The Panitch Law Group, P.C.
Most Recent news and events
Bill Cosby, Joseph Dendy and those who protected them shouldn't get too comfortable
Hey, It’s Lies In Your Mailbox Season!
Change of venue for Ross Harris trial surprising at first, but correct move
First Lawsuit filed in Georgia....
Esther Panitch and Natalie Woodward have filed one of the first lawsuits in Georgia against a predator, pastor, church and the Boy Scouts for the cover up of multiple allegations of sexual abuse (to which he confessed to law enforcement) by a community leader and former Scout Master in Gainesville, Georgia.
Our client and the lawsuit will be the subject of this Sunday's front page story in the AJC. If you or someone you know has been or is a victim of sexual abuse (no matter how many years ago you were abused), you only have a short time to file a civil lawsuit for damages. Please call us so we can evaluate your case for no charge and direct you to resources so you do not have to continue to suffer. You are not alone. Please call us at 770-364-6952. Please click the following link for the full complaint that was filed:
Hidden Dangers - AJC Article
Dunwoody Day Care Trial-Attorney for Estranged Wife of Defendant
A live interviewed Esther Panitch, the attorney for the estranged wife of the Defendant in the Dunwoody Day Care Murder case. Ms. Panitch has attended the entire trial on behalf of her client to advise her regarding asserting her marital privilege to testify against the Defendant.
To watch the interview, click here
more news and events
Esther Panitch Interview on The Today Show re: Dunwoody Day Care Murder Trial
The Today Show interviewed Esther Panitch, attorney for the estranged wife of the Defendant in the Dunwoody Day Care murder trial regarding the remarkable testimony in this trial. To view the interview, click here.
Dunwoody Patch - Dunwoody Day Care Hearing to Quash Panitch Subpoena
UPDATE TO THIS STORY: On January 23, 2012, Judge Gregory Adams of the DeKalb County Superior Court granted Ms. Panitch's Motion to Quash the witness Subpoena served upon her by the murder suspect's defense counsel, allowing her to be present in the courtroom to advise and represent her client, the murder suspect's wife, during Mr. Neuman's murder trial.
* * * *
Defense counsel for the accused murderer of Rusty Sneiderman served a subpoena on Esther Panitch, the counsel for the suspect's estranged wife. This appears to be an attempt by the defense to keep Mrs. Panitch out of the courtroom during the murder trial. Read more in the Dunwoody Patcharticle to see why.
http://dunwoody.patch.com/articles/neuman-case-defense-asks-for-panitch-to-be-a-witness
A Live Video and Article re: Dunwoody Day Care Hearing on Psychological Evidence
The January 4th hearing held in the Dunwoody Daycare Murder case before Judge Gregory Adams dealt with the subpoena of Mrs. Panitch, as well as the request that certain evidence be turned over by defense counsel to prosecutors involving the psychiatric examinations and testing of the suspect by a psychiatrist. See the video and read the article with the comments of Mrs. Panitch.
http://dunwoody.11alive.com/news/news/96825-dunwoody-prosecutors-want-ga-murder-suspects-records
Westlake High School Beating & Violence in Atlanta Public Schools
Esther Panitch has been retained by the mother of a young man who was beaten in a classroom at Westlake High School, sustaining serious and lifelong injuries. Read what the Atlanta Journal reports about her eye-opening investigation into the circumstances and the overall culture in reporting these crimes in this December 5, 2011 article. Since her involvement, many other parents have called seeking assistance for their children who are victims of similar crimes and procedures in handling injuries of the victims.
Atlanta Magazine - The Dunwoody Daycare Murder Trial
Esther Panitch is also representing the wife of a suspected murderer in a domestic suit and as to the wife's rights as a potential witness at trial. See what Atlanta Magazine has to say about this unusual case.
https://www.legalwebpro.com/images/user/701_800/711/Atlanta_Magazine_October_2011_Article_Page_1.jpg
Expert Spotlight: Text or Pretext? New Georgia Law Creates Confusion
Esther Panitch comments on cases and laws from time to time in the media. Here is her latest warning to consumers on the new Texting Ban Law in Georgia appearing on Atlanta Daybook -- http://atlanta.daybooknetwork.com/
NewsCertified Expert Esther Panitch joins the Daybook Expert Network and provides some legal advice on what to do if you ever get stopped for texting and driving.
Article by Esther Panitch
It’s rush hour in Atlanta and you are traveling to your baby’s first checkup. You grab your cell phone to call the doctor and to let them know you are running late. A police officer sees you looking down at your phone and pulls you over. He accuses you of Texting While Driving (TWD) and writes you a citation. As you try to explain, he notices your bloodshot eyes and sees white powder on the car seat. He orders you out of your car and searches it without a warrant. In vain, you try to explain that you haven't had but 3 hours of sleep at any one time and the white powder is baby powder.
Can this happen to you? Absolutely.
As of July 1, 2010. TWD in Georgia is illegal. (S.B. 360). By all accounts from law enforcement officers, enforcement is difficult, evidenced by the fact that only two dozen citations were issued statewide between August 1 and August 20, 2010. Making and receiving phone calls and using your navigation device are completely legal, as long as you are over 18.
An officer can only be certain of TWD by seizing your phone and reviewing texts.
Should you give up your phone without a warrant? I wouldn't. And that is not even the real threat to your Fourth Amendment rights.
Several recent court decisions have upheld warrantless searches of vehicles based on an officer’s suspicion of probable cause under the “automobile exception” to warrant requirements under the Fourth Amendment. Your attorney can argue that no “reasonably discreet and prudent person” would have suspected you of another crime, but the officer made his call based on your bloodshot eyes” and the baby powder on the seat.
TWD is illegal, but even appearing to text may give the officer a pretext to search your car without a warrant. While it may be a mere, albeit nausea-inducing inconvenience for some, adding to the long list of “suspicious” driving, the TWD law gives law enforcement yet another opportunity to nudge the 4th Amendment further down a slippery slope toward the diminishment of our most cherished rights.