The parents of an activist fatally shot by the Georgia State Patrol SWAT team in 2023 have filed a lawsuit against three law enforcement officers that they say violated their child’s First and Fourth Amendment rights. Manuel Esteban Paez Terán — better known as Tortuguita — was a 26-year-old nonbinary environmental activist who was protesting the […]
Courts
Posted inCourts, Incarceration
Overcrowded and Deadly: Fulton Jail Inmates Left Vulnerable as Aid Ends
Stanlecia Johnson is still dealing with the fallout of a brief stint in jail nearly six months ago, an ordeal that threw her life into disarray. The grandmother of four was brought to Fulton County Jail after being arrested for aggravated assault in May. Unable to post bail, she was held in jail for two […]
Posted inCourts, Mental Health, Reproductive Health
Georgia Is One of the Most Unsafe States to Give Birth. Abortion Limits Make It Worse.
In spite of recent reporting that directly links Georgia’s abortion restriction with the deaths of two Black women, the state Supreme Court’s decision earlier this month to temporarily reinstate the law while an appeal is in progress did not surprise leaders at the forefront of the state’s reproductive justice movement. Last month, ProPublica reported on […]
Posted inCourts, Elections, Politics & Policy, Voting
How Georgia’s Black Voters Could Be Impacted by the Election Rules Decision
A Fulton County Superior Court judge is expected to decide before Election Day whether two of the state’s controversial new election rules should be allowed to stand ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump — a case that has major implications for Black voters in Georgia, according to voting […]
Posted inCourts, Politics & Policy
Fani Willis Refuses to Testify in Front of Senate Committee Investigating Her
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defied a subpoena to turn over documents and testify in front of the Georgia Senate Special Committee on Investigations Friday morning. Last week, Willis’ attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, filed an appeal in Fulton County Superior Court asking for an injunction to block the subpoena. A ruling wasn’t […]
Posted inCourts, Elections, Politics & Policy
How to Fight Back Against Controversial State Election Board Rule Changes
Georgia voting rights advocates are encouraging members of the public who oppose recent changes to the state’s election rules to make their voices heard at Gov. Brian Kemp’s office and during the next State Election Board meeting on Sept. 20. Three Donald Trump-supporting members of the State Election Board — Janelle King, Rick Jeffares, and […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
‘Cop City’ Judge Calls Mishandled Evidence by State AG ‘Gross Negligence’
Prosecutors from the state attorney general’s office got a tongue-lashing from Fulton Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams on Wednesday for saying it was a mistake that they mishandled privileged attorney-client emails that were collected as evidence in the case against activists opposed to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as “Cop City.” […]
Posted inCourts
Why the Georgia Supreme Court Removed a Black Woman Judge From the Bench
A Douglas County Probate Court judge was removed from the bench on Tuesday by the Georgia Supreme Court. The court immediately removed Christina Peterson from her office and banned her from holding any elected or appointed judicial position in Georgia for the next seven years. Eight of the nine Georgia justices signed onto the opinion; […]
Posted inCourts, Housing, Social Welfare
Judge Tells Fairburn & Gordon Owners It’s Time To Pay Up
The owners of the dilapidated Fairburn & Gordon I and II Apartments complex in west Atlanta are in hot water with a city judge after failing to complete a list of repairs and pay a hefty fine within a 30-day deadline. Municipal Judge Christopher T. Portis gave the complex’s parent company, A&B Apartments LLC, and […]
Posted inCourts, Elections, Explainers, State Politics
Judicial Elections Are Coming. Do You Know Who You Support?
Judicial elections are just around the corner, but do you know who you’re being asked to vote for and what their duties are? Nonpartisan judges at all three levels of Georgia’s court system are up for election during the May 21 primary. Voters will be asked to decide who will wield power in this very […]