Summary: A lawyer in Georgia needed a public defender to represent her against distribution of drug charges.
Macon, Georgia attorney Holly Hogue Edwards was charged with three counts of distribution of the prescription drug oxycodone and one count of distribution of oxycodone and methamphetamine. She was served an arrest warrant for her charges during a traffic stop on Interstate 75 early Monday morning.
Edwards is a criminal defense attorney that has been admitted to practice in Georgia since 2005. She opened her own practice in 2009. Her latest case was representing a former employee of OrthoGeorgia, Melissa D. Zediker. Zediker was charged with theft for supposedly stealing roughly $100,000 from the clinic.
Before opening her own law office, Edwards worked as an assistant public defender for Houston County and as an associate attorney at Hogue & Hogue. She was fired from Hogue & Hogue because she was unable to get along with the owners, her former in-laws. She graduated from Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University.
She has been accused of selling drugs to undercover agents in Monroe County. The investigation into her began in May after receiving information that she may be “conducting illegal activities” in the county. The investigation determined that she was using and distributing illegal drugs in May and June.
She was released on a $15,000 unsecured bond Monday afternoon. Being arrest doesn’t guarantee a lawyer will be unable to practice law unless bar rules have been violated. If a lawyer is convicted, they will most likely be suspended from practicing until their appellate rights have expired. Then the bar will ask that the lawyer be disbarred.
Source: http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article31308044.html
Photo: hollyhogue.com