Fresh Loaf

OK, last Friday I ran a blog post that accused Keisha Lance Bottoms of distributing false and misleading information in her campaign to unseat Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford, whom we affectionately call T-Jack.

However, Bedford is quite miffed at my reference to him “chaining Fulton DA Paul Howard to a radiator.” I just received a missive in which he calls my description of the 2006 incident “the most absurd and egregious of any I have heard from any source.”

Bedford goes on to state that his courtroom does not even contain a radiator and invites me to check for myself.

I believe him. Fact is, I intended the radiator remark as edgy humor. There’s a rich, tawdry history of children and adults being chained to radiators in works of fiction – most recently, Black Snake Moan – and in real life. I assumed folks would realize I was kidding in a “Daily Show” sort of way. And if they clicked on the phrase in question, they would have been linked to another blog post about Paul Howard’s statement that he still bears a grudge over being handcuffed, forcibly removed from Bedford’s courtroom and placed in a holding cell.

(more…)

Bookmark It

I’ve been surprised by the unprecedented level of interest in the Fulton County Superior Court race between incumbent Judge T. Jackson Bedford and his challenger, Atlanta Magistrate Court Judge Keisha Lance Bottoms. Normally, judicial races attract little attention from the public and the news media, but this one is different, probably because some of T-Jack’s actions – such as chaining Fulton DA Paul Howard to a radiator – have brought him a measure of notoriety.

We sort of wussed out in our Voter Guide description of the race by not taking a definite stand:

We aren’t convinced Bottoms has the necessary legal background to replace Bedford, but we’re concerned about his temperament.

But now I have to say I’m concerned about the tone Bottoms’ campaign has taken. Her latest flier reads like a political hit piece on Bedford and contains some dubious claims. First off, she claims T-Jack is “under investigation for ethics violations,” and she cites your friends here at CL. Unfortunately, this statement isn’t true and we didn’t say it. What my colleague Thomas reported was that an ethics complaint had been filed against Bedford by political instigator George Anderson, whose track record with ethics filings is long and shaky. There’s a big difference between a complaint and an investigation, and an attorney like Bottoms should know it. What her flier says is patently false.

Another spurious, CL-related claim on the flier is that Bedford “allows underage strippers,” citing an article I wrote in July. This statement is misleading. Last fall, the Atlanta City Council passed an ordinance aimed at stopping women under the age of 21 from working in strip clubs. But the way the measure was written, it bars anyone under 21 from entering a nightclub for any reason – including bar workers, janitors and even members of bands booked to play there.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard — who as you may recall was ordered handcuffed during a trial by Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford — says that contrary to a recent piece in the Fulton County Daily Report, he and the controversial judge haven’t exactly made up and become best buds.

The DA’s office sent the following message to the Superior Court today. (It was also posted in our comments):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 30, 2008

Statement from District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr.

Refutes Claim of Reconciliation with Judge T. Jackson Bedford, Jr.

On Tuesday, October 28, 2008, The Daily Report published a story about the judicial election between Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford, Jr. and his opponent, Magistrate Judge Keisha Lance Bottoms. As part of the story, the newspaper report quoted Judge Bedford as saying, “Howard and I have shaken hands and have spoken since then. We’re fine.”

Since my election as District Attorney, I have refrained from participating in judicial elections involving incumbent judges. National Prosecution Standards require prosecutors to avoid any activities which may appear to conflict with the duties and responsibilities of the prosecutor’s office. My belief is that involvement in incumbent judge elections is one such activity. That position notwithstanding, the statement made by Judge Bedford demands clarification. We have not shaken hands and resolved this matter. We are not fine.

I regard Judge Bedford’s treatment of me and the office I represent during this incident as one of the most sinister, ignominious and personally painful actions that I have witnessed or experienced as a lawyer and as a person. I believe that illegally limiting or curtailing the freedom of any citizen violates one of the highest protections guaranteed by the Constitution and our system of laws.

I stand strongly behind the findings of independent special prosecutor Danny Craig, who, incidentally, is now a judge in the Augusta Judicial Circuit, that Judge Bedford’s actions constituted “an unlawful arrest”.

Bookmark It

Five years after the death of Jack Snook — the subject of former CL Senior Writer Steve Fennessy’s excellent 2005 true-crime piece, “War Story” — a jury was unable to return a verdict against his alleged killer.

Earlier this week, Fulton District Attorney Paul Howard announced he would not retry the case.

Snook was a Marine who fought in Iraq, only to end up the victim of an alleged road-rage killing near downtown Atlanta.

Fennessy described Snook’s difficulty adjusting to life after the Marines:

But back home was different. Or maybe it was Jack who was different. Crowded restaurants unnerved him. He looked strangers up and down. At home, he’d sit for hours playing video games. He’d turn off the game and look at [his wife] Cara and say, “I’m so sorry. I don’t mean to do this to you. I just don’t know what else to do.”

He didn’t talk about Iraq, except sometimes at night. Then his eyes would tear up, and he’d ask her, “Do you know what it’s like to watch somebody die?”

“I can’t begin to understand that,” Cara would say. “I wasn’t there and I didn’t see it, but help me get to where you are.”

In an AJC story, Howard offered a cryptic description of why he wouldn’t resurrect the case against Snook’s alleged killer, Charles Anthony Key:

“Because the victim, Jack Snook, got out of his vehicle and approached the car of the defendant, we must understand that even law-abiding citizens may differ on the question of culpability in this incident.”

(Photo courtesy the Snook family.)

Bookmark It

TERRY WILLIAMS: Gunned down in front of Little Five Points home in May

(photo by Kevin Green)

After 47-year-old Terry Williams was shot in the head and killed in front of his Little Five Points home in May during what police called an attempted armed robbery, neighborhood residents and business owners collected money for reward and distributed a sketch of the suspect to help Atlanta police find his killer.

Now some of those neighbors worry his accused killer could be back on the streets at any moment.

On Dec. 17, Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Bedford Jackson set bail in the case at $92,500. Charged with felony murder, 19-year-old Cori Williams (no relation to the victim), might need as little as $9,250 to get out of jail pending trial.

Little Five Points residents are outraged and frightened.

“People don’t expect a person charged with felony murder to be granted a bond,” said Dr. Richard Shapiro, a friend and neighbor of the victim. “The people I’ve spoken to are afraid. The possibility of someone capable of that level of crime being back on the streets puts a sense of fear in the community.”

Fulton County District Attorney calls the judge’s decision “a disgrace.”

“Why a judge would allow a defendant who murders a citizen by shooting him in the face while attempting to rob him to be released from jail defies reason and spits in the face of justice,” Howard said in a written statement.

Asked if it’s common to grant bond to defendants accused of murder, Howard replied:

Unfortunately, this is not the only Fulton County case in which a murder suspect has been freed on bond. Over our objections, many of these cases are handled in that fashion. Our statistics show about 40 percent of our murder defendants are released on bond. And right now, there are 17 bond forfeitures — murder defendants who failed to show up for trial in our jurisdiction.

In my view, these defendants present a real danger to other victims, witnesses and the community at large. And for those reasons, I strongly believe they should be incarcerated until their cases go to trial.

No one in Judge Jackson’s office was available for comment.

Bookmark It