DA Worries Judge’s Courtroom Access Ruling Could Affect Thousands of Cases

The district attorney in Cobb County, Ga., plans to appeal a judge’s ruling tossing an indictment because it was handed down in a courtroom that hadn’t formally opened to the public.

District Attorney Pat Head said thousands of cases heard in another court—this one at the county jail—could be affected because of the access issue, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The ruling by Judge Robert Flournoy involved an indictment handed down in a new courtroom across from the old courthouse that could be accessed only by people accompanied by court personnel. Journalists were escorted to the courtroom by court staff and were present for the racketeering indictment of Dwight Brown, the former chief of an electric cooperative. The defendant’s lawyer, former Gov. Roy Barnes, was also present.

However an associate in Barnes’ law firm was late for the hearing because of the access issue, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in an earlier story.