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  • Biography
  • Record of Success
  • Awards & Recognitions

MEET ANDREW FLEISCHMAN

Andrew Fleischman thought he wanted to be a bankruptcy attorney. But after spending a summer defending mostly homeless clients at the Municipal Court of Atlanta, he realized something: judges, police, and prosecutors often will not follow the law unless someone forces them to. That is the job of a criminal defense attorney.

Appellate Practice

Since 2011, Andrew has handled dozens of appeals, ranging from misdemeanor fleeing from police all the way to malice murder. He has argued many cases before the Court of Appeals of Georgia and the Supreme Court of Georgia, securing new trials, reduced sentences, and reversals.

He has won five cases at the Supreme Court of Georgia. One of them led the General Assembly to rewrite Georgia’s Rape Shield law.

Four Exonerations

Andrew’s appellate work has produced four entries on the National Registry of Exonerations — four people whose convictions were undone.

There is nothing easy about an exoneration. It is not enough to show that the evidence was weak, or that trial counsel was ineffective, or that the judge got the evidence wrong. It takes finding a legal error that plausibly affected the outcome and then persuading appellate judges who are inclined to affirm. Most appeals fail. These did not.

Teaching, Writing, and Amicus Work

Andrew is the amicus chair for the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, where he writes briefs on behalf of the defense bar in cases that will shape Georgia law beyond the individual defendant. In at least two cases, appellate judges have drawn from his amicus briefs — once in a dissent that preceded a grant of certiorari and a reversal, and once in an opinion for the defendant.

He has taught other lawyers how to argue, write, and defend their clients since his second year of practice, focusing on brevity, simplicity, and thorough historical analysis to find the best argument in each case. He has presented to Georgia’s Superior Court judicial staff attorneys on mistrials and curative instructions.

Andrew is a contributor to the Daily Report and has also written for Slate and Arc Digital, explaining complicated legal concepts to non-lawyers.

How Andrew Approaches a Case

Andrew writes simple, readable briefs to address complicated problems. If you give him a legal question, he will find the answer.

If you are considering an appeal, a motion for new trial, or a habeas petition, or you have been told your case is hopeless, call (470) 225-7710.

Andrew Fleischman has spent his career taking seemingly hopeless cases from conviction to acquittal. As an appeals expert, Andrew is known for both his thorough knowledge of Georgia law and his ability to concisely explain it. He has handled over 60 appeals – challenging Georgia’s laws and winning reversals for many of his clients.

Case History

  • THE STATE v. JONATHAN ADAM SMITH (2014) (Successful motion to dismiss State’s appeal)
  • REGINALD DAVIS v. THE STATE (2014) (reduced sentence from life without to life with parole)
  • THE STATE v. JENNIFER LEIGH ALLEN (defended successful motion to suppress)
  • MATTHEW JACKSON v. THE STATE
  • SANDRA STREETER v. THE STATE (reversed on count of credit card fraud on sufficiency)
  • FELICIA DICE v. THE STATE
  • THE STATE v. JEFFERY PAUL HUDSON et al. (successful motion to dismiss State’s appeal)
    JEREMIAH ODEN v. THE STATE
  • SHELDON MUSE v. THE STATE
    DOMINIQUE GILBERT v. THE STATE
  • TOMMY STROZIER v. THE STATE
  • BERNAL GERSON-VILLAFAN v. THE STATE
  • JEFFERY LEONARD JOHNSON v. THE STATE
  • RONALD LEVON MCDOUGLER v. THE STATE
  • DIGNO MEJIA v. THE STATE
  • JOHN PAUL SHIRLEY v. THE STATE (Got a remand and secured an acquittal as a matter of law)
  • JAMES HYNES v. THE STATE
  • CHARLES WHITE v. THE STATE (Lost at the COA on rape shield issue, got cert to SCOG, SCOG agreed that the State could not use rape shield evidence at trial)
  • ERNEST COOPER v. THE STATE
  • CHAD PHILLIP HOLLAND v. THE STATE
  • ANTHONY BAGGETT v. THE STATE (Trial court reversed on denial of statute of limitations argument)
  • DORIS WILLIAMS v. JUANITA DURDEN (Trial court reversed on statute of limitations argument in civil case)
  • CHRISTOPHER ANTOINE GLENN v. THE STATE (Wrote amicus brief that Judge McFadden drew from in his dissent. SCOG granted cert, trial court reversed)
    LEONARD AGUILAR v. THE STATE
  • ROBERT HOLZHEUSER v. THE STATE
  • NYDIA TISDALE v. THE STATE
  • ANGELIA COUNTRYMAN v. THE STATE (Lost on statute of limitations argument, but the COA had to reverse a lot of case law to get there)
  • JENNY CAROLINE JUDY HANKS v. THE STATE
  • NORRIS GIBBS v. THE STATE
  • JAVARICE BROADWATER v. THE STATE
  • KEVIN HITCHCOCK v. THE STATE
  • ERIC ESTRADA v. THE STATE
  • RUBEN ALVARADO v. THE STATE
  • MICHAEL BRAHAN LOVELL v. THE STATE (sentence vacated)
  • HENRY ARNOLD v. THE STATE
    NATHAN ACOSTA v. THE STATE
  • DONALD DELOATCH v. THE STATE
  • MARTA SONIA CORVI v. THE STATE (Conviction reversed for cruelty to children on sufficiency grounds)
    JESSICA SHAH v. THE STATE (conviction reversed on murder on jury instructional issue)
  • THE STATE v. ELGERIE MARY CASH et al (New trial in murder conviction affirmed)
  • BENJAMIN FINNEY v. THE STATE (Denial of motion to suppress reversed in murder case)
  • NICHOLAS WILSON v. THE STATE
  • AVERY L. BRYANT v. THE STATE (Murder conviction reversed because of problem with search warrant)
  • JERMAINE DEON WARE v. THE STATE
  • LEROY WILLIS v. THE STATE (SCOG ruled that murder conviction would have been reversed if not for recent change in “super plain error” rule)
  • DAMIEN SIMPKINS v. THE STATE
  • LARRION DICKERSON v. CLAY TATUM, WARDEN (New appeal granted. Reduced life without parole sentence to time served on remand).
  • LERENZO GASTON v. THE STATE
  • JERMONTAE MOSS v. THE STATE
  • ROBERT MILLER v. THE STATE
  • SARA WALKER v. THE STATE (Wrote amicus brief which SCOG drew from in its opinion for the defendant)
  • ANTONIO LAFONTA WILLIAMS v. THE STATE
  • ANTHONY TYRONE RUCKER, JR. v. THE STATE
  • CHAD L. HAUFLER v. THE STATE

Supreme Court of Georgia — Cases of Record

Andrew has appeared as counsel of record before the Supreme Court of Georgia in the matters below. Docket numbers are included so each entry can be verified independently through the Court’s docket search. Where the Court issued a published opinion, the decision is linked.

Direct Appeals

Petitions for Certiorari

  • S22C0140 — Kevin Hitchcock v. The State
  • S22C1143 — Eric Estrada v. The State
  • S23C1080 — Brandon James Lute v. The State
  • S24C0126 — Bryce Tebeest v. The State
  • S25C1384 — Jose Caballero v. The State
  • S25C0290 — Brendan Boley v. A1-Horton’s Moving Service, Inc., et al.

Habeas Corpus

  • S22H0239 — Adam Wells v. Steve Perkins, Warden
  • S22H0368 — Adam Wells v. Steve Perkins, Warden
  • S25A0124 — Alexandro M. Huitron v. Annettia Toby, Warden
  • S25H0414 — Granger Martin v. Walter Berry, Warden

Currently Pending

  • S26A1838 — Antavio Pierce v. The State
  • S26C1276 — Earl Porter, III v. Joseph Kidd
  • S26H0492 — Dallas Beck v. Trevonza Bobbitt, Warden

Certiorari petitions and habeas matters are frequently resolved without a published opinion, so no decision link is available for those entries. Listing a case does not indicate its outcome. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case.

  • Five wins at the Supreme Court of Georgia, including a case that led the General Assembly to rewrite Georgia’s Rape Shield law
  • Four entries on the National Registry of Exonerations
  • Amicus Chair | Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • Contributor | Daily Report
  • Contributor | Slate and Arc Digital
  • Presenter | Georgia Superior Court judicial staff attorneys, on mistrials and curative instructions
  • Selected to Super Lawyers | Criminal Defense, Atlanta
  • J.D. | Georgia State University College of Law