District Attorney

Mission Statement

Seeking justice with fairness and integrity.

Overview

The Office of the District Attorney serves primarily as the prosecuting attorney in the Superior Court of the Northeastern Judicial Circuit (Dawson & Hall Counties).  The District Attorney is responsible for the prosecution of felony criminal cases in Hall County and in Dawson County, prosecutes both felony and misdemeanor cases.

Accountability Courts

The District Attorney’s Office is an integral part of the accountability courts and other specialty courts within the circuit, including Drug Court, H.E.L.P. Court (a court addressing mental health issues of certain defendants), Veteran’s Court, Competency Court and REACT Court (a court addressing transition issues from prison to society.)

For more information on Drug Court and Mental Health Court (H.E.L.P. Program), please visit their webpage.

Juvenile Court

Juvenile Court prosecutes juveniles up to the age of 17 charged with delinquent activity and up to the age of 18 charged with unruly activity (runaway, ungovernable) who are charged with criminal activity. The focus of Juvenile Court is to supervise, treat and rehabilitate youth and is on a much faster track than Superior Court.

For more information on Juvenile Court, please visit their webpage.

Pretrial Diversion

The Hall County Pretrial Diversion Program conducted by the District Attorney’s Office is a 6-month program for some 1st-time offenders charged with minor property crimes.  The program was created as an alternative to Hall County’s usual criminal procedure. It gives a limited 1st-time offender the opportunity to go through the program, but only with the consent and cooperation of the alleged victim.

Satisfactory completion of the program will result in the offender’s case being dismissed or Nolle Prosequied (no conviction ever being entered). Those cases accepted into the program are removed from the court calendars; therefore, the judge and assistant district attorneys can turn their attention toward the more serious cases.

Victim Assistance Program

The Victim-Witness Assistance Program (also called Victim Advocates) in the District Attorney’s Office Provides the following services to all crime victims:

  • Provide information about the case and notification of court dates.
  • Offer referrals to other agencies (counselors and non-profit agencies that can help victims).
  • Assist with questions about restitution and applications for the Georgia Crime Victims’ Compensation Program
  • Advocate for victims in matters resulting from the crime.
  • Accompany victims to court.
  • Support victims throughout the criminal justice process.

Our advocates are available to help with these services.
You may contact the Hall County District Attorney Victim Services at (770) 531-6965.

Staff Contacts

Lee Darragh
District Attorney
(770) 531-6965
Katie Strayhorn
Director of Victim Services
(770) 531-6965

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Frequently Asked Questions

To apply for a court appointed attorney contact Indigent Defense at (770) 531-7087.

For Arrests Occurring AFTER JULY 1, 2013:

  1. In most cases, if a record restriction is applicable, this has already been done automatically.
  2. If you feel that you are entitled to record restriction, and believe your record to be inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading, you must contact the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC).
  • (404)-244-2639
  • gacriminalhistory [at] gbi.state.ga.us (gacriminalhistory[at]gbi[dot]state[dot]ga[dot]us)
  1. GCIC will provide procedure to view the record, and if necessary challenge the contents of the record according to O.C.G.A. §35-3-37(d).
  2. You may only contact GCIC regarding YOUR OWN criminal history.
  3. You at any time can consult an attorney regarding Record Restriction.

For Arrests Occurring BEFORE JULY 1, 2013:

  1. The process begins at the arresting agency.

Important Notes Regarding Record Restrictions

  1. Record Restrictions are governed by O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37.
  2. There are strict guidelines regarding which cases are eligible for restriction.

Please email HallDAORR [at] nejcga.gov (HallDAORR[at]nejcga[dot]gov).

Sometimes victims of crime ask us about “dropping charges.”  Since the charges in a criminal case are brought by the State of Georgia, individual victims cannot make the decision to “drop charges.”  However, the District Attorney’s Office always values and considers input from victims, and victims are always encouraged to communicate with our office as to their thoughts and desires on cases that involve them.

No, contact your attorney if you have questions about upcoming court dates.

A First Appearance is a defendant’s first time to see a Judge about their arrest.  If a defendant is arrested on charges and does not have a bond set at arrest and is still in the jail the next day after arrest, he will see a Judge and be advised of what his charges are and will be advised as to bond criteria.  This is usually done via video-conferencing in Hall and Dawson Counties.

A Committal Hearing is a defendant’s chance to contest the charges and have a Judge decide if there is probable cause to send the charges to Superior Court and the District Attorney’s Office for continued prosecution.  The Defendant can waive this hearing, in which case the charges are sent to the District Attorney for prosecution.  If a defendant wants to enter a guilty plea or negotiate a faster resolution of pending charges, they must be sent to the District Attorney’s Office first, so waiving the hearing can provide for a quicker resolution.  If a defendant wants this hearing, there is a chance the charges might be dismissed, although the State can present an indictment to the Grand Jury and re-arrest a defendant if the Grand Jury indicts the case even if it is dismissed at a committal.

An Arraignment is the defendant’s first court date in Superior Court.  It is the first time a defendant is called on to enter a plea in front of the Judge who is assigned the case for trial.  A defendant can plead guilty or not guilty.  If the defendant pleads not guilty, he or she can always change that plea to a guilty plea at a later date.  The law sets out certain timelines for filing Motions in a case that are also triggered once a defendant has been arraigned.

A Calendar Call is a court date when every pending case in front of a Judge is called in to announce as to whether that defendant wants a jury trial.  At the Calendar Call, the Judge will decide when the trial date is for each case on the pending case list.

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