Georgia

Changing to daylight savings time on courthouse clock ‘a tough climb’

Springing forward to daylight savings time can be a real challenge when you’re dealing with a historic courthouse clock. It isn’t simply the four faces and the complicated antique mechanism but the climb—initially, on an old staircase with narrow treads and then on several ladders to get to the clock…

Mar 14, 2016 5:00 PM CDT

Lawyer in sex-tape case ordered to pay $198K for unnecessary litigation

A lawyer representing a woman who secretly videotaped a sexual encounter with Waffle House chairman Joe Rogers Jr. has been ordered to pay $198,000 in legal fees for unnecessary litigation. Judge Eric Richardson of Fulton County ordered lawyer David Cohen to pay the legal fees for litigation on behalf of…

Mar 7, 2016 8:29 AM CST

Jury awards $175K in false imprisonment case against private probation company

An Augusta, Georgia, jury on Friday found that a private probation company repeatedly jailed a probationer for simply not being able to pay its fees. The jury awarded her $50,000, plus attorney fees of $125,000, the Augusta Chronicle reports. The trial in Richmond County Superior Court was the first of…

Feb 29, 2016 3:05 PM CST

Former law firm managing partner is indicted for alleged $20M embezzlement

The former managing partner of Morris Hardwick Schneider is accused in a federal indictment of embezzling more than $20 million from the law firm and its affiliated title agency. The Feb. 9 indictment accusing Nathan Hardwick IV was unsealed on Monday, according to the Daily Report (sub. req.), the Atlanta…

Feb 23, 2016 8:14 AM CST

Judge allows suit against lawyers for client’s secret video of Waffle House chairman

A Georgia judge has refused to toss a lawsuit against two lawyers accused of encouraging their client to make a secret video of a sexual encounter with Waffle House chairman Joe Rogers Jr. for a sexual harassment claim. Ruling on Wednesday, Judge Robert Leonard II of Cobb County allowed the…

Feb 19, 2016 5:45 AM CST

Casemaker agrees state law isn’t copyrightable, won’t defend Fastcase suit

Saying that he is “mystified” by a lawsuit filed against Casemaker by a competitor after a reported takedown demand by Casemaker, the legal publisher’s CEO said the company will not defend the declaratory judgment action. The federal suit filed in Atlanta by Fastcase Inc. seeks “a declaration that state law…

Feb 18, 2016 2:00 PM CST

Accused killer can’t be retried after judge’s mistaken mistrial ruling, state high court says

The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday ruled that an accused killer can’t be retried because the trial judge mistakenly declared a mistrial after the defense gave its opening statement. The court said that requiring the defendant, Geary Otis, to be retried would violate the ban on double jeopardy, report the…

Feb 10, 2016 8:08 AM CST

Fastcase sues Casemaker for takedown demand, says Georgia administrative rules can’t be copyrighted

In the latest battle over attempts to assign and enforce publishing rights over state law, two online legal research services are girding up for a federal court fight. Responding to a December takedown demand from Lawriter LLC, which does business as Casemaker, the competing Fastcase Inc. filed suit in federal…

Feb 8, 2016 1:35 PM CST

Lawyer faces false imprisonment charge over firing of worker

A Georgia lawyer is facing a criminal charge of false imprisonment over his handling of the termination of an employee of the Augusta Warrior Project. Wright McLeod, who is a member of the AWP board of directors, allegedly entered the employee’s office along with the AWP staff director, told the…

Feb 4, 2016 2:40 PM CST

Georgia judge under investigation for racial slur retires

A Georgia state judge reportedly being investigated for uttering a racial slur from the bench has announced his retirement. Appalachian Judicial Circuit Judge Roger Bradley, in a letter to Gov. Nathan Deal, said he would retire at the end of the month, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The judge…

Jan 25, 2016 5:05 PM CST

Feds indict 51 people in scams run from Georgia prison

Federal prosecutors in Atlanta have obtained indictments against 51 people for alleged scams run from a state prison with the use of contraband cellphones. Among those indicted were 15 current or former correctional officers and 19 current or former inmates at the prison, report the Associated Press, WSBTV and the…

Jan 21, 2016 12:43 PM CST

Convicted man whose request to represent himself was ‘virtually ignored’ gets new murder trial

The Georgia Supreme Court has unanimously reversed the 2010 murder conviction of a defendant who asked to represent himself but then saw his request “virtually ignored” both by the trial court and his own lawyer. A hearing should have been held to determine if Ulysses Wiggins had made a knowing…

Jan 19, 2016 3:45 PM CST

Georgia law firm accused of running more like ‘a factory’ agrees to $3.1M settlement

A Georgia law firm has agreed to pay $3.1 million to resolve allegations that it “operates less like a law firm than a factory” in its collection of consumer debt. Frederick J. Hanna & Associates resolved the suit by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without admitting wrongdoing, report the Daily…

Dec 29, 2015 10:25 AM CST

Lawyer accused of stealing $400K pleads guilty

A Georgia lawyer has taken a plea after stealing more than $400,000 from clients, authorities say. Donald Carlton Gibson pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in federal court in Brunswick, and admitted keeping for his own purposes $80,000 in funds a client had given him to settle a…

Dec 15, 2015 3:10 PM CST

Law student seeking government office is charged with murder in death of foster child

An Emory University law student who had announced plans to run for a seat on the Henry County, Georgia, commission is now facing a murder charge. Jennifer Rosenbaum, 27, is accused of starving and beating a young foster child for months before the girl’s Nov. 17 death. Rosenbaum’s 26-year-old husband,…

Dec 10, 2015 3:20 PM CST