Bernard S. Brody

• Court of Appeals of Georgia
• United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia
• State Bar of Georgia, Criminal Law Section
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Supreme Court of Georgia
• United States District Court, Middle District of Georgia
• Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

• Dismissal of internet sting case in Cobb County Our client was a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was arrested as a result of an internet sting operation conducted by a detective with the City of Marietta Police Department.   The detective created a fake profile on Grindr, a gay adult dating app, stating that his name was “Eric” and that he was 19 years old. The profile had a picture of someone who clearly appeared to be 19 years of age. Our client then clicked on Eric’s profile believing that it was truly a 19-year-old. During their conversation, our client asked if he had more pictures and two more photos were sent to him by the detective. These pictures, like the one in the profile, also depicted someone who appeared to be at least 19 years old. After sending these pictures, “Eric” stated that he was really only 14 years old. Our client did not believe this due to the pictures which were not at all consistent with someone who was 14. Moreover, the manner in which the detective communicated was not consistent with the way a 14-year-old would. He did not use abbreviations or emojis like teens do and he used a lot of mature phrases. Plus, when “Eric” asked whether the client was ok with him being 14, the client asked “were those your pics?” After “Eric” responded “yea,” the client agreed to meet him. He was subsequently arrested and his case was indicted in Cobb County Superior Court. During discovery, it became evident that the detective failed to take a screenshot of the fake Grindr profile he created. As a result, there would be no way for us to show at trial the exact profile that our client responded to. This was problematic as he relied on the presentation in the Grindr profile in forming the belief that “Eric” was not 14 years old. We then filed a motion to dismiss the case based on the detective’s failure to preserve this critical piece of evidence that was favorable for the defense. We pointed out that at trial the State must prove that the client believed he was communicating with a 14-year-old child. In maintaining that he did not believe this to be the case, the most important piece of evidence for the client would be the Grindr profile that he initially responded to. This profile was the very first impression that the client had of “Eric” and would have been most influential in forming his belief as to his age. We argued that this profile would be essential evidence to show that the client was clearly reaching out to an apparent adult, and not a child – thus proving that he was not sexting with a minor as he was charged. Also, this evidence was critical in proving that the client was not predisposed to commit this type of offense which we would be required to prove to establish an entrapment defense. We also pointed out that the detective was quite conscientious to preserve screenshots of our client’s Grindr profile as well as all of their communications. Nevertheless, he destroyed the most favorable piece of evidence for the defense – the fake Grindr profile of the 19-year-old that he was originally portraying “Eric” to be. Following an evidentiary hearing, the court granted our motion to dismiss, ruling that the detective’s failure to preserve the Grindr profile amounted to a violation of our client’s due process rights. The court held that the fake Grindr profile was clearly exculpatory and that its exculpatory value was obvious to the detective at the time he failed to preserve it. The court concluded that dismissal of the case was warranted since the detective’s conduct violated our client’s right to a fair trial.As a result, the case against our client was dismissed.
• Click Here To See More Unmatched Record of Dismissals and Acquittals
• Child molestation charges dismissed against Gwinnett teacher We were retained to represent a Gwinnett County teacher who was falsely accused of sodomizing a 5-year-old boy.   The allegations against the client were heinous and there appeared to be physical evidence supporting the charges. The mother of the boy was a fellow teacher who had attempted to form a romantic relationship with our client. A couple weeks before the allegation, she learned that the client was dating another fellow teacher. On the day in question, she asked our client to babysit the child for a couple hours to which he agreed. That evening, she claimed that the child stated that he was sodomized by our client and she took him to the hospital where an examination was conducted. The examination revealed what appeared to be an injury consistent with anal sodomy. Our client was subsequently arrested. Our client adamantly proclaimed that he was innocent and suspected that the crime was fabricated by the child’s jealous mother. What could not be explained was the apparent injury noted in the medical examination. We spent several months interviewing friends and acquaintances of the mother until we finally found a woman who actually babysat for the child on the morning of the alleged incident. She told us that the mother stated that the child was suffering from diarrhea and could not go to school that day. The mother, however, never reported this fact to the police or to the medical staff at the hospital. The case was indicted in Gwinnett County Superior Court and our client was charged with Aggravated Child Molestation and Aggravated Sodomy. He was facing up to 50 years in prison. We filed a motion for a pretrial deposition of the child’s pediatrician. This is a procedure in Georgia that is unique to child sex offense cases where an alleged injury is reported. During the deposition, it was revealed that the child had been seen by the doctor just two days earlier for a GI disorder where it was reported that he was having constant diarrhea. We then retained a leading medical expert who was the head of Pediatrics at Emory School of Medicine. After a review of the medical records and the deposition transcript, she concluded that the injury discovered during the medical examination was likely caused by diarrhea. After presenting her findings to the DA’s office, the prosecution eventually sided with her medical conclusions over those of the State’s experts. We had interviewed ten other teachers who all stated that the child’s mother showed extreme jealousy and disdain towards our client. It was even reported by one of them that she stated that she “was going to get him.”After two years of work, we were able to convince the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office to dismiss the charges against our client. He is now happily married with children and has been able to move on with his life. 
• Sexual assault charges dismissed against Henry County doctor Our client was a well-respected doctor who was falsely accused of sexual assault by a female patient. Prior to us getting involved in the case, the client had been arrested by the police and indicted in Henry County Superior Court for the offense of aggravated sexual battery. As a result of the arrest, the client was at risk of losing his medical license as well as his private practice of 25-plus years. He was also facing serious sexual assault charges that could result in him spending the rest of his life in prison. In reviewing the records from the patient’s office visit, we noticed several glaring discrepancies. One of these was that the patient was using an insurance card that listed her as the spouse of the insured. However, court records showed that the couple had been divorced for almost two years. It became clear that the police conducted absolutely no investigation into this patient’s background. Once we conducted our own investigation, we unearthed a mountain of evidence that revealed a history of false allegations and fraudulent conduct. First, we discovered that the woman had been arrested for identity fraud. When we dug a little deeper, we learned that the identity fraud offense was committed just days before she was to be evicted from her apartment. We then discovered a long history of evictions and dispossessory actions, including one that was happening at the same time she was making these allegations against our client. Moreover, during the course of those proceedings, she made false allegations of sexual harassment against the apartment managers. In speaking with other landlords who had to evict this woman, we learned that she had tricked an elderly woman to allow her to live in her house for free and then attempted to get the 93-year-old woman to sign the house over to her. The list of this woman’s fraudulent schemes went on and on but unfortunately, the police did nothing to investigate her before making the decision to arrest and indict our client. Once we pieced together the timeline, our theory was that the woman falsely accused our client in the hopes of filing a civil suit against him. In fact, we learned that she had actually retained attorneys to investigate the filing of such a lawsuit. We were also able to show that the woman may had even been faking her ailment in the first place. We were able to present all of this evidence to the prosecutors who ultimately agreed to dismiss the aggravated sexual battery charges against our client. Now, our client is able to go on with his life and continue his successful medical career.  

• Bernard discusses the evidentiary issues and the accuser’s credibility in the Kevin Spacey case on HLN.
• On truTV's In Session, Bernard discusses what needs to be proven to establish self defense.
• In Session: Hear Bernard discuss the importance of trial preparation and using focus groups.
• Bernard appeared live on CNN to assess the closing arguments in the Jerry Sandusky case.
• On truTV’s In Session, Bernard evaluates the defense strategy in the Jerry Sandusky case.

• Georgia Super Lawyers, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, Georgia Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers
• Avvo "Superb" Rating and Client Choice Award, 2012
• Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2009, 2010 and 2011
• The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100
• Georgia Trend Legal Elite, 2012 and 2013

• University of Maryland, Degree in Criminology, 1993

• Cobb Bar Criminal Defense Seminar, Guest Speaker, Cross Examination Strategies in Sex Offense Cases, 2024
• GACDL Technology Seminar, Guest Speaker, Digital Evidence in Child Molestation and Porn Cases, 2019
• Cobb County Bar Association, Guest Speaker, Post-Conviction Consequences of a Criminal Case, 2016
• State Bar Of GA Annual Meeting, Guest Speaker, Computer Forensics for Lawyers, 2015
• GACDL Spring Seminar, Guest Speaker, What Lawyers Need to Know About Computer Forensics, 2015
• John Marshall Law School, Guest Speaker, Commencing Client Relationships, 2014
• Georgia Appellate Practice Seminar, Guest Speaker, Effective Oral Argument Practice, 2014
• GACDL Fall Seminar, Guest Speaker, Investigating Computer-Related Evidence, 2013
• State Bar of Georgia, Guest Speaker, Georgia Appellate Practice Seminar, Georgia Appellate Practice Seminar, 2012
• Family Law Winter Seminar, Guest Speaker, Defending Sex Allegations and Computer Crimes, 2011
• Clayton County Criminal Law Seminar, Guest Speaker, Georgia Criminal Case Law Update, 2011
• GACDL Fall Seminar, Guest Speaker, Georgia Criminal Case Law Update, 2011
• Federal Criminal Practice Seminar, Guest Speaker, Defending Federal Forfeiture Cases, 2010

• Weekend Express, HLN, 2019
• Backstory, CNN, 2011
• Across America, HLN, 2018
• News Center, CNN, 2012
• Dr. Drew, HLN, 2011
• In Session, truTV, 2012
• In Session, truTV, 2011
• On the Story, HLN, 2018

• GACDL
• NACDL

“A client facing sex-offense charges in Georgia cannot do better than to hire Bernard Brody.”