Georgia

After 2,000 Case Files Are Found in a Closet, Prosecutors Recommend Dismissals

A Georgia judge who discovered that her case manager had hidden more than 2,000 case files in a utility closet began hearing prosecutor recommendations on Tuesday about how to handle them. In the first of five hearings, solicitors in Fulton County recommend dropping nearly all of the first batch of…

Oct 18, 2012 12:09 PM CDT

Disbarred Lawyer Takes Plea in Attorney ID-Theft Case, Gets a Year in Prison Followed By Probation

A now-disbarred Georgia lawyer accused of impersonating another attorney and practicing in that lawyer’s name after his own license to practice was suspended took a plea Wednesday. Elliott J. Vogt, 34, who was also accused of forging legal papers while ineptly representing dozens of clients, pleaded guilty to theft by…

Oct 17, 2012 9:55 PM CDT

Judge Appoints Lawyer to Represent Pit Bull Facing Euthanasia After Attack on Child

A Georgia judge has ordered a lawyer to represent a pit bull facing euthanasia after an attack on a 5-year-old boy that required two surgeries. Superior Court Judge William E, Woodrum Jr. said he appointed Springfield attorney Claude M. Kicklighter to represent the dog, who is named Kno, “in the…

Oct 12, 2012 4:20 PM CDT

Probate Judge Indicted for Misdemeanor Sexual Battery re County Employee

A probate judge in Franklin County, Ga., has been indicted for misdemeanor sexual battery concerning alleged unwanted intimate contact with a county employee Aug. 16. Judge Eddie Fowler, who has served on the county’s probate bench for 16 years, is taking a leave of absence and due to retire in…

Sep 24, 2012 7:02 PM CDT

Accused of Providing Blank Arrest Warrants to Police, Georgia Magistrate Resigns

A county magistrate in North Georgia has resigned to put an end to an ethics investigation over his practice of distributing pre-signed, blank arrest warrants to local police. Murray County Chief Magistrate Judge Bryant Cochran resigned just two weeks after he won a third term on the bench, according to…

Aug 20, 2012 9:25 PM CDT

Georgia Supremes Grant Last-Minute Execution Stay, But Not Because of Inmate’s IQ

A Georgia death-row inmate whose case attracted national attention because of his mental disability claim has gotten a last-minute execution reprieve on a different ground. The Georgia Supreme Court granted the stay less than two hours before Warren Hill was scheduled for execution, report the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Wall…

Jul 24, 2012 2:16 PM CDT

Lawyer Says He Didn’t Trade Smokes, Drugs for Sex at Jail, Calls Contraband Claim ‘Just Plain False’

A Georgia lawyer facing criminal charges after authorities said he traded contraband cigarettes and painkillers for sex with female inmates at the Cobb County jail says there is no factual basis for the case. In an interview with WSBT, Michael Winner said “Sex isn’t going to buy me dinner. I…

Jul 20, 2012 6:05 PM CDT

Some Georgia Judges Close Courtrooms; Ethics Official Sees Possible Violation

In Georgia, some judges are banning the public from their courts, citing security concerns and the lack of space to accommodate crowds in small courtrooms. Appeals courts have considered challenges to the closures in four counties, according to the Daily Report. They are DeKalb, Fulton, Cobb and Towns. Another suit,…

Jul 3, 2012 1:43 PM CDT

Court in Atlanta Suburb Is Run by an Engineering Company

The Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs is taking privatization to a higher level. The town, incorporated in 2005, “has handed off to private enterprise just about every service that can be evaluated through metrics and inked into a contract,” the New York Times reports. Business licenses, building permits and trash…

Jun 26, 2012 1:05 PM CDT

Former US General Counsel for Glock Facing 7-Year Racketeering Sentence Argues for New Trial

A former general counsel and CEO for Glock Inc.’s operations in the United States is arguing for a new trial. Convicted in March of racketeering and theft, 56-year-old Paul Jannuzzo faces a seven-year prison term in the Cobb County, Ga., case, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. His lawyer, John Da Grosa…

Jun 25, 2012 11:08 PM CDT

Judge Nixes $850K Bail Reduction for Law Grad Accused in Dismemberment Slaying of Mercer Classmate

Stephen McDaniel won’t be able to get out of jail prior to his trial in the slaying of his law school classmate Lauren Giddings unless his bail is substantially, his lawyer told a Georgia judge. But Chief Judge S. Phillip Brown was not persuaded by attorney Franklin J. Hogue’s argument…

Jun 20, 2012 5:12 PM CDT

New Georgia Law Targets False Lien Filings by Sovereign Citizens

A new Georgia law is aimed at members of the Sovereign Citizens movement who file false liens to harass judges and other state officials. The law makes it a felony to knowingly file false liens against government employees, according to the Daily Report. The sponsor of the new law, Representative…

Jun 15, 2012 3:00 PM CDT

Lawyer Sentenced to Work in Sewage Treatment Plant; Prosecutors Cited ‘Sex God’ Text to Babysitter

A Georgia judge has sentenced an Augusta personal injury lawyer to 100 hours of community service at a sewage treatment plant for his conduct with an 18-year-old babysitter. Trial lawyer Joseph Neal Jr. was originally accused of sexual assault, the Augusta Chronicle reports. A misdemeanor plea deal was reached last…

Jun 14, 2012 3:14 PM CDT

A Delayed Heart Test and a Death in Three-Way Encounter Result in $3M Med-Mal Award

A Georgia jury is holding a physician and his medical group accountable for the death of a 31-year-old man who suffered heart failure while engaging in a threesome with his friend and a woman who wasn’t his wife. Jurors in Gwinnett County on Tuesday awarded $3 million to the estate…

May 31, 2012 12:25 PM CDT

Ga. Judge Dismisses 2003 Child-Murder Case Over Speedy Trial Violations

A Georgia judge on Wednesday dismissed all charges against a Savannah man accused of raping and killing his girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter in 2003 because of a series of delays that violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial. Although expressing concern that Bobby Lavon Bucker could potentially escape justice for…

May 30, 2012 10:57 PM CDT