What Is Habeas Corpus?

 

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Habeas Corpus
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Michael Kennedy McIntyre serves as an attorney with McIntyre & Associates, an Atlanta-based firm he founded in 1985. At the firm, Michael Kennedy McIntyre and his associates provide post-conviction representation for individuals who have been convicted of a felony in the State of Georgia. Mr. McIntyre and his team have experience helping clients with a variety of legal actions, including filing and litigating a state application for writ of habeas corpus. Habeas corpus petitions allege that an individual’s custody or incarceration is unconstitutional based upon what occurred prior to, or during, the individual’s trial or plea hearing. Habeas corpus is a complicated process with many possible claims that could lead to relief from convictions and sentences. The attorneys at McIntyre & Associates have decades of experience in identifying winning claims and litigating habeas corpus actions. They have the knowledge and the expertise to investigate, draft, and litigate habeas corpus actions in Georgia state courts. State habeas corpus relief can be sought by any individual imprisoned as a result of a sentence imposed by a Georgia court or by an individual who is not in physical custody but who is suffering from adverse collateral consequences (e.g., being on parole or probation) as a result of the individual’s conviction and/or sentence.

Sentence Reductions to Time Served

 

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Mcintyre & Associates
Image: georgiapostconviction.com

An established Atlanta-based law practice, Michael Kennedy McIntyre & Associates specializes in working with clients who have been convicted of a felony and are in need of post-conviction relief. Michael Kennedy McIntyre & Associates has worked with numerous clients to reduce the length of their sentences and, in some cases, has reduced their prison sentences to time served. In one case, a client had received a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence upon a conviction of statutory rape. However, the court was unaware of a new Georgia sentencing provision that allowed the court additional discretion in sentencing should certain conditions be met. The firm filed a Motion to Correct Void or Illegal Sentence to reduce the 10-year sentence, which the court granted. This resulted in the reduction of the client’s sentence to time served. Another case involved helping a client who had received a lengthy sentence to receive credit for the time already served before sentencing. This time had not been take into consideration upon sentencing. The firm remedied this situation, thus reducing the client’s prison term considerably.

Removal from the Sex Offender Registry in Georgia

 

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Michael Kennedy, Mcintyre & Associates
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From its office in Atlanta, Georgia, Michael Kennedy McIntyre & Associates works exclusively in the field of post-conviction representation. The firm advises clients on parole-related issues, in addition to representing those who wish to become free from the restrictions placed on them as a result of prior convictions. Michael Kennedy McIntyre & Associates maintains in-depth knowledge of Georgia’s sex offender registry and the restrictions placed on offenders. In one of the firm’s cases, it worked with a client who was placed on Georgia’s sex offender registry, in addition to experiencing numerous other restrictions and requirements, as a result of a conviction in a different state. The firm filed a petition to remove the requirements placed on the client in the client’s county of residence, which was granted. The result of the action was complete removal of the restrictions and requirements placed on the client, in addition to removal of the client’s name from Georgia’s sex offender registry.

How Does Parole Work in Georgia?

 

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McIntyre & Associates
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For more than 30 years, attorney Michael McIntyre has practiced exclusively in the field of postconviction representation. His firm, Michael Kennedy McIntyre & Associates, focuses on the needs of criminal defendants after conviction and assists clients with matters such as seeking parole. In most cases in the state of Georgia, a convicted person reaches their Parole Eligibility Date (PED) when he or she has served one-third of their custodial sentence. At that time, a hearing examiner rates the severity level of the individual’s crime and compares that to the related parole-decision guidelines set forth by the state. If the Parole Board determines that parole is advisable, it establishes a Tentative Parole Month (TPM).

During the process of parole consideration, the Parole Board reviews records related to the individual’s arrest and trial. The Parole Board also reviews the correctional institution’s report on the eligible individual, which includes information about his or her mental, physical, and emotional health, as well as accounts of his or her behavior and initiative while incarcerated. The parole decision incorporates not only these findings but also any information that the Parole Board receives from third parties. In the State of Georgia, any individual, including victims and prosecutors, may send information for consideration. All of this material helps the Parole Board to determine if, when the TPM arrives, the individual will be released on parole.