Georgia Gazette Friday, June 5, 2009

Join host Rickey Bevington tonight for Georgia Gazette. On tonight's show... The state's top judges decide whether to sue Gov. Sonny Perdue over court funding. And, as Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears retires, how a Republican replacement could reshape the court. Where you can view Monet's water lilies. We find out how Georgia public school students performed on standardized tests. Plus, Athens band The Curdory Road has found a following in a town already filled with big-name acts. These stories and more tonight on Georgia Gazette at 6, 7 in Athens, re-broadcast at 11, hear our show any time at www.gpb.org/georgiagazette , and download a free podcast on iTunes.

Newt Gingrich Predicts Judicial Battle

Newt Gingrich says that a major battle is brewing over judicial power. The former House speaker and Georgian - speaking at the University of Georgia's law school on Tuesday - says he was astonished by a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage in that heartland state. Gingrich calls the decision "outrageously wrong" and says it demonstrated "judicial arrogance." Gingrich is mentioned as a possible Republican presidential contender in 2012.

(Associated Press)

Death row inmate seeks stay

Attorneys for death row inmate Troy Davis have asked the state Supreme Court to stay his execution while they appeal his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Davis is scheduled to be executed in one week, on Sept. 23. He was convicted of the 1989 murder of Savannah Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail. The Georgia pardons board denied clemency Friday for Davis after a day of hearing from eyewitnesses with lingering doubts about whether he killed the off-duty officer.

(Associated Press)

UGA President defends graduation speaker

University of Georgia President Michael Adams is defending his decision to invite U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to speak at graduation. Critics have said Thomas is an inappropriate guest after a year of sexual harassment scandals on campus. Adams says the opposition to Thomas speaking at the May 10 ceremony is more about his conservative political views and not about his past. Thomas, a Georgia native, faced a bitterly contested confirmation process for his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1991 after his former employee, Anita Hill, accused him of sexual harassment.

Nichols judge approves Supreme Court motion

In the case of accused courthouse shooter Brian Nichols … today the judge agreed to allow prosecutors appeal to the state Supreme Court his decision not to remove himself from the case. Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller granted a prosecution request to certify the issue for immediate review by the high court. Prosecutor are not happy with Fuller after he suspended Nichols' murder trial indefinitely. He tabled the trial because the state public defender's office cut off funding to Nichols' lawyers because of a budget crunch.

Supreme Court looks ready to back Voter ID

The Supreme Court appeared ready today to uphold the nation's strictest requirement that voters show photo identification before casting a ballot. That would likely mean Georgia’s photo ID would remain in place. Today's arguments were over a challenge to an Indiana law, supported by Republicans and opposed by Democrats. Critics call it a thinly-veiled effort to discourage elderly, poor and minority voters. But Justice Anthony Kennedy, often a key vote on the court, did not sound convinced by that argument, asking whether the justices were being asked "to invalidate a statute on the ground that it's a minor inconvenience to a small percentage of voters?"

Stay of execution denied

Today the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for a Georgia man. 63-year-old John Hightower is to be given a lethal injection tonight. He is being held at the state prison in Jackson south of Atlanta. Hightower was convicted of killing his wife and two stepdaughters in 1987. The execution will be Georgia's first in nearly two years.

Georgia man remains on death row

Today a Georgia man lost his Supreme Court bid to avoid the death penalty. The nation’s highest court refused to hear Troy Anthony Davis’ case. Davis was convicted in 1991 of murdering police officer Mark McPhail. Today’s decision ends 12 years of appeals and means Davis has no further legal recourse to get off death row.

U.S. Supreme Court sides with Georgia deputy

The United States Supreme court has sided with a former Georgia sheriff’s deputy … saying police officers can risk the life of a fleeing suspect to end a high-speed car chase. The Columbus-Ledger Enquirer reports that yesterday the court ruled 8 to 1 in the case of Coweta County deputy Timothy Scott. Scott rammed a fleeing car driven by 19-year-old Victor Harris … who ended up paralyzed when the car went into a ditch. In the majority opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, “A police officer’s attempt to terminate a dangerous high-speed car chase that threatens the lives of innocent bystanders does not violate the Fourth Amendment, even when it places the fleeing motorist at risk of serious injury or death.” The Fourth Amendment protects Americans’ from unreasonable police searches and seizures.