Two weeks ago, I wrote about the snafu in North Georgia’s Appalachian Judicial Circuit. Under intense public pressure, Appalachian District Attorney Alison Sosebee had just dropped the fraud charges she had filed against Fannin Focus publisher Mark Thomason and his attorney Richard Stookey. The charges were related to an open-records-request Thomason and Stookey had made
The Georgia Court of Appeals’ newest judge is breathing new life into court opinion writing by breaking with tradition and using a prose style that is simpler to read and gets straight to the point. Judge Nels Peterson of Cobb County graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelors in political science and a minor
In an article published in the Macon Telegraph on Tuesday, it was described that as the next legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly inches closer, Speaker of the Georgia House David Ralston and other Georgia lawmakers are looking into language that would clearly criminalize the practice of taking secret, invasive pictures for the purpose of
Earlier this week, Govenor Nathan Deal issued an executive order recreating the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission. The commission assists the governor by making recommendations on qualified candidates to fill vacancies in the courts. The executive order reduces the number of members if the commission from 25 to 20. The new commission will continue to be
Don’t say that nothing exciting ever happens outside Atlanta. The Appalachian Judicial Circuit, which includes Fannin, Gilmer, and Pickens Counties, has been at the center of a First Amendment and public corruption controversy ever since Mark Thomason, the publisher of the Fannin Focus, and his attorney Russell Stookey were arrested and indicted on charges of
State Rep. Beth Beskin (R- Atlanta) has announced endorsements in two Fulton County Superior Court judicial races. She has thrown in her lot with former Fulton County Magistrate Sterling Eaves and current Magistrate Gary Alembik. Both will be candidates in the July 26th general election runoffs. Judicial races are nonpartisan so the candidates will appear
The ongoing saga of the arrest and jailing of the editor of the Fannin Focus and his attorney has apparently drawn the interest of the FBI. The original case against both, Mark Thomason and his attorney, was dismissed late last week but various news sources are reporting the FBI is talking to many people involved
A press release states that Chief Justice Hugh P. Thompson will be stepping down from the Georgia Supreme Court in January, 2017 after a new Chief Justice is sworn into office. Chief Justice Thompson has been on the Supreme Court since March 1, 1994 by appointment by Governor Zell Miller. His term was slated to end
At 7 PM tonight, John Wayne Conner will be put to death by the state by an injection of pentobarbital in Jackson, Georgia. On January 9, 1982, Conner beat his friend J.T. White to death in Telfair County after White said he wanted to have sex with Conner’s then-girlfriend. Before Conner left Telfair County with
The Fannin County District Attorney has dropped the felony charges against Mark Thomason, publisher of the Fannin Focus, and attorney Russell Stookey. The AJC’s Rhonda Cook is reporting: Appalachian Judicial Circuit District Attorney Alison Sosebee dropped today the three felony charges brought against the publisher of a local weekly newspaper and his attorney that were
