LEGAL EXPERIENCE
Pat has been a member of the State
Bar of Georgia since 1978,
and is admitted to practice before the
United States
Supreme Court,
United States Court of Appeals for
the 11th Circuit, the
United States District Court
for the Northern
District of Georgia, the
Georgia Supreme Court
Georgia Court
of Appeals and all
of the
Superior Courts,
State Courts
and lower courts in
Georgia.
He represented clients in both civil and criminal cases in the Federal, Superior and State courts until he was elected Solicitor (now Solicitor General) for the State Court of Cobb County in 1984. He served as the Chief Prosecuting Officer for the State Court of Cobb County from 1985 until 1993. While Solicitor, he served as President of the Solicitor's Association of Georgia and board member of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia.
Pat did not seek re-election to the office of Solicitor in 1992, and returned to private practice in 1993. From 1993 until his election as your District Attorney in 1998, he was again engaged in the general practice of law representing clients in both civil and criminal matters. He has served as your District Attorney since 1998 both conducting jury trials and directing the operation of that office. He has served in the capacity of a Chief Prosecuting Officer in Cobb County for over 17 years.
Since June 2002, Pat has been a member of the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Georgia. He has been appointed to serve on the following committees by the President of the State Bar: the Advisory Committee on Legislation, the Committee on the Judiciary, the Indigent Defense Committee, the Overview Committee of the Office of the General Counsel, Advisor to the Disciplinary Rules and Procedures Committee, Formal Advisory Opinion Board and the State Code Revision Committee. Pat was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to serve on the Georgia Board of Public Safety in November 2003 and reappointed in January 2006. This Board is the oversight board for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Department of Public Safety (State Patrol) and Georgia Public Safety Training Center. Pat also served as an instructor for several years at the Basic Prosecutor's Course conducted by the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia for new prosecutors.