Areas of Practice
- Criminal Trial Practice State and Federal Courts
- Criminal Appellate Practice State and Federal Courts
Recognitions & Honors
- Best Lawyers in America
- Super Lawyer in Georgia
- Rees Smith Achievement For Excellence Award (sixth lawyer to receive this recognition in the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ 35-year history)
- American College of Trial Lawyers
- Ten Leaders Award, Criminal Defense Law
Author of
- Doug Peters, DEFENSE OF THE CHILD MOLESTATION CASE IN GEORGIA, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers — Updated yearly for distribution through Georgia Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers.
- Doug Peters & Bobby Lee Cook, COMPUTER SIMULATION IN THE DEFENSE OF CRIMINAL CASES: THE LAW IN GEORGIA, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (1999)
Education
- University of Georgia School of Law, 1974, J.D.
- University of Georgia, 1971, B.A.
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
Douglas N. Peters
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.
Doug 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 more than 2,000 association members. Doug lectures nationally as well as locally to judges, lawyers, investigators, and other professionals and also organizes, moderates, and serves as keynote speaker for his annual Georgia seminar on the defense of the child molestation case in Georgia.
Doug recently received the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Rees Smith Achievement for Excellence Award, and was the sixth lawyer to receive this recognition in the associations’s 35-year history. Doug is listed in Best Lawyers in America and, in surveys of 24,000 practicing lawyers in Georgia, Doug has repeatedly been recognized as as Super Lawyer in Georgia.
Doug’s representation of his clients has resulted in local and national television appearances, including The Today Show and On the Record with Greta Van Susteren. Doug has represented defendants in high profile homicide prosecutions including the “Dunwoody Daycare Murder” case, the Fulton County motorcycle shop shooting by Atlanta Police Officers, and the double murder case against dentist Dr. Bart Corbin. 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).
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. 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. Doug also served as co-counsel in the case of Goldstein v. State, 640 S.E.2d 599 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.
Notable Cases
- Child Sexual Abuse Cases
- Murder / Homicide / Aggravated Assault Cases
- Child Physical Abuse / Shaken Baby Syndrome Cases
- Appellate Cases
In the News
- Neuman to Plead Insanity in Dunwoody Day Care Shooting
- Neuman's Lawyers Raise Insanity
- Accused killer's lawyers are familiar with demanding cases
- Hemy Zvi Neuman Indicted by DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office In Dunwoody Day Care Killing Case
- Attorneys Doug Peters and Robert Rubin interviewed on TODAY SHOW about Dunwoody Day Care Killing Case
- Decatur Law Firm Peters, Rubin, & Sheffield Selected as Defense Team for Alleged Shooter in Dunwoody Day Care Killing Case
- Peters and Rubin present first successful “Sexsomnia” defense in Child Molestation case in Georgia Morgan County Jury takes less than 2 hours to acquit Defendant.
- Defendant acquitted of Child Molestation charges, Community gathers to congratulate defense team led by attorneys Doug Peters and Bob Rubin.
- Attorney Doug Peters applauds Paulding County Jury for courageous verdict, Jury returns verdicts of Not Guilty on all counts alleging Defendant caused permanent brain damage and blindness resulting from Shaken Baby Syndrome.
- Peters’ client found innocent, Defendant collapses in courtroom at the announcement of Gwinnett County jury verdicts of Not Guilty on charges of Aggravated Child Molestation claimed by 2 children.
- Doug Peters presents expert testimony that interviews of 6 alleged child victims by police and DFACS were improper and unreliable, Former foster father found Not Guilty on all charges
- Attorney Doug Peters featured in 48 HOURS Special following Not Guilty Verdict in Babysitter Murder case alleging Death of Child from Sexual Assault and Shaken Baby Syndrome.
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
- National Child Abuse Defense & Resource Center, Member
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
Former Positions Held
- Assistant District Attorney, Clayton Judicial Circuit, 1974-1976
- Judge, Municipal Court for City of Lithonia, 1977-1992
Speaking Engagements
- Organizer, Moderator, and Keynote Speaker for the Annual Seminar on the Defense of a Child Molestation Case in Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia. Sponsors have included 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,
Examples of topics covered: Investigation, Trial Preparation, Opening Statuent, Medical Expert Testimony, Psychological Expert Testimony, Cross Examination of the Alleged Victim, Closing Argument. - October 2011, Georgia Innocence Project, The Shaken Baby Syndrome: A Juror's Guide to the Truth, Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
- March 2011, Idaho Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Trial of the Child Molestation Case: The Final 60 Days, Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.
- October 2010, Criminal Defense Seminar sponsored by Lister & Holt, Preparation and Presentation of the Defendant’s Testimony, Jonesboro, Georgia.
- August 2010, National Child Abuse Defense and Resource Center, Shaken Baby Syndrome: The Biomechanical Issues, Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- June 2010, Georgia State Bar, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Mentor for Attendees, Gary Christy Memorial Trial Skills Clinic, Athens, Georgia.
- April 2010, The Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The Child Abuse Case: Post Conviction Preparation and presentation of Expert Testimony, Conference on Litigating Non-DNA Post-Conviction Innocence Cases, Atlanta, Georgia.
- March 2010, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, On Trial: A War of Many Battles, Conference at Stone Mountain, Georgia.
- August 2009, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Jury Selection in the Child Victim Case, Conference on Voir Dire in Criminal Cases, Atlanta, Georgia.
- March 2009, Fulton County, Georgia, Public Defender’s Office, Child Abuse Cases: Current Case Law, Workshop at Atlanta, Georgia.
- March 2009, Indiana Public Defender Council, Investigation, Discovery, Motions in Limine, and Similar Transactions in the Child Abuse Case, Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.
- January 2009, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, So the Confession is Coming In, So What: Building a Defense When Your Client has Admitted the Crime (The Issue of False Confession Evidence), Winter Seminar, Atlanta, Georgia.
- 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.
