Georgia

Judge presiding over Young Thug trial ordered off the case

The judge overseeing the criminal racketeering case against Young Thug was formally removed from the case Monday amid complaints he and prosecutors held an improper meeting with a key prosecution witness.

Jul 15, 2024 3:06 PM CDT

Lawyer freed pending appeal of Jan. 6 conviction because of Supreme Court decision

A U.S. Supreme Court decision on the scope of an obstruction statute has led a judge to order the early release of a Georgia lawyer convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.

Jul 3, 2024 11:15 AM CDT

Top elected justices are twice as likely to affirm death penalty in election years, 3-state study finds

Politics is apparently affecting the fate of people caught up in the criminal justice system, according to a study by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Jul 2, 2024 9:03 AM CDT

Judge arrested outside nightclub is ousted from bench, partly for jailing litigant

Updated: A Georgia judge arrested outside an Atlanta nightclub June 20 for allegedly obstructing a police officer won't be returning to the bench.

Jun 26, 2024 9:09 AM CDT

The chaos unfolding at Young Thug’s trial, explained

An unwieldy RICO trial that could see Young Thug imprisoned for decades on gang charges veered toward chaos this week, when the rapper’s attorney was held in contempt of court and ordered to jail after suggesting that the judge and prosecutors pressured a key witness.

Jun 13, 2024 11:00 AM CDT

Georgia appeals court pauses Trump election case to consider disqualifying DA Fani Willis

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday ordered a halt to the proceedings in the election interference case against former president Donald Trump and eight other defendants pending the outcome of their appeal seeking to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis. The order means the case will almost certainly not be scheduled for trial before the fall election.

Jun 5, 2024 4:21 PM CDT

Legal community ‘bamboozled’ by woman who allegedly posed as attorney for years

A former paralegal is under investigation for the unlicensed practice of law for allegedly holding herself out as an attorney in Chatham County, Georgia, for a period of years.

May 15, 2024 3:08 PM CDT

Clinical law prof who worked for social justice killed in triple murder

An associate clinical professor at the Mississippi College School of Law died over the weekend in a fatal shooting that also claimed the lives of her mother and sister.

May 14, 2024 1:59 PM CDT

Employer health plan’s exclusion for gender-affirming care violates Title VII, 11th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has ruled that a health insurance provider can be liable for denying gender-affirming care to transgender people under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

May 14, 2024 12:48 PM CDT

Former lawyer will be retried for murder after top Georgia court overturns conviction

Prosecutors are planning to retry a former Atlanta lawyer after his murder conviction was overturned Tuesday by the Georgia Supreme Court.

May 6, 2024 9:26 AM CDT

Former DOJ official who alleged election fraud violated at least one ethics rule, ethics committee says

Former U.S. Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark violated at least one ethics rule in connection with his false claims of election fraud during the 2020 presidential election, according to a preliminary finding announced Thursday by an ethics hearing committee.

Apr 5, 2024 9:14 AM CDT

Federal judge who ‘despised obituaries written by funeral home hacks’ wrote his own

Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Hugh Lawson Jr. wanted to make sure that his obituary didn’t include trite phrases, such as a declaration that the memory of the deceased would be “forever treasured.” Anyone who wrote that “should be shot,” according to Lawson.

Apr 4, 2024 9:27 AM CDT

Is ex-DOJ official facing ethics trial for ‘thought crime’? His election-fraud letter was based on sincerely held belief, lawyer says

A former Department of Justice official accused of drafting a letter with false allegations of election fraud that he hoped to send to Georgia officials did not violate ethics rules, his lawyer said at a disciplinary hearing Tuesday.

Mar 27, 2024 10:01 AM CDT

How a sleuth defense attorney and a disgruntled law partner damaged the Trump Georgia case

In early September, a lawyer for one of former President Donald Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia election-interference case scheduled a call with the other defense attorneys to share what he thought could be a game-changing allegation.

Mar 19, 2024 8:47 AM CDT

Fani Willis can remain on Trump Georgia case if special prosecutor steps aside, judge rules

In a 23-page ruling issued Friday, the judge wrote that defendants “failed to meet their burden” in proving Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade was a “conflict of interest” enough to merit her removal from the case. But the judge also found an appearance of “impropriety” and said either Willis and her office must fully leave the case or Wade must withdraw from the proceeding.

Mar 15, 2024 9:02 AM CDT