Fresh Loaf

Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears says she’ll leave the highest court in the state when her term as Chief ends on June 30, 2009.

Appointed by then Gov. Zell Miller in 1992, Sears became the youngest and first woman to serve on the state Supreme Court. In 2005, she became Chief Justice — the first African-American woman in the United States to do so.

Sears’ exit also means she will step down as chair of the Judical Council of Georgia. She says she has no plans to retire and will weigh opportunities in law, business, academia or non-profit organizations.

“I believe we all have a purpose in our lives, and mine is to serve,” Sears said in a statement released by the court. “Achieving justice, equality and hope for our nation, our communities, our families – that’s what I was put here to do. And whatever I do next, I will not waver from that course.”

Sears’ name has been mentioned in some circles as a potential Supreme Court nominee should Barack Obama be elected president. Sure, you can say we’re banging the hometeam drum — yes, we were guilty of parroting the “Gov.-Perdue-might-be-McCain’s-running-mate” meme — but it merits a mention.

Full release after the jump.

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The state Supreme Court chipped away at Georgia’s draconian sex-offender law on Monday by striking a provision that requires homeless offenders to register an address. Under the law, sex offenders are required to re-register with the state every time they move. And listing “no address” is not an option.

The Court ruled that the law is unfair to homeless offenders because it does not provide them with an alternative to having a home address – effectively criminalizing homelessness. Convicted sex offender William Santos, the homeless man who filed the lawsuit challenging the law, faced a mandatory life sentence because he was unable to give an address.

The ruling is additional confirmation that the law, concocted by state Rep. Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons, a former head of the Georgia Christian Coalition, simply was not intended to comply with the real world.

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Chatham County District Attorney Spencer Lawton has penned an editorial, published yesterday on AJC.com and Sunday on SavannahNow.com, to let people know why the upcoming execution of Troy Davis doesn’t weigh on his conscience.

The only problem: All of Lawton’s points are supported by evidence that supposedly hasn’t seen the light of day — except that it has. In fact, most of Lawton’s revelations have been addressed and contradicted by published reports and court documents. He also glosses over evidence that suggests Davis — who is scheduled to die Oct. 27 — could be innocent.

Lawton writes:

Many people are concerned that an innocent man is about to be put to death. I know this and I understand it. I am not likewise concerned, however, and I want to explain why.

The only information the public has had in the 17 years since Troy Davis’ conviction has been generated by people ideologically opposed to the death penalty, regardless of the guilt or innocence of the accused.

While they have shouted, we have been silent. The canons of legal ethics prohibit a lawyer — prosecutor and defense counsel alike — from commenting publicly in a pending criminal case. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, the case is over and I can tell our side.

After the jump, a dissection of Lawton’s ensuing argument.

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For you political junkies out there **cough**Grift, sara**cough**, here’s the state Supreme Court case summary of the Jim Powell and Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel residency slugfest. These excellent write-ups are penned by Jane Hansen, the court’s public information officer. She’s a former AJC reporter and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Monday, October 20, 2008

10:00 A.M. Session

HANDEL V. POWELL (S09A0074)

This appeal stems from a dispute between Secretary of State Karen Handel and James R. Powell, who is running for a seat on the Public Service Commission. Handel is appealing a Fulton County Superior Court ruling that sided with Powell, overturning Handel’s decision that Powell was ineligible to run based on his residency. The Supreme Court agreed to expedite oral arguments in the case.

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The state Supreme Court has voted 6-1 to deny a stay of execution for convicted cop-killer Troy Davis. Davis is scheduled to die by lethal injection tomorrow. Justice Robert Benham dissented.

The stay was requested in order to allow the for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on an appeal filed in July by Davis’ attorneys.

The Georgia Supreme Court’s decision says that the authority to grant the stay falls on the U.S. Supreme Court:

“Because the Supreme Court of the United States rather than this Court properly has jurisdiction over Davis’s pending petition … and because it appears that Davis has already filed in that Court a motion for a stay of execution, his motion for a stay of execution filed in this Court is denied.”

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Leah Sears stated:

“I still believe that Davis is entitled to that hearing. Nevertheless, this case is currently pending before the United States Supreme Court … and jurisdiction is properly in the Supreme Court, not this Court.”

The U.S. Supreme Court had scheduled a conference for Sept. 29 — three days after Davis’ scheduled execution — to discuss whether it would consider his appeal. Now, however, a ruling is expected before tomorrow night.

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Troy Anthony Davis, who is scheduled for execution tomorrow despite a heap of evidence that suggests he might be innocent, has gathered the support of former President Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Desmond Tutu, Pope Benedict XVI, the Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Libertarian presidential hopeful Bob Barr, and New York Times columnist Bob Herbert.

But his only really hope lies with the Supreme Court of Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court, and — yeah, right — George Bush.

Yesterday’s AJC described a visit the Rev. Sharpton paid to Davis on Georgia’s death row:

“He was not overly optimistic or pessimistic,” said the Rev. Sharpton, who visited Davis … at the request of Davis’ family. “He was suprisingly upbeat. He seemed like he was depending on his faith to see him through.”

Herbert, in his Friday Times column, opined:

Putting someone to death whose guilt is uncertain is always perverted, but there’s an extra dose of perversion in this case.

The United States Supreme Court is scheduled to make a decision on whether to hear a last-ditch appeal by Mr. Davis on Sept. 29. That’s six days after the state of Georgia plans to kill him.

And this morning, NPR chimed in, quoting the Southern regional director of Amnesty International, Jared Feuer:

“Troy Anthony Davis’ case symbolizes all that is wrong with the death penalty. You have questions of improper witness handling. You have procedural obstacles that get in the way of the truth. You have issues of race and, ultimately, you have a system that can’t go back and correct its mistakes.”

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Convicted cop-killer Troy Anthony Davis, who is scheduled for execution next week — despite evidence that suggests he might be innocent — wants his case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a press release from the office of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

The Georgia Supreme Court narrowly voted earlier this year to prevent a lower court from hearing new evidence in Davis’ case — including seven of nine trial witnesses who’ve since recanted their testimony. The ruling came down to a technicality.

Now, the state’s highest court must decide whether Davis deserves a stay of execution in order to appeal his case to the country’s highest court.

The decision to appeal comes on the heels of the state Pardons and Parole Board’s decision not to grant Davis clemency — a decision that shocked Davis’ supporters. Last year, the board had indicated it was troubled by questions of Davis’ guilt.

Earlier this year, Davis’ Washington D.C.-based attorney, Jason Ewart, told CL that the odds of Davis’ case landing before the country’s highest court were slim.

“Getting your case heard in the U.S. Supreme Court is kind of like winning the lottery,” Ewart said. “We’re proceeding down that path, but we expect that the real action is going to be in the pardons and parole board.”

Time for Plan B.

(Photo of Troy Davis, courtesy of Georgia Department of Corrections)

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Former Atlanta millionaire and international fugitive James Sullivan is appealing his 2006 Fulton County conviction on charges that he ordered the contract killing of his 35-year-old wife, Lita Sullivan.

Nearly two decades passed between Lita Sullivan’s 1987 murder and James Sullivan’s trial. Sullivan faced the death penalty, though jurors instead opted to sentence him to life in prison without parole.

The state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on Sept. 9 from Sullivan’s attorneys, who claim certain trial evidence should have been suppressed, several jurors shouldn’t have been excused, the jury should have been given the option of convicting Sullivan of voluntary manslaughter, and there wasn’t enough evidence of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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The Supreme Court of Georgia has ruled Genarlow Wilson’s 10-year sentence “cruel and unusual” and ordered his release from prison.

Here’s the press release announcing the ruling, and here’s the official prison release order.

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This just in from the Georgia Supreme Court:

GEORGIA SUPREME COURT GRANTS STAYAtlanta, October 18, 2007 – The Supreme Court of Georgia today granted a stay of execution for Jack Alderman, who was scheduled to die tomorrow, October 19, by lethal injection. In its order, the Court points out that the issue of the constitutionality of lethal injection is currently being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. It also cites the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Wednesday to stay the Virginia execution of Christopher Emmett pending an appeal in which lethal injection is challenged.

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Nope, they’re not the names from the Buckhead Cinema’s marquee, God rest its soul. Justice gets served Hung-style on Oct. 9 as the state Supreme Court justices mount the dais to hear a long, hard hour’s worth of oral arguments involving two of the most pornlicious names ever uttered on Mitchell Street. (I’m out of double entendres.) File this under “I’m-going-to-hell-for-finding-humor-in-a-murder-case-but-I-can’t-resist” …

HUNG V. THE STATE (S07A1679)

In this Fulton County appeal, the attorney for Mac The Hung* is asking the Georgia Supreme Court to send the case back to the trial court for a hearing on the issue of ineffective assistance of trial counsel and on his motion for a new trial. Hung has been in prison since 2001 when he was sentenced to serve life plus 50 years for the malice murder of Thao Nguyen.

At trial, Hung was represented by Janet Willy of the Fulton County public defender’s office. At his hearing on his motion for new trial, he was represented by Carl Greenburg, also of the public defender’s office. The motion for new trial, which was denied, did not raise Ms. Willy’s ineffectiveness at trial. Hung’s family then hired Brian Steel, who filed an amended notice of appeal and is Hung’s current attorney.

*Yes, we know Mac The Hung is Asian and not Mac “The” Hung.

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After languishing in legal limbo for six months, the Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments today between Atlanta attorney John Woodham and lawyers representing the city, county and Atlanta Board of Schools over whether the funding mechanism implemented to fund the massive Beltline project was unconstitutional.

The funds at issue this morning were $200 million in validated bonds approved by the city of Atlanta, Fulton County Commission and the Atlanta Board of Schools.

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