Selling Drugs Not A Great Way For Lawyers To Supplement Their Income

"Your go-to girl for criminal and DUI defense" has found herself in a bit of a legal pickle.

Here at Above the Law, we just love tales of attorneys behaving badly — one could even make a case that it is our bread and butter. So when we heard about a Mercer University School of Law graduate — self-described as “your go-to girl for criminal and DUI defense” — who found herself in a bit of a legal pickle, our ears perked up.

But what trouble did the lovely Ms. Holly Hogue Edwards find herself in? According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it is no minor infraction:

About 8:30 a.m. Monday, drug agents from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration arrested Holly Hogue Edwards on multiple charges, including four counts of distributing oxycodone and one count of distributing methamphetamine, Monroe sheriff’s spokeswoman Allison Willis said in an emailed statement.

The Macon Telegraph reports on allegations that Edwards sold the drugs to an undercover officer, though it wasn’t just random bad luck that got her into hot water. Apparently, she was the target of a criminal investigation:

An investigation began in early May after deputies learned Edwards might be “conducting illegal activities in Monroe County,” said sheriff’s office spokeswoman Allison Selman-Willis.

The probe revealed her involvement in the “use and distribution of illegal drugs,” according to the release.

The alleged incidents occurred in May and June, according to the indictment.

Edwards hung out her own shingle in 2009, after she was fired from Hogue & Hogue — a firm run by her former in-laws — for “an inability to work together,” as the Telegraph is reporting. Go figure.

It seems Edwards’s law practice may not be booming, as she has been given a public defender to represent her — though the judge left open the possibility that she’d still be on the hook for the bill:

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Magistrate Charles Weigle said his decision to appoint a public defender to represent Edwards was “a bit of a close call.”

He told Edwards the government can seek reimbursement for attorneys fees if it’s found that she has money to pay them.

Perhaps her apparent precarious financial position is why this attorney has allegedly turned to a life of crime.

Sheriff: Georgia attorney sold pills, meth to undercover agents [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Macon attorney arrested on drug distribution charges [Macon Telegraph]

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