Wrongly-Jailed Man Freed

In South Georgia, Cook County authorities have freed a man who had been wrongly jailed for more than a year. Frank Hatley was put behind bars in June 2008 for not paying child support. The problem is the boy is not his son, which has been proven by two separate DNA tests and which the judge who ordered the payments acknowledged in court documents. Southern Center for Human Rights won Hatley's release at a Superior Court hearing Wednesday. Documents show Hatley has paid at least $9,500 in child support for the boy, who was born in 1987. Although he was released, Hatley's paternity case is still unresolved.

(Associated Press)

All Things Considered Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Join GPB Radio tonight for All Things Considered. Plans for the future of Georgia's water supply. Plus, abortion, business law and more talk of a "wise Latina woman" ... details on Day Three of hearings with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. These stories and more tonight on All Things Considered with Rickey Bevington.

All Things Considered, Tuesday July 14, 2009

Tune into GPB Radio tonight from 4 - 6:30 PM. Find out why Georgia schools scored higher this year on federal rankings. Plus, details of Day Two of Congressional hearings with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. These stories and more tonight on All Things Considered starting at 4 PM on GPB Radio. Join us!

Georgia Supreme Court Examines Riding Lawn Mower Case

It's got four wheels and a powerful engine. It can hit speeds of up to 40 mph.

But is a riding lawn mower technically a motor vehicle?

That argument is at the center of an unusual appeal before the Georgia Supreme Court Monday seeking to cut short the prison term of a man sentenced to 10 years after he was convicted of felony motor vehicle theft for swiping a riding mower.

The court's decision could help clarify what lawyers say is a murky definition for "motor vehicles" that may or may not extend to golf carts, industrial equipment and even racecars.

On the Net: http://www.gasupreme.us

(Associated Press)

All Things Considered Friday, July 10, 2009

Happy Friday! Join host Rickey Bevington tonight for All Things Considered. There are drug court, juvenile court, and now veterans' court. We visit the first in the Southeast. Plus, Rickey speaks with the producer of a new play in and about north Georgia called Headwaters: Birth, Death and Places In-Between. And the British Columbia Supreme Court decides whether women will ski jump in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. These stories and more tonight on All Things Considered starting at 4 PM on GPB Radio. Join us!

Federal Appeals Court Rules Board Member Cannot Sue

A federal appeals court says a Randolph County school board member cannot sue the county's board of registrars for changing his voting district because the change was rescinded before the election.

Henry Cook, a black school board member since 1993, claimed his constitutional rights were violated by efforts to change his voting registration - hence the area he represents - from a majority black district to one that's majority white.

The courts intervened, and the Justice Department concluded under the Voting Rights Act that the county failed to show no discriminatory purpose. The change was quashed, and Cook was re-elected in 2006.

The appeals panel noted Tuesday that "an attempted deprivation of constitutional or statutory rights is not the same as an actual deprivation."

Probation for Airport Sex Charge

A MARTA board member has been sentenced to a year on probation after pleading no contest to charged he had sex in a bathroom at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Court records show that a state court judge in Clayton County sentenced Edmund J. Wall to 12 months of probation, a $500 fine and 64 hours of community service. Wall had been scheduled for a jury trial starting on Monday. Attorney Keith Martin said Wall pleaded no contest to one count of public indecency last week, canceling the trial. Police said they found Wall and Michael Reid Pettry of Indianapolis engaged in oral sex in an airport restroom on March 13, 2007. Pettry pleaded no contest in February and was given the same sentence given to Wall.

(Associated Press)

GSU Accused of Anti-Muslim Bias

A Georgia State University professor and a former student accuse the institution of being anti-Muslim. They say GSU retaliated against them after they complained about racist remarks from faculty member.

Georgia State professor Dona Stewart said that last August one of her instructors who is Muslim- American asked her what to do about these racial remarks from another professor: "Things like was she carrying any bombs under her Islamic head scarf these were outrageous comments in public.”

Stewart told Selma Shelbayah to file an official complaint to the department dean. After that the professor apologized to the student, but a day later, Stewart said that the dean told her to fire Shelbayah, and she refused.

"I mean at that point, you have to realize, she’s a state employee. She’s under contract," said Stewart. "If I had removed her from that position without cause without due process, I would have committed an illegal act and I could have been held accountable for it."

Stewart believes because she didn’t comply, she herself was punished academically. At the time, she was the director of the Middle Eastern Institute. She’s since resigned.

"All institutional development of the institute came to a halt," Stewart said, "I was told there was no energy for Middle Eastern studies on campus."

Both Stewart and Shelbayah filed separate discrimination complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year.

GSU is complying with the investigation and refutes the charges. GSU spokesperson Andrea Jones said, "In no way was retaliation taken against Stewart or the student as a result of the complaint."

Jones said that because of federal privacy guidelines, the college can't provide more details, but she pointed out that despite Stewart’s resignation... "She is still an employee of GSU and in April was promoted to full professor and had the dean’s full support on that."

Meanwhile, Stewart and Shelbayah’s lawyer James Radford, said it doesn’t look like the EEOC is going to take action. "They’re not at a point that they are going to act to enforce Title Seven," said Radford. "They’re not going to go to court.

Title 7 prohibits discrimination at the workplace. So, Radford said that his clients will sue if GSU doesn’t settle.

Nine Candidates for Top Court

A state judicial nominating commission has submitted a list of nine candidates for an open seat on the Georgia Supreme Court. Gov. Sonny Perdue will appoint the replacement to former Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, who stepped down on Tuesday. He is not required to pick a name from the list, but said he would meet with each of the candidates. Among the candidates are U.S. Attorney David Nahmias, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall and Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley. Also on the list is Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge William M. Ray II, Alcovy Circuit Superior Court Judge Samuel D. Ozburn, Henry County State Court Judge Benjamin W. Studdard, Macon attorney Stephen Louis A. Dillard and Atlanta attorneys James P. Kelly III and Rocco E. Testani.

(Associated Press)

Hunstein Sworn in As New Supreme Court Chief Justice

Justices Carol Hunstein and George Carley await investiture
as Chief Justice and Presiding Justice, respectively. (Photo: V Edwards)

Investiture of Chief Justice Carol Hunstein by
former Governor Zell Miller. (Photo: V Edwards)

Former DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Carol Hunstein was sworn in today as Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. Former Governor Zell Miller presided over the investiture.

Hunstein was chosen by Miller in 1992 to become the second woman to serve on Georgia's Supreme Court. She succeeds outgoing Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, who retired in June.

As the state's revenues continue to decline, and following a recent move by Governor Sonny Perdue to slash the judiciary's budget, the new chief justice says she will make funding the state's courts one of her top priorities.

"I plan to sit down with the Governor and with other leaders very, very soon and explain the constitutional duty of our court system. The citizens of this state deserve to have access to their courts. I am very, very confident that we will be able to work amiably together to resolve the problems."

The Chief Justice presides over Georgia's judicial branch, just as the governor heads the executive branch of government. The Presiding Justice serves in her absence.

And, associate justice George Carley was also sworn in today to succeed Hunstein as presiding judge. Former Governor Miller appointed Carley to the state’s highest court in 1993.

Court Rules Soldier's Wife Can't Sue

A federal appeals court says the wife of a U.S. soldier incapacitated by brain injury in a wreck during a fuel convoy in Iraq cannot sue the civilian contractor delivering the fuel. Sgt. Keith Carmichael, of Atlanta, was a gunner assigned to ride in a tanker truck operated by Kellogg, Brown & Root during the 2004 convoy. He was thrown and pinned beneath the truck when the civilian driver failed to negotiate a curve. Annette Carmichael sued KBR and its former parent company, Halliburton, claiming the civilian contractor, not the military, was responsible for the accident. In Tuesday's 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it found "no judicially manageable standards" to settle the suit and upheld its dismissal by a lower court.

(Associated Press)

Delay In Corruption Trial

The trial of a former Clinch County judge facing federal corruption charges has been delayed after he suffered life-threatening complications from a ruptured appendix. Former Superior Court Judge Brooks E. Blitch III was scheduled to stand trial Monday in U.S. District Court in Valdosta. But the federal judge presiding over the case postponed it after Blitch's doctor said he needed at least three months to recover after Blitch's appendix ruptured in May. The doctor wrote a letter saying the 74-year-old Blitch suffered life-threatening complications. Blitch's attorney, Robert Willis, said Tuesday that Blitch is recovering at home but remains very weak. Blitch was indicted last year on corruption charges accusing him of fixing cases and making illegal payments to employees. His attorney says Blitch did nothing illegal.

(Associated Press)

Michael Vick Will Work With Young People

Suspended NFL Star Michael Vick is leaving a job with a Virginia construction company to work with youngsters at Boys & Girls Clubs. Steven Kast, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula, says Vick will be working with children on health and fitness activities at several clubs in the Hampton Roads area. Vick was a regular at the Boys & Girls Club in Newport News as a youngster. Vick needed a job to meet the conditions of his probation and had been working as a $10-an-hour laborer. Vick, whose lawyers were in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Norfolk on Tuesday, is in house arrest for the last two months of a nearly two-year sentence for operating a dogfighting ring. His lawyers say a new bankruptcy plan gives creditors more of his future earnings.

(Associated Press)

Court Rules On Woman Who Faces Sterilization

The federal appeals court in Atlanta says a Chinese immigrant can continue to appeal a deportation order because of the likelihood she will be sterilized if returned to China. Mei Ya Zhang of New York City, who entered the country illegally in 2003, said that since being ordered deported nine months later she had married and had two daughters, putting her at odds with China's one-child policy. The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled Zhang waited too long to ask that her asylum petition be reconsidered. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the BIA Tuesday to reconsider. A three-judge panel said Zhang showed changed conditions in China, namely that the sterilization policy was being more strictly enforced in her native Fujian Province.

(Associated Press)

Top Court Puts Off Davis Hearing

The United States Supreme Court has recessed for the summer, without taking action on the case of Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis. Davis has been on death row since 1991, convicted in the slaying of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark McPhail. His execution is now on hold.

Since the Davis trial, seven of the nine witnesses who testified against him, have withdrawn or recanted their earlier statements. Davis’ lawyers appealed to the nation's highest court after two lower courts denied his request for a new trial.

Jason Ewart is Davis' death penalty attorney. He says the delay is a good sign.

"I do not think we have to read tea leaves too deeply to see that this was not a housekeeping matter. They held it over for substantive reasons. The SC doesn't like to deal with state cases, especially state criminal cases, and if it could avoid having to do so, they would appreciate that."

The Supreme Court will decide in September whether it will hear Davis' request for a new trial. If the court refuses to hear the request, it is likely Davis will be executed sometime later this year.

Supreme Court puts Troy Davis appeal on hold

The U.S. Supreme Court has recessed for the summer without taking action on Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis' latest appeal, likely delaying any action on the convicted cop killer's case until the fall.

Davis, of Savannah, was convicted in 1991 for the slaying of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. Supporters say he deserves a new trial after several key trial witnesses recanted their testimony.

Davis' lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court after a lower federal court denied his request for a new trial in April. The Supreme Court won't reconvene until September.

Davis' case has become a rallying point for death penalty opponents worldwide. A petition signed by 60,000 supporters was turned into Chatham County's District Attorney's office today. His supporters also include former President Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu and Pope Benedict XVI.

(Associated Press)

Afternoon Could Bring Davis High Court Decision

U.S. Supreme Court Justices closed their term this morning with a flurry of rulings. But while the flurry did not include a decision on the petition of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis, that could come this afternoon when the high court is expected to release other orders of business.

Meanwhile, in Savannah, supporters of Anthony delivered petitions with 60,000 signatures to Chatham County's district attorney. They hope DA Larry Chisolm will reopen the convicted cop killer's case.

The NAACP, Amnesty International and other groups held a news conference outside the Savannah courthouse saying the petitions show overwhelming support for a new trial for Davis. They said about 11,000 of the signatures came from Chatham County. A spokeswoman for District Attorney Larry Chisolm accepted the petitions, but said the prosecutor had no comment.

Davis was convicted in 1991 in the slaying of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah. The U.S. Supreme court was expected to decide soon whether to hear his latest appeal.

Davis Hopes For High Court Reprieve

There are only a couple of days left for the nation’s high court to consider a last-chance hearing for Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis. With summer recess for the U.S. Supreme Court ahead, lawyers for Davis and others are watching to see whether the most recent petition is successful. It is generally assumed that if the high court does not decide by Tuesday to hear the Davis-petition, it would then be up to the Chatham County district attorney whether or not to go ahead with the execution warrant. Davis was convicted of murdering a Savannah police officer 20 years ago. Since then, several witnesses have recanted testimony. Davis has already had his execution delayed three times.

Court OKs Transgender Lawsuit by State Employee

(Pictured: Vandy Beth Glenn)

A federal judge has cleared the way for a discrimination lawsuit by a filed by a former state employee who claimed she was fired because she was undergoing a sex-change procedure. On Friday, a U.S. District Court Judge denied an attempt by Georgia legislators to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds that it could lead to a new round of court scrutiny of public employees. Vandy Beth Glenn claims she was fired from her job as a legislative editor for the General Assembly because she told her boss she was going to live as a woman full time. Glenn’s lawyers said the decision is a signal that the state Legislature can be challenged "for violating her constitutional rights."

(Associated Press)

New Appointee to Top Commission

Gov. Sonny Perdue has appointed a former federal prosecutor to the panel that vets judicial nominees after another member recused himself because he is a candidate for Georgia's top court. Perdue appointed Spence Pryor to the Judicial Nominating Commission. He replaces James P. Kelly III, who recused himself from the proceedings because he is a candidate for the Georgia Supreme Court appointment. Perdue will soon nominate a replacement for Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, who is stepping down at the end of the month. Presiding Justice Carol Hunstein will take her spot as the court's chief judge. Pryor is a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. He is now a partner with the Alston & Bird law firm.

(Associated Press)