John F. Connolly

John Connolly grew up in the Chamblee/Dunwoody area North of Atlanta . After graduating from Marist High School, John received a B.A. in Philosophy from Georgia State University. During his college years and for several years thereafter, John worked in his family’s construction business.

John graduated from law school at Georgia State University in 1993, where his honors included serving as Associate Editor of the Georgia State University Law Review. John practiced with Deming, Parker, Hoffman, Green and Campbell in Norcross, Georgia before moving his practice to Cherokee County in 1996.

John has conducted more than 75 civil and criminal jury trials in Georgia state and federal courts, including more than 40 criminal jury trials in Cherokee County. His criminal jury trials have varied from simple traffic cases to complex cases involving armed robbery and murder.

In addition to trial work, John has successfully negotiated countless favorable resolutions for his clients in cases where appropriate. In many cases, charges were completely dismissed, or his clients entered a diversion program, ensuring no criminal convictions. He has also argued many motions hearings, and, in many cases, had evidence suppressed or charges dismissed when his client’s rights were violated.

In total, John has aggressively, passionately and effectively defended a wide variety of criminal prosecutions that include Driving Under the Influence (DUI), Drug Possession, Sale and Trafficking, Theft, Family Violence, Aggravated Assault, Kidnapping, Armed Robbery, Rape, Child Molestation, Shaken Baby, Child Cruelty, and Murder.

John has also handled numerous civil cases, including construction and other business lawsuits.

John’s first three years of practice were dedicated primarily to personal injury cases, and he has continued to handle such cases throughout his legal career. He has litigated hundreds of motor vehicle accident, slip and fall, premise liability, products liability, wrongful death, and medical malpractice cases. He has also represented numerous clients at hearings in both Worker’s Compensation and Social Security Disability cases.

With his years of experience, John is skilled in gathering the medical and other evidence necessary for all types of injury and disability cases. His office works closely with doctors to obtain the necessary reports to successfully handle cases for his clients These and other efforts have allowed him to successfully negotiate very favorable settlements in hundreds of large and small accident and injury cases.

John’s areas of practice include:

• DUI, Drugs & Criminal Law
• Shaken Baby and Child Cruelty Defense
• Accidents and Personal Injury
• Worker’s Compensation
• Social Security Disability
• Construction and Business Litigation
• Step-Parent and other Adoptions
• Juvenile Court
• Appellate Work

Sample cases:

• Clark vs. Messer Industries, Inc., 222 Ga. App. 606 (1996)
• Cary vs. Dept. of Children & Youth Services, 235 Ga. App. 103 (1998)
• Harris vs. State, 247 Ga. App. 41 (2001) (trial counsel)
• Page vs. State, 250 Ga. App. 494 (2001) (trial counsel)
• Belluso vs. Tant, 258 Ga. App. 453 (2002)
• In re DWB, 259 Ga. App. 662 (2003)
• Bailey vs. Hall, 267 Ga. App. 222 (2004)
• Wright vs. State, 271 Ga. App. 157 (2004)
• Murphy vs. State, 272 Ga. App. 287 (2005)
• Davis vs. Rathel, 273 Ga. App. 183 (2005)
• Maskivish vs. State, 276 Ga. App. 701 (2005)
• Keith vs. State, 279 Ga. App. 819 (2006)
• Milk vs. Total Pay & HR Solutions, Inc., 280 Ga. App. 449 (2006)
• In re CM, 282 Ga. App. 502 (2006)
• In re JRR, 281 Ga. 662 (2007)
• Cole vs. State, 284 Ga. App. 246 (2007) (trial counsel)
• In re BS, 292 Ga. App. 596 (2008)
• Rosser vs. State, 284 Ga. 335 (2008) (trial counsel)
• Handy vs. State, 298 Ga. App. 633 (2009)
• In re JJ, 299 Ga. App. 271 (2009)
• In re SK, 301 Ga. App. 35 (2009)

John lives with his wife and family in the Woodstock area of Cherokee County, and is very active in his church and other community organizations.

John’s memberships include:

• St. Michael the Archangel Church, Woodstock, Georgia
• Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Georgia Public Defender Standards Council
• American Center for Law and Justice
• Knights of Columbus, St. Michael the Archangel Church, Woodstock, Georgia
• Past Board Member, Keep Cherokee Beautiful/Cherokee County Recycling Center
• Past Board Member and Baseball Coach, South Cherokee Recreation Authority (SCRA Baseball), Woodstock, Georgia (1998-2008)
• Pony and Colt Baseball Coach, Shaw Park, Marietta, Georgia (2008-present)
• Den Leader, Cub Scouts Pack 4900, Woodstock, Georgia
• Past Committee Member, Boy Scouts Troop 8880, Canton, Georgia
• Appalachian Trail Conservancy
• Kennesaw Mountain Historical Association

John’s hobbies include:

• Hiking
• Camping
• Fishing
• Snow Sports
• Reading
• Gardening