Felony Exposure for Telling Police Someone Else Was Driving

Attorney Answer

No one can honestly tell you whether she will be convicted — but you should understand that you both have criminal exposure now, and the two of you should not be sharing a lawyer or talking this through with each other.

On her charge, O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20 makes it a felony, punishable by one to five years, to knowingly and willfully make a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of state or local government. Georgia also has O.C.G.A. § 16-10-26, which makes it a misdemeanor to willfully and knowingly give a false report of a crime to a law enforcement officer or agency. A single false statement to a deputy at a crash scene can implicate both provisions, and which one properly controls the sentence in a case like hers is a genuine legal question for her defense lawyer to raise and litigate. I am not going to predict the outcome, but she should not assume the felony grade is fixed, and she should not plead to anything before counsel has looked at that issue.

Your own exposure is separate. O.C.G.A. § 40-5-121 criminalizes driving after a license has been suspended or revoked. And prosecutors look closely at who a false statement was made for, so do not assume the statement is only her problem.

On the injury side, the suspended license does not automatically wreck a claim. O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33(g) bars recovery entirely where a plaintiff is 50 percent or more responsible for the injury; below that threshold, damages are reduced by that share. Georgia is not a state where any fault ends the claim — but at 50 percent it does end. Driving on a suspended license matters only if it was causally connected to the collision itself, not merely because it was unlawful. The other driver receiving a ticket helps you on that point.

What you can do

1. She needs her own criminal defense lawyer, and you need a separate one. Your interests are not identical, and one lawyer cannot properly serve both. 2. Neither of you should give any further statement to police, to insurers, or in writing to each other. Texts about this are evidence. 3. Do not have anyone go back and "correct" the record on their own. A second changed story, made without counsel directing it, is usually worse than the first. 4. Attend every court date. A missed date turns a defensible case into a warrant. 5. Preserve the crash report, the citation issued to the other driver, and request any body-camera footage through counsel before it is purged. 6. Get the reason for your suspension and what reinstatement requires — that is fixable and it matters at sentencing. 7. Tell the insurer nothing further until your lawyer advises. A false statement about who was driving can also create coverage problems.