Elbaz & Elbaz

WE NEED TOYS!!!!! Elbaz & Elbaz is taking TOY DONATIONS for Toys For Tots. Please drop off toys at our law firm located at 760 Longleaf Boulevard, Suite D, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046! Help out a child this holiday season. We have a drop box in the front of our office.

There has been an interesting new change in Georgia Law as it related to Fentanyl-related homicide. As someone who has been personally impacted by losing a family member to a fentanyl-related death, I think that this law was much needed in the state of Georgia. Back in February of 2020, right before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, my younger brother Alexander Elbaz, who was only 3 months away from graduating from Georgia Gwinnett College with his Bachelor's Degree, died from taking a counterfeit Percocet pill that was actually Fentanyl. I was in my first year of law school when this happened. It shook my family, and my life tremendously. After investigating and providing evidence to the DA's office in Gwinnett, the person who sold him that counterfeit pill was arrested and convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter (as a lesser offense) and sentenced to 40 Years with the first 30 Years to be served in Confinement. The problem has been, that Alex's case was one of the first in the State of Georgia where charges of Felony Murder were brought against an individual who was being accused of selling Fentanyl laced drugs to someone, who then died as a result of taking the drugs. However, the Felony Murder statute in Georgia was not built to use that specific fact pattern. Fast Forward to April of 2024, and O.C.G.A. 16-5-3.1 was enacted, and provides essentially for a Drug-Induced Homicide statute which other states have already had. Under O.C.G.A. 16-5-3.1, which lists the charge as "Aggravated involuntary manslaughter by causing fentanyl overdose death", reads as follows: "A person commits the offense of aggravated involuntary manslaughter when he or she causes the fentanyl overdose death of another human being, without the intent to cause the death of said human being, by intentionally manufacturing or selling any substance that contains fentanyl, after representing that such substance was any controlled substance." This is a big step by the legislature to provide a more meaningful and direct charge that specifically addresses the Fentanyl crisis in the State of Georgia. As a former prosecutor, I am happy to see that there has been some progress in this new law being enacted; As a current defense attorney, I am also happy to see that the Felony Murder statute is not being used as a catch-all for these types of offenses. Hopefully this will provide some deterrence to individuals who are selling Fentanyl laced products; and will also provide more meaningful defenses to individuals who are charged under the new statute. #Georgialaw #criminallaw #criminaldefense #georgia #gwinnettcounty #attorneys #lawyers #law #Georgia #atlanta

VERDICT: NOT GUILTY on ALL COUNTS. We had a client that maintained her innocence, and demanded a jury trial. That’s what we do best, is go to trial. Falon Stimpson, Esq. & Myself worked extremely hard to try this case, and when it was all said and done, we achieved a verdict of NOT GUILTY on ALL COUNTS. The work continues, and we continue to work towards being the best trial attorneys in Gwinnett County and Metro Atlanta. WE ARE Elbaz & Stimpson!!! #criminaldefense #gwinnettcounty #attorneys #law #criminallaw

40 under 40 for 2024. Thank you. #criminaldefense #attorney #trialattorney #gwinnettcounty #metroatlanta #NTL #nationaltriallawyers