Douglas N. Peters Email
Douglas N. Peters graduated from the University of Georgia, B.A. in 1971 and the University of Georgia School of Law, J.D., in 1974. Following his graduation from law school he served as Assistant District Attorney (Clayton Judicial Circuit) and as Judge of the Municipal Court for the City of Lithonia, before founding what is now known as Peters, Rubin & Sheffield, P.A. He is past president of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and has served as chairman of the association’s Research Services Committee. He also is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and has recently been inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Doug is nationally recognized for his expertise in the defense of citizens accused of committing crimes against children. Doug is the author of THE DEFENSE OF THE CHILD MOLESTATION CASE IN GEORGIA, distributed through the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and available exclusively to the association’s over 2,000 members. Doug lectures nationally as well as locally to judges, lawyers, investigators, and other professionals and also organizes, moderates, and serves as key note speaker for his annual Georgia seminar on the defense of the child molestation case in Georgia.
Doug is listed in Best Lawyers in America; and, in surveys of 24,000 practicing lawyers in Georgia, Doug has repeatedly been recognized as a Super Lawyer in Georgia. In 2007, Doug was awarded the Rees Smith Achievement For Excellence Award by the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, an award presented to only six lawyers in the association’s 31 year history.
Doug’s representation of his clients has resulted in local and national television appearances including The Today Show and the Greta Van Susteren Show. His numerous acquittals include Court TV cases of State of Georgia v. Dr. Eva Carrizales (Neonatologist accused of strangling to death a premature baby under her care in the hospital) and State of Georgia v. Christopher Routh (16 year old babysitter accused of Aggravated Child Molestation and Murder of a 3 year old child, recently featured on 48 Hours).
In 1998, Doug authored the Amicus Brief on behalf of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in which the Supreme Court of Georgia reversed the conviction of the defendant in the case of Barlow v. State, 507 S.E.2d 416 (1998). The Barlow decision resulted in changing the law of Georgia to allow those accused of child abuse to present expert testimony to inform juries of the proper techniques to be utilized in the interview of child victims, as well as the unreliability of the statements of children when improper techniques are used. In 2006, Doug also served as co-counsel in the case of Goldstein v. State, 283 Ga. App. 1, 640 S.E.2d 599 (2006) in which the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of the defendant and outlined an emerging standard for criminal defense lawyers requiring utilization of proper expert witnesses in the trial of child molestation cases.
**For other notable cases which Doug has successfully concluded please download the following documents:
- Child Sexual Abuse Cases
- Child Physical Abuse/ Shaken Baby Syndrome Cases
- Murder/ Homicide/ Aggravated Assault Cases
- Appellate Cases
Areas of Practice
- Criminal Trial Practice State and Federal Courts
- Criminal Appellate Practice State and Federal Courts
Bar Admissions
- Georgia, 1974
- Georgia Court of Appeals, 1974
- Supreme Court of Georgia, 1974
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, 1976
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 1983
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1983
Education
- University of Georgia School of Law, 1974, J.D.
- University of Georgia, 1971, B.A.
Professional Association Memberships
- Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1995, President
- Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1994, Executive Vice President
- Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyers Educational Foundation, Vice Chairman
- Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Chairman, Research Services Committee
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Member
- State Bar of Georgia, Criminal Law Section
- State Bar of Georgia, Chairman, Fee Arbitration Committee, 1997
- United States Federal Defender’s Office, Northern District of Georgia, Board of Directors
- Faculty, Georgia Institute of Trial Advocacy
Former Positions Held
- Assistant District Attorney, Clayton Judicial Circuit, 1974-1976
- Judge, Municipal Court for City of Lithonia, 1977-1992
Author Of
- Peters, Doug, Defense of the Child Molestation Case In Georgia, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (1998 to 2008) - Updated yearly for distribution through Georgia Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers.
- Peters, Doug, Cook, Bobby Lee; Computer Simulation in the Defense of Criminal Cases: The Law in Georgia, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (1999)
Speaking Engagements
- 1998-2008, State Bar of Georgia Criminal Law Section, Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Georgia Indigent Defense Counsel, Organizer, Moderator, and Key Note Speaker for the Annual Suinar on the Defense of a Child Molestation Case in Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia.
Examples of topics covered: Investigation, Trial Preparation, Opening Statuent, Medical Expert Testimony, Psychological Expert Testimony, Cross Examination of the Alleged Victim, Closing Argument. - November 2008, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Fall Suinar, Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Pre-trial Harper Challenge, Young Harris, Georgia.
- September 2008, National Child Abuse Defense & Resource Center, Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Pre-trial Daubert Challenge, Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- September 2007, Alabama Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Defending a Child Molestation Case, Conference in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
- November 2006, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Fall Seminar, Locating, Preparing & Presenting the Expert Witness, Helen, Georgia.
- September 2006, National Child Abuse Defense & Resource Center, The Winning Edge/The Right Ethics, Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- April 2003, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Spring Seminar, Preparation and Presentation of the Defendant’s Testimony, St. Simons, Georgia.
- June 2002, Georgia Trial Skills Clinic, Cross Examination of the Case Worker or Child Advocate, Athens, Georgia.
- July 2001, Georgia Superior Court Judges Conference, Defense of the Child Abuse Case: The Defense Perspective, St. Simons, Georgia.
- March 2001, Georgia Indigent Defense Council, Keeping Out the Bad and Getting in the Good: Motions in Limine and Pitfalls Regarding Character Evidence, Atlanta, Georgia.
- July 2000, Georgia Indigent Defense Counsel Seminar, Keeping Out the Bad Getting in the Good: Motions in Limine and Pitfalls Regarding Character Evidence, Mableton, Georgia.
- June 2000, Alabama Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Seminar, Impeaching the Alleged Child Victim Through Expert Testimony, Gulf Shores, Alabama.
- May 2000, Georgia Indigent Defense Counsel Seminar, The Behavior of the Alleged Victim: Investigation, Preparation and Presentation of Expert Testimony, Atlanta, Georgia.
- May 2000, Georgia Indigent Defense Counsel Bring Your Files Workshop, Child Molestation Cases, Atlanta, Georgia.
- October 1999, National Child Abuse Defense and Resource Center, Seminar Host and Instructor for Workshops, "Defending Against Allegations of Child Molestation by Pre-School Age Victims", Las Vegas, Nevada.
- May 1999, Georgia Indigent Defense Counsel Seminar, Recent Developments in the Defense of Child Abuse Cases in Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia.
- November 1998, Alabama Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Seminar, Jury Selection in Child Sex Abuse Cases, Huntsville, Alabama.
- November 1998, Alabama Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Seminar, Cross Examination of the Case Worker or Child Advocate, Huntsville, Alabama.
- October 1998, Georgia Indigent Defense Counsel Seminar, Character Evidence of the Defendant and the Complainant in a Rape Case, Atlanta, Georgia.
- August 1998, Georgia Indigent Defense Counsel Seminar, Keeping out the Bad and Letting in the Good: Motion in Limine and Pitfalls Regarding Character Evidence, Atlanta, Georgia.
- April 1998, Georgia Indigent Defense Counsel Bring Your Files Workshop, Child Molestation Cases, Atlanta, Georgia.
- May 1997, Institute of Continuing Legal Education Seminar, Pre-Trial Preparation: Preparing the Client, Atlanta, Georgia.
- March 1997, Georgia Indigent Defense Counsel Seminar, The Use of Experts in the Defense of the Child Molestation Cases, Atlanta, Georgia.
- October, 1996, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Fall Seminar, Taking the Offense in Defending Alleged Crimes Against Children, Helen, Georgia.
- April 1994, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Spring Seminar, Preparation and Presentation of the Defendant's Testimony, St. Simons, Georgia.
- May 1993, Georgia Indigent Defense Counsel Seminar, How To Try a Child Molestation Case, Atlanta, Georgia.
- April 1991, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Spring Seminar, Use of Experts in the Defense of Child Molestation Cases, St. Simons, Georgia.