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In Adams v. State.pdf, the Supreme Court of Georgia held that it is appropriate for a sentencing judge, after a reversal for judicial error, to impose a greater sentence on an individual count as long as the sentence in the aggregate is not increased. The dissent, consisting of three justices, reasons that the Court’s holding…

Before today, I had never seen an Order styled “Court’s Analysis of Indigent Defense System.” Judge J. David Roper of Richmond County, Georgia entered this document into the record on the same day that he entered a consent order involving a suit between the Southern Center for Human Rights and the Georgia Public Defender Standards…

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reports that Harold Nelson Hill, Jr., former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice, passed away at his lake home on July 5. Senior U.S. District Court Judge Willis Hunt called him “a stellar member of the Supreme Court.” Justice Hill began serving on the Supreme Court in 1975 and served as…

The Huffington Post reports that Rob Teilhet, a democratic candidate running for Georgia state attorney general is about to unroll a controversial ad accusing his primary opponent and elected district attorney from Albany, Georgia, that allowed a police officer to go free for the murder of Kenneth Walker. The ad features Mr. Walker’s mother narrating…

The Atlanta Journal reports that a Cobb County, Georgia, grand jury has serious concerns about the fact that court reporters in that county earn a salary and also charge the county and private attorneys highway robbery fees to produce transcripts. The article evokes all sorts of thoughts for me about the frustrations that accompany getting…

Adam Liptak’s recent editorial in the New York Times will provide comfort for those of us who have watched the legislature and governor gut indigent defense in Georgia and attack the judiciary systematically. At the same time, it is a little embarrassing to read about the system that I love so much and wonder what…