JESSICA R. TOWNE

Clark & Towne, P.C.
1995 to present

Jessica Towne is a respected attorney and former Gwinnett County prosecutor.  She is the author of "How to Choose a Georgia DUI Lawyer," and the popular blog of the same name  found on the clarktowne.com website.   Over her twenty-year legal career, she has given dozens of lectures on constitutional law, trial practice, and the admissibility of scientific evidence in court.  She is a member of many legal societies, and as served as President of both the Gwinnett County Bar Association and the Criminal Defense Section of Gwinnett County Bar Association, and as the Vice President of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Ms. Towne's DUI courtroom expertise was firmly established in 1999, when she and her partner, David Clark, won Love v. State, which struck down Georgia's DUI-marijuana law as unconstitutional.  That same year, they kept laser speeding guns from being used in Georgia.  (The short-lived victory was hastily undone by the Georgia Legislature, which feared loss of revenue and passed a law stating that any police anywhere can use any laser gun.) Since then, Ms. Towne has won numerous key cases, while continuing to bring justice to her clients in the areas of DUI, traffic law, and similar offenses .  Her law practice, Clark & Towne PC, is located in Lawrenceville, just outside Atlanta, GA.

Other Experience

Assistant Solicitor, State Court of Gwinnett County

DUI Prosecutor, November 1989 - March 1995
Represented the State of Georgia in DUI and other misdemeanor criminal trials, including approximately sixty jury trials and two hundred non-jury trials. Wrote appeal briefs for the State and appeared before the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Education

University of Georgia School of Law
Juris Doctor, 1989
Outstanding Achievement in Moot Court Program
Winner, ABA Award for Professionalism.

Rutgers University
B.A., Theatre Arts, 1982

Memberships

• Member in good standing of Georgia Bar since admitted in 1989
• Member, National College for DUI Defense (NCDD) since 1999 (State Delegate 2004-08)
• Member, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers since 1995 (Vice President  2006-08)
• Member, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) since 1995 (Lecturer 2004)
• Member, Georgia DODD exclusive DUI defense lawyer network since 1995
• Member, Gwinnett County Bar Association (President 1999-2000)
• Member, Criminal Defense Section of Gwinnett County Bar Association (President 2001)
• Admitted to practice, Georgia Supreme Court, Georgia Court of Appeals

• Faculty, Georgia ICLE DUI Defense Seminar, 1996 - 2001, 2003, 2006
• Faulty, NACDL/NCDD DUI Defense Seminar, Las Vegas, NV 2004
• Faculty, Handling ALS Hearings Seminar, May 2000
• Faculty, George Indigent Defense Council, Defending Drinking Drivers, 1999, 2000
• Faculty, Probate and Municipal Court Judges' Traffic Law Seminar, July 1997
• Faculty, Practical View of New DUI Laws, July 1997
• Faculty, Georgia Basic Litigation Course for Prosecutors, 1993, 1994, 1996
• Faculty, DUI Advocacy Training Seminar for Prosecutors, 1993, 1994 - 1996
• Instructor, How to Try a DUI Case From the Prosecutor's Prospective, 1992, 1993
• Instructor, Misdemeanor Case Law Update, Prosecuting Attorney's Council Conference 1993
• Instructor, Traffic Law, Gwinnett Police Academy, 1992
• Co-Editor and Author, What Prosecutors Want the Police to Know About DUI, 1992 -  1994
• Panelist, The Layman's Lawyer TV program on DUI law, 1994
  
  Speaking topics have included: Handling Administrative License Hearings, Cross-Examination of Arresting Officers, Organizing your Law Office, Investigating a DUI case, Case Law Update, Motions Practice, Ethics and Professionalism for the Criminal Defense Lawyer, Recent Advances in Excluding the Prosecution’s Case

• SUDDUTH V. STATE, 288 GA. APP. 541 (2007) Successfully challenged search of driver's pocket; conviction reversed as search exceeded permissible scope of pat-down search.
• LINDSEY V. STATE, 282 GA. APP. 644 (2006)  Successfully challenged conviction arising from warrantless search of man detained pursuant to a probate court committal order.
• WILSON V. STATE, 272 GA. APP. 291 (2005) Successfully challenged drug conviction of client who endured a "routine pat-down" by an officer who did not establish that client was a threat to officer safety or involved in the drug trade.
• STATE V. KACHWALLA, 274 GA. 886 (2002) Further clarified the DUI statutes; the court ultimately declared that there is no difference between "incapable of driving safely" and "less-safe to drive."
• LOVE V. STATE, 271 GA. 398, 517 S.E.2D 53 (1999)   Successfully challenged Georgia's DUI law regarding driving with "any amount of a controlled substance or marijuana" in blood or urine, on grounds that State's distinction between legal and illegal users of marijuana did not relate to legislature's purpose and violated equal protection.
• IZER V. STATE, 236 GA. APP. 282, 511 S.E.2D 625 (1999)    Successfully challenged the use of laser as a speed detection device.
• BROWN V. STATE, 268 GA. 76, 485 S.E.2D 486 (1997)    Unsuccessfully challenged the statutorily-created hearsay exception use of inspection certificates as evidence that breath testing devices have all manufacturer's parts attached and in good working order.