Working with Law Enforcement?

I work very hard to keep good relationships with the numerous agencies, victims, witnesses, attorneys and the general public that the solicitor's office interacts with while also meeting the goals and duties of the office. Two examples of this effort are that  I assigned each officer trial dates so that all of his or her cases can be grouped together, thereby lessening the impact on the officer's work schedule and off time.  I also developed the process and obtained approval of the Magistrate to allow officer's to be able to fill out warrant applications at the jail rather than having to wait several hours after their shift ended early in the morning or come in several hours before their shift began to do the paperwork in the Magistrate's Office.  Besides saving a lot of the citizen's money, this lessens the impact on the officers off time.

Does Robert Stokely Keep an “Open Door” Policy?

I am available by cell phone 24/7 and I often meet with law enforcement officers, victims, witnesses and concerned citizens.  It is unfortunate that the Fulton County Courthouse shootings has caused all courthouses to have more hardened security, which unfortunately now means that access is controlled into the various offices in the courthouse.  The Coweta County Solicitor's Office is under the same security plan as all other offices in the Courthouse.  As such only the Solicitor's Staff, Sheriff's Secuirty Staff, Information Technology or County Building Maintenance has direct and open access to the secured area of the Solicitor's Office.  When any other persons are here to see us, and we know who they are and who they wish to see, they are granted access to meet with the Solicitor or appropriate Solicitor's Staff member.   HERE IS MY PERSONAL CELL PHONE NUMBER GIVEN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CITIZENS AND ANYONE CAN CALL ME WITH A QUESTION OR CONCERN:  678-416-1387.  MY EMAIL ADDRESS is a great way to communicate as I can respond 24 / 7 without waking the other person up - quite often I may look at emails late or in the middle of the night.   This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Caseload and Docketing?

There will always be a delay between the time an arrest is made and when a case comes to court. However, the office is functioning so well that the state court had to add another judge in 2005 and the solicitor’s office processing cases in such volume that all the court's schedule for the remainder of 2008 is already booked as of May and the court is now adding new court sessions.

DUI and Open Container Cases?

My position is strong on DUI and open container cases, so much so that some DUI Defense attorneys want to get rid of me because I will not "go along" with their desire to give their clients a free pass or reduced charge.  When the open container law was changed in 2001 it presented a format that made proving the case next to impossible as the law was written, except and unless the alcohol were tested.  However, Robert Stokely developed a strategy and worked with law enforcement on how to document the case through circumstantial evidence and has been successfully prosecuting open container cases, including  cases Caraway vs. State case, a DUI/Open Container case conviction that was upheld by the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Cases Involving Furnishing Alcohol To Minors - O.C.G.A. 3-3-23?

The Solicitor’s office prosecutes any and all cases where the evidence and law support the prosecution of the case. There is a general misunderstanding that simply furnishing  alcohol to someone under age 21 without asking for their ID is a violation in and of itself.  However, that is not the case.  Georgia Law states that no person may knowingly furnish alcohol to a person under 21 - whether selling or giving it to the underage person.  Asking for an ID comes into play under O.C.G.A. 3-3-23(h) if a reasonable and prudent person who is furnishing alcohol can reasonably be in doubt as to whether or not the person they are giving/selling the alcohol to is actually 21.  As such, it is an essential element of prosecuting sale of alcohol underage cases to have it well documented that the person being furnished alcohol reasonably appears to be less than 21 years of age.  I have taken the experience and procedures of other offices such as Athens/Clarke County and those I learned back in 1999 when I worked with the Georgia State Patrol and the Federal Task Force prosecuting cases for sale of tobacco underage. With these tried and proven procedures, agressive and effective case prosecution has taken place and will continue to do so.