Paul H. Kehir

Director

I opened the Webpage for a Georgia Criminal Defense Firm and saw a Kangaroo…now you know why Carl and Kazuma are part of the Division that does mental health!

Education: AA, Business Administration, Union Junior College; BS, Economics, University of Tennessee; JD, Woodrow Wilson College of Law.

Background: Originally from New Jersey with a stop at Tennessee along the way. I have been the Director of FCCD since its inception. I handle all SB440 cases (juveniles charged as adults and statutorily mandated to Superior Court) and assist with bond motions and Master Calendar. Prior to FCCD, with the Georgia Indigent Defense Council in various capacities, including Director, Felony Trial Division; Interim Director, Mental Health Advocacy Division; and Supervising Attorney of the Drug Defense Resource Center. Before GIDC, I was in private practice, doing a lot of federal drug defense (including the Gumball and operation Southern Comfort cases) with some civil work. One of my most memorable cases was Bowen v. Zant, a death penalty case heard by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, en banc. The conviction was reversed. You haven’t experienced the true practice of criminal law until you get a call from the Warden at Jackson telling you that a judge in the boonies has signed a death warrant on your client and asking "Counselor, do you intend to file a habeas within the next 48 hours before the scheduled execution?" After that experience everything else became a bit more mundane.

I am a member of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys (as are all the attorneys in the firm); the American Bar Association; the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association; and the national Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. I serve on the Fulton County Criminal Justice Committee; the Fulton County Criminal Case Management Team; The Organization of Public Defenders of Georgia and the Supreme Court Committee on Substance Abuse and the Courts.

Enjoy giving people the resources and opportunity to be creative although I must admit, the Kangaroo and the fable certainly exceeded even my wildest expectations. I look forward to the development of this Website as an interactive medium for providing information to attorneys handling criminal cases in Fulton County. Don’t be shy with your advice and comments.

The picture was taken on a December sabbatical in Tennessee. I posted it with the hope that it would convey our wishes for a Happy Holiday Season for you and your family.

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