Recent News

Criminal defense attorney Katie Gonos attended a seminar on DUI Detection & Standardized Field Sobriety Testing using the current National Highway Traffic Safety Administration manual, which is currently used by law enforcement.  The seminar focused on the three field sobriety tests used by law enforcement including the HGN test, the One Leg Stand, and the Walk and Turn test.  The participants studied the proper procedures in conducting the tests and the mistakes that are often made by law enforcement.  They were then asked to perform the field sobriety tests on test subjects. Part of the training involved a full day course on the Intoxilyzer 9000.  Georgia currently uses the Intoxilyzer 5000, but all municipalities and counties will have the Intoxilyzer 9000 by 2015.  The participants studied the differences between the two instruments and learned how to interpret test results.

At its Annual Gala in Atlanta, Georgia, Pope Langdale was installed as the Executive Vice President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association.  Pope will also serve as the Legislative Chair, along with Darren Penn, for the upcoming year.  Linley Jones was installed as President and Darren Penn as President-elect.  Pope also serves on the membership committee of the GTLA.

Since, 1956, GTLA has worked tirelessly to ensure that everyday citizens, Georgia families and small businesses are never deprived of their constitutional guarantee of access to true justice.  The Mission of GTLA is simple:  We are dedicated to protecting the Constitutional promise of justice for all by guaranteeing the right to trial by jury, preserving an independent judiciary, and providing access to the courts for all Georgians.

Continuing the campaign to end distracted driving, Pope Langdale spoke to Lowndes High School junior and senior classes today about the importance of good decision-making behind the wheel of a car.  He stressed that this is not just a teenage issue; adults need to make smart decisions while driving too.
Steps that can be taken for safer driving can be found here in the Family Safe Driving Agreement.

Recently, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association announced a year-round partnership with EndDD.org to kick off National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

In a joint effort with the Valdosta High School chapter of SADD, VHS junior and senior classes gathered to view a mock-accident where their peers were injured and killed, followed by a presentation by Langdale Vallotton, LLP attorney Pope Langdale.  The presentation outlined the examples of distractions, risks associated with distracted driving, and suggestions for eliminating those risks.

Attorney Tina Folsom delivered a Code of Ethics presentation to Albany State University education students and faculty on behalf of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators.

On March 21,  2014 attorney Pope Langdale presented a speech entitled Valdosta Victories – A Look Back at Three Important Legal Cases that Shaped the Valdosta-Lowndes County Community at a Georgia Legal History Foundation seminar in Albany, Georgia.  The speech detailed three of the most noteworthy criminal trials that have ever occurred in Valdosta over the last fifty years including: United States v. Eddie Ray Crockett, Jr. and Jewell L. Futch, State of Georgia v. Keller Wilcox, and State of Georgia v. Maurice Cassotta.

The mission of the Georgia Legal History Foundation is to preserve, analyze, and depict the legal history of the State of Georgia, especially that of the Supreme Court of Georgia, and other courts of the State and the Bar, and to disseminate that history for the purposes of educating the public and the legal community.