reach a judge. This is actually helpful to you as a crime victim because it takes the responsibility for prosecuting your offender off your shoulders and puts it on the District Attorney, where it legally belongs -- the defendant therefore cannot "pressure" you into dismissing the charges.

Please be assured, however, that the District Attorney, through the Assistant District Attorney handling your case, will take all your concerns and feelings into account, along with the evidence in the case, the defendant’s record and, of course, the interests of all the citizens of Chatham County and Georgia when deciding on whether and how to proceed with a case.

Generally, yes, you will see the defendant at a court hearing. The defendant in a criminal case has the constitutional right to "confront and cross-examine" witnesses called to testify against him or her. This means that the defendant must be present in court to hear what you and other witnesses have to say. If you testify, the defendant’s attorney can, and likely will, ask you additional questions after an Assistant DA has questioned you.

You should also know that you may be “sequestered” during a hearing, which means being placed outside the courtroom (courts often do not let witnesses listen to other witnesses testify) and thus you may only see the accused while you are actually testifying. The District Attorney’s Victim Witness Assistance Program can provide a separate waiting area for victims and witnesses awaiting their turn to testify.

If a defendant pleads guilty or is convicted in Chatham’s Recorders Courts to a misdemeanor, or later in our Superior Court to a felony (a more serious offense), the Judge may choose to order the defendant to pay restitution to anyone who suffered damages. The restitution amount is based on losses a victim or witness has reported and can document to police and prosecutors. If restitution is in fact ordered, it is paid to you through a local probation office and thus you would NOT have to have any further interaction with the defendant. Restitution is usually ordered and received in installments over a defendant’s period of probation. Failure to pay the required restitution could lead to an offender’s sentence of probation being “revoked” and the offender sent to jail.

Restitution is not an option, however, for defendants who are sent to prison on what is called “straight sentence” – such as a sentence of four years in prison -- which involves no period of probation.

Once again, you remain free to consult with a private attorney about your options in civil court to attempt to collect financial losses from a defendant, even if the defendant was ordered to serve a straight sentence.

Within 48-72 hours of their arrest on a felony charge, all defendants in Recorder’s Court appear before a Judge, via video conference, from the Chatham County Detention Center. At this brief hearing, a defendant is formally notified of:

• the charges for which the defendant is under arrest
• the right to remain silent
• the right to counsel (to have an attorney)

The Judge will then receive an outline of the facts of the case and information about the defendant’s past criminal record and the defendant’s apparent ties to our community (family? home? job?). The Judge, will then decide if the defendant will be afforded the opportunity to post a bail bond to obtain release from jail and, if so, the bond’s amount and its conditions – although there are a number of serious offenses on which the Judge might not be able to set a bond. Conditions may include a ban from all contact with the crime victim or witnesses, or banishment from certain addresses or locations relevant to the case.

If a defendant pleads guilty or is convicted in Chatham’s Recorders Courts to a misdemeanor, or later in our Superior Court to a felony (a more serious offense), the Judge may choose to order the defendant to pay restitution to anyone who suffered damages. The restitution amount is based on losses a victim or witness has reported and can document to police and prosecutors. If restitution is in fact ordered, it is paid to you through a local probation office and thus you would NOT have to have any further interaction with the defendant. Restitution is usually ordered and received in installments over a defendant’s period of probation. Failure to pay the required restitution could lead to an offender’s sentence of probation being “revoked” and the offender sent to jail.

Restitution is not an option, however, for defendants who are sent to prison on what is called “straight sentence” – such as a sentence of four years in prison -- which involves no period of probation.

Once again, you remain free to consult with a private attorney about your options in civil court to attempt to collect financial losses from a defendant, even if the defendant was ordered to serve a straight sentence.

A preliminary hearing (sometimes called a preliminary examination) is an evidentiary hearing conducted not long after a defendant’s arrest and is held by a judge to determine whether “probable cause” exists that a crime has in fact been committed and that the charged defendant committed that crime. It is not the trial of the case. Defendants are only legally entitled to a preliminary hearing if they are still in jail on the date of the hearing and thus defendants released on bond are not entitled to a preliminary hearing. Even if they remain in jail, defendants may choose to give up or “waive” their preliminary hearing and have their case sent directly to the next step in the criminal justice process.

If the prosecutor handling a case determines that the police have not gathered sufficient evidence to obtain a criminal conviction, the prosecutor may file a motion with the preliminary hearing judge asking that the case be dismissed. This action is rarely taken by the prosecutor, however, and is taken only after a case has been completely investigated and only after the police have exhausted all avenues for obtaining additional evidence. Defense attorneys may also ask the judge, after hearing the evidence presented in court at a preliminary hearing, to dismiss the case because of insufficient evidence. The preliminary hearing judge may grant the motion to dismiss if the judge is satisfied that the case cannot be proven at a later trial.

The term "plea bargain" is unfortunately misleading to the public in that it implies that the defendant and his attorney have managed to obtain a reduction of charges or a lenient sentence. That is untrue. A plea bargain is instead simply an agreement between the Assistant District Attorney representing the State of Georgia and the defense that the State will recommend a specific punishment in the case to the judge if the defendant is willing to acknowledge guilt and enter a plea of guilty. The agreement as to punishment is not binding upon the judge, who may choose to impose any punishment within the range authorized by law. There are advantages to both the State and the defendant in arriving at plea agreements in many cases but be assured that the DA will not negotiate any plea for less punishment than the facts, circumstances, and applicable legal principles warrant.

Recorders Courts can typically only accept guilty pleas in misdemeanor cases, so if the case merits disposition as a misdemeanor, it can be handled at the arraignment/First Appearance or at the preliminary hearing. Misdemeanors are less serious convictions and can result in no more than 12 months in prison. If some or all of the 12 months is probated, a defendant can receive a fine up to $1,000, community service, other special conditions of probation such as Domestic Violence counseling, drug and/or alcohol treatment, banning from certain locations or contact with the case’s victims or witnesses, and/or restitution. The Assistant District Attorney in charge of a case may prefer to consult with the police and a crime’s victim before agreeing to any plea.

After a felony preliminary hearing in a lower court in which the Judge “binds the case over to Superior Court,” or after a defendant “waives” the case to Superior Court, the District Attorney may offer a negotiated plea to the defendant’s felony charges. Felony sentences are in ranges of years, not months, and felony convictions are of course considered more severe than misdemeanor convictions. The defendant may be sentenced to prison, or to probation, or to a “split sentence” of some time in prison followed by a period of probation. If some or all of the sentence is probated, once again there may be a fine, community service, other special conditions of probation such as Domestic Violence counseling, drug and/or alcohol treatment, banning from certain locations or from contact with the case’s victims or witnesses, and/or restitution. The Assistant District Attorney in charge of a case may again prefer to consult with the police and a crime’s victim before agreeing to a plea.

Answer: please click here for more information http://www.chathamcourts.org/State-Court/DUI-Court-Program

You can find out the status of your misdemeanor case by going to the following link:
https://cmsportal.chathamcounty.org/portal

You may want to give the court a fair amount of time to enter your case before going to this site.

If you are a victim of a crime, the District Attorney’s Office, Victim Witness Advocacy Program can speak to you about your rights a victim and explain some details about what to expect from the court system.

If you are not represented by a lawyer, your case has been accused, and you have received notice of a court date, you may be able to speak to the Assistant District Attorney assigned to your case prior to the court date or on that date. If you obtain a lawyer, your lawyer will need to contact the District Attorney’s Office.

Continuances can only be granted by a judge. Both parties have the ability to request and/or agree to a continuance, and may submit such a request to the presiding judge. If you are not represented by a lawyer, you can file your own motion or obtain a copy of the continuance form from: http://www.chathamcourts.org/Portals/ChathamCourts/State%20Court/Forms/Criminal/c-MotionforContinuance_2015_.pdf

If you are a victim of a crime, the District Attorney’s Office, Victim Witness Advocacy Program can speak to you about your rights a victim and explain some details about what to expect from the court system.

Generally, recent arrests are handled by the municipal court where the arresting agency initially files their cases.

Generally, a person charged with a misdemeanor is entitled to a bond.

Once a case is bound over to State Court, the case is reviewed to decide whether an accusation should be filed against you. If an accusation is filed by the District Attorney’s Office, your case will then be scheduled for a court date. The State Court Clerk’s office will notify you or your lawyer of the scheduled date. For more information, go here: http://statecourt.org/pdf/state-court-bound-over-information.pdf

A misdemeanor or a misdemeanor of a “high and aggravated nature" means any crime other than a felony. A felony is defined generally as a crime punishable by death, by imprisonment for life, or by imprisonment for more than 12 months.

At the first court appearance you are notified for, you may have an opportunity to speak to someone about your case. If you are represented by a lawyer, you will need to speak to him/her.

No. VIP has a partnership with Memorial Health and their office is located here. Injured individuals treated at another hospital will not have a way to notify the VIP staff of their situation.

Yes, we will provide information to all individuals and families that we encounter ranging from: victim compensation to services offered throughout Chatham County that may be of some assistance to them.

Yes. The eligibility requirements are listed above and US citizenship is not a requirement for enrollment.

The potential incentives for enrolling into VIP are: money to help pay for medical bills, Victim Compensation assistance, probation reduction, and exposure to needed resources such as counseling, employment, education assistance, and social groups.

Yes, individuals who are currently on parole or probation are eligible for the program as long as they were not injured during an illegal activity in which they were the perpetrator.

As the designated Title IV-D agency, the Chatham County Department of Child Support Services is responsible for:

• Locating absent parents
• Establishing paternity
• Establishing, enforcing and modifying child and medical support orders
• Collecting and distributing child support monies

DCSS accepts applications from mothers, fathers and other individuals who have custody of a child, such as grandparents.  Our office represents the State of Georgia in providing child support services and does not represent either parent in the case.  Applicants do not have the right to select what enforcement actions are taken on their cases.  The DCSS is required to provide all appropriate services for the benefit of the children.

Either parent can call our office at 1-877-423-4746 to schedule an appointment to open a case.  Or, they may visit our local office at 222 West Oglethorpe Avenue, Savannah, GA  31401.  Anyone who receives help from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program or receives certain Medicaid benefits can obtain help from DCSS without having to apply.  All others must complete an application form and pay a fee of $25.  Applications are available at all Division of Child Support Services offices or you may fill out an application online at:
http://ocse.dhr.georgia.gov/portal/site/DHS-OCSE/

Obtaining child support involves a wide variety of factors, making it difficult to predict the time required to secure payments on individual cases. For example, one case may require the full range of services – locating the absent parent, establishing paternity and a support order, and enforcing the order. Another case may have a divorce decree with an established order, a social security number, and an employer for the noncustodial parent, allowing enforcement through an administrative income deduction order.

The most important information an applicant can provide, aside from the noncustodial parent’s current address, is the name and address of the noncustodial parent’s current employer. If the current employer is not known, the name and address of the last known employer should be provided.

Additionally, the following information concerning the noncustodial parent should be provided:

• Social security number and date of birth
• Names and addresses of relatives and friends
• Names of banks or creditors such as utility companies
• Names of organizations, unions or clubs to which the NCP belongs
• Places where the NCP spends free time

It may take several months to receive child support if you do not know where the other parent lives or if the address is out of state. There is no guarantee the other parent will be found, but the more information you provide, the easier it will be.

If available, child support applicants should submit copies of the following:

• Copy of the divorce decree, separation agreement or court order
• Copy of the acknowledgment of paternity, if one has been signed
• The birth certificate(s) of the child(ren) involved
• All documents that may reflect both parents’ income and assets (paycheck stubs, tax returns, bank statements, etc.)
• Evidence of child support payment history

A child support order is established based on the Georgia Child Support Guidelines, which considers the income of both parents. Other factors may also be considered.

If either parent can obtain medical insurance for the child at a reasonable cost, the court will consider that cost in deciding the amount of child support awarded. Usually, if the non-custodial parent can obtain health insurance at a reasonable cost, that parent will be ordered to obtain it for the child.

After a child support order is in place, the support amount will be deducted from the non-custodial parent's paycheck. State law requires immediate income withholding in most cases. This is an easy way for the non-custodial parent to make child support payments. It also provides the non-custodial parent with a record of payments made. If support payments are not deducted from the non-custodial parent's paycheck, they should be paid as directed in the court order. It is very important to keep records of the payments that are made.

The Fatherhood Program can help non-custodial parents who have a case with DCSS and are unable to pay child support.

When the non-custodial parent does not pay the full amount, or does not pay at all, enforcement action is necessary.

If a parent fails to pay in accordance with a support order, he or she may be found in contempt of court. A contempt action may be filed against the non-custodial parent who fails to make support payments or does not maintain the required medical insurance. Non-custodial parents found in contempt of court may be fined, sentenced to jail or both. In addition, the non-custodial parent is still obligated to pay the full amount of past-due support. The child support order may also be enforced through:

• Withholding child support from paychecks, unemployment or weekly worker’s compensation benefits.
• intercepting federal and/or state income tax refunds.
• Reporting parents delinquent in child support payments to credit bureaus.
• Suspending or revoking driver’s, professional, occupational hunting or fishing licenses for failure to pay child support
• Reviewing and changing child support orders periodically
• Intercepting lottery winnings of more than $2,500
• Filing contempt of court actions, which may result in a jail sentence if the noncustodial parent is found in contempt of court
• Filing liens to seize matched bank accounts, worker’s compensation settlements, bonuses, and social security lump sum payments
• Denying, suspending or revoking the passport of noncustodial parents who owe more than $2,500 in child support
• Seizing license tags/denying vehicle registration
• Placing a lien on vehicles and personal property

The law requires states to cooperate with each other.  The noncustodial parent is legally required to make regular child support payments, no matter where he or she lives.

Both parents have the right to ask DCSS to review a child support order three years after the order becomes effective, unless substantial change in circumstances can be shown for orders less than three years old. The request must be made in writing to the child support office. The review can find that the amount should be less, more or stay the same. Medical insurance may also be added to the order.

If the parent is not on TANF or Family Medicaid and wishes to discontinue child support services, the case can be closed by written request, provided there are no arrears owed by the noncustodial parent that are assigned to the state.  Also, any fees that may be owed by either the custodial parent or noncustodial parent must be paid.

It means a “legal” father has been named for your child.

In Georgia, a father who has established paternity for his child but has not legitimated the child is unable to pursue custody and visitation issues. Also, unless a child is “legitimate”, he may be unable to collect insurance benefits or inherit from the father’s estate.

Unwed parents are given the opportunity to sign a Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment (PA) form at or near the time of a child’s birth. The PA form, when properly completed, helps establish the father and child relationship when the biological father is not married to the mother. It creates certain legal responsibilities for the mother, father and child.

Unwed parents are provided an opportunity to sign a Voluntary PA form in the hospital when their child is born. After leaving the birthing hospital, parents may complete and submit the form to the State Office of Vital Records. Both parents’ signatures must be witnessed by a notary public.

By signing this document, the parents are establishing the right of the child to certain benefits including:

• Two parents with whom the child can establish an emotional bond
• Two parents who will share a legal responsibility to financially support the child
• Two parents whose names will appear on the birth certificate
• The ability to receive social security and other benefits from the father, if needed

There are certain rights and responsibilities associated with signing the PA form:

• Signing the form is strictly voluntary
• One should not sign the PA unless he is confident he is the biological father
• By signing the PA, it will be presumed by law that he is the father of the child and the child's birth certificate will be issued to reflect this fact
• By signing the PA, the father has the right to a notice of an adoption proceeding or a     proceeding to terminate the rights of a biological father who is not the legal father
• By signing the PA, the father is accepting the responsibility to provide child support and medical insurance until the child is eighteen (18) years of age, or beyond in some cases
• After signing the PA, either the mother or the father may rescind (cancel) the acknowledgment within sixty (60) days of the date of the signature on the PA form or up to the date of an order establishing paternity, whichever occurs first
• If the PA isn’t rescinded (cancelled) within sixty (60) days of the signature on the PA form, the father will have given up his rights to DNA testing

If both parents fail to sign the PA before leaving the hospital or birthing facility, only the mother's name and the child's name will be entered on the birth certificate.

The PA may be signed at a later date. At that time, the certificate of birth will be amended to enter the name of the father.

The PA may be completed and signed at a local Vital Records office in the county where the child was born or the State Vital Records Office in Atlanta. For information on how to rescind (cancel) a signed PA form, contact the Vital Records Office. The PA, once completed and signed in the presence of a witness, will be forwarded to the State Vital Records Service where it will be entered into the State Putative Father Registry.

If a decision is made to cancel the Paternity Acknowledgment within the 60 days allowed by law, the rescission will not cause or allow an amendment to the birth certificate. To have the father's name removed from the birth certificate or to make changes to the child's surname, you will need a certified copy of a court order directing Vital Records to amend the birth certificate. The court order must specifically state the name to be removed from the birth certificate (if someone other than the father is listed as the child’s father on the certificate OR if “unknown” is listed) AND the name of the person to be entered as the father on the certificate [O.C.G.A. § 31-10-23(c)(2)].

After the 60-day rescission period has ended, the signed PA will constitute a legal determination of paternity and may be challenged in a court of law only on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, with the burden of proof on the person challenging the acknowledgment.