About Sam Sliger

About Sam Sliger

Sam joined McDonald & Cody in 2010 as an investigator after graduating from the University of Georgia. Sam attended John Marshall law School and graduated in the top 10% of his class. After law school, he then became an attorney practicing with McDonald & Cody. Since joining McDonald & Cody Sam has been an integral part in both the civil and criminal aspects of litigation. Sam has taken over the criminal practice with the senior partner and founder of the firm Doug McDonald. Sam also handles all civil forfeiture litigation where the State has taken people’s personal property. Sam has successfully argued his client’s cases to judges and juries throughout the State and in the Federal Court including the United States Court of Appeals for the 11^th Circuit which has jurisdiction over federal cases originating in the states of Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The circuit includes nine district courts with each state divided into Northern, Middle and Southern Districts.

Sam has litigated federal wiretap cases and has litigated them from Federal Magistrate Court to the Federal Trial Judge and then to the 11^th circuit Court of Appeals. Wiretap cases are extremely complex but there are a lot of requirements that the Government must meet in order to legally wiretap your cell phone.

One of Sam’s most impressive trial victories was in Federal Court with co-counsel Bruce Harvey. He represented a Probate Judge who was accused of Soliciting Bribes from 3 different people and that violated 18 U.S.C.A. § 666 Bribery Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds. Because this case was against an elected official and the alleged bribes involved a mix of money and sexual acts it was assigned to the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice. The Public Integrity Section (PIN) oversees the federal effort to combat corruption through the prosecution of elected and appointed public officials at all levels of government. The PIN prosecutors came down from Washington D.C. to try the case for the Government in downtown Athens, Georgia. Less than 1% of the PIN’s indictments actually go to trial and out of that 1% that go to trial very few are not guilty verdicts. However, the Jury came back after about 6 hours of deliberating and found our client not guilty on all counts.

Sam usually empanels 10 jury trials a year. Sam focuses on showing the jury what happened rather than telling them. Sam is a frequent speaker on courtroom litigation and has participated in seminars throughout the United States and has argued over 46 contested motions with a high success rate. Sam is married to Ashley Sliger of Gainesville and has a son named Bo and a daughter named Sloane.

His email is sam@mcdonaldcody.com.

Sam graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Economics from the Terry College of Business.

Sam attended John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, GA. while in attendance Sam received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for his legal writing and research skills. He was a member of the John Marshall Law Review with a 2013 publication. During his last year, Sam completed his externships with both the Hall County and Habersham County Solicitor’s offices.

While working with the Solicitor’s office Sam earned a certification on the Basics of DUI Prosecution at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC). Sam graduated early earning his Juris Doctor in 2014. He is a member of the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD) and has completed the curriculum in DUI Defense Law conducted at Harvard Law School.

Sam has completed the comprehensive course of study with the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) DUI and Standardized Field Sobriety Detection.

This has allowed him to help navigate the Defenses raised by bars and Defense attorneys when litigating car accident cases involving alcohol and drug related issues.

Sam Has also represented police officers and has stood up for their rights along with the rights of judges and prosecutors alike. Litigation on issues that involve Garrity rights which protect public employees from being compelled to incriminate themselves during investigatory interviews conducted by their employers. Sam was able to overturn a conviction where his client was in jail for over a year. See Zeigler v. State, 350 Ga. App. 716, 830 S.E.2d 256 (2019). The Court of Appeals, Reese, J., held that the defendant’s confession was not free and voluntary.

He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and the United States District Court. Sam was sworn in by Superior Court Judge Raymond George in White County and Senior Judge William O’Kelley in the Northern District of Georgia.

Sam Sliger is in charge of the criminal division of the law firm of McDonald & Cody, LLC and all civil forfeitures.

Sam has been an integral part of the team in litigating Product Liability cases such as AirBag Defects, Seat back Failure, Hotel fires started by faulty heaters, Defective guardrails, and defective safety restraint systems in cars and trucks.

Dram shop & Bar liability for Overservice, car and trucking accidents, crane injury, and injuries to people who have fallen through unprotected skylights on roofs.

To be effective, you do not have to be the smartest lawyer in the room, but you have to be the most prepared. Sam has recently lectured other lawyers on how to prepare for jury trials.