Category Archives: Georgia Supreme Court

Atlanta Schoolchildren Lose $63.6 Million In APS/Beltline Deal (UPDATE 2)

lady justice revised

UPDATE 1: Title and article updated with new total numbers (see below for full editorial comment).   (APN) ATLANTA — The Atlanta Board of Education has conceded to recouping tens of millions dollars less than the original 162 million dollars promised to the Atlanta Public School system (APS) for its participation in the Beltline Tax Allocation District (TAD).   In […]

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Oral Arguments to be Held in Homeless Task Force Appeal

anita

(APN) ATLANTA — The Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless and the apparent co-conspirators who set out to sabotage their operation will be in front of the Supreme Court of Georgia on Tuesday, June 02, 2015, to argue their cases.   The main issue is whether Fulton County Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall erroneously issued an order allowing Premium […]

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Misdemeanor Fee-based Probation Tolling Ends after Georgia Supreme Court Ruling

hugh thompson

(APN) ATLANTA — The Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously ruled, on November 24, 2014, that courts are prohibited from lengthening a person’s misdemeanor sentence beyond what was originally ordered by the sentencing court.  The opinion was written by Chief Justice Hugh Thompson.   The Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s finding that private probation companies do not have the legal […]

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Georgia’s Religious Freedom Bill: A Legal Primer for Progressives

(APN) ATLANTA — State Rep. Sam Teasley (R-Marietta) has pre-filed HB 29, the Preventing Government Overreach on Religious Expression Act, for the 2015-2016 Georgia Legislative Session.   The bill–which would seek to change the court standard for cases involving claims for religious freedom–is likely to spark controversy, uproar, and impassioned lobbying both for and against the legislation.   Last year, […]

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Voter Registration Case Likely Headed to Georgia Supreme Court (UPDATE 1)

(APN) ATLANTA — The voter registration case brought by New Georgia Project (NGP) and other voter rights organizations against Secretary of State (SOS) Brian Kemp appears likely to head to the Supreme Court of Georgia, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. The attorneys for the Plaintiffs will be making a decision about whether to appeal “post haste,” Julie Houk, Senior Special […]

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Georgia Supreme Court Takes Homeless Task Force Case, as City Threatens Water Shut-off Again

(APN) ATLANTA — On August 29, 2014, the Supreme Court of Georgia issued a ruling in two related emergency appeals brought by the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless.  The court accepted the Task Force’s direct appeal; and dismissed the other appeal, an application for immediate review, as duplicative.  The appeals case going forward is S14M1956.     Meanwhile, […]

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Atlanta, ADA Has Converted Millions of School Dollars to Beltline Slush Fund (UPDATE 1)

(APN) ATLANTA — An effort to “request and encourage” the Mayor of Atlanta and Atlanta Public Schools (APS) former Interim Superintendent Errol Davis to reach an amicable settlement for the over 20 million dollars owed to APS generated by the Beltline Tax Allocation District (TAD) is moving forward, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.     According to APS Board of […]

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Virginia “Ginny” Looney, 1952-2014, ¡Presente!

(APN) ATLANTA — Virginia “Ginny” Lucile Looney, the first ethics officer for the City of Atlanta, and passionate advocate for transparency in government, passed away Wednesday, June 25, 2014, at the age of 61 after a five-year battle with ovarian cancer. Looney was born September 11, 1952 and grew up in Huntsville, Alabama.  She received her bachelor’s degree in Southern […]

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Pink Pony, Brookhaven Argue before Georgia Supreme Court

(APN) ATLANTA — On June 02, 2014, the Supreme Court of Georgia heard oral arguments in the case of the City of Brookhaven v. Trop. Inc. doing business as The Pink Pony, on whether the Pink Pony Adult Club could continue regular business, in light of an ordinance passed just one month after the inception of the City of Brookhaven, […]

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Supreme Court Disbars Former US Rep. Denise Majette

  (APN) ATLANTA — The Supreme Court of Georgia has disbarred former U.S. Rep. Denise Majette (D-Atlanta), who served nine years as a State Court Judge in DeKalb County before running for Congress in the 4th district.   According to the State Supreme Court opinion, Majette was disbarred in a ruling of 4 to 2 for “committing multiple violations of […]

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2014 Election Qualifying Wrap-Up Part 3: Judicial, Fulton County Races

  (APN) ATLANTA — Candidate qualifying for Primary Elections and Nonpartisan Elections [such as judicial races] was held on March 03 through March 07, 2014.  Many candidates qualified for a variety of seats.   This article is the third in a three-part series providing a broad overview of the races.     Part one looked at statewide and U.S. Congressional […]

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Attacks Begin in Post 3 Willis/Dickens Council Race

  (APN) ATLANTA — The attacks have begun to fly in the Post 3-at-large race, where embattled incumbent Lamar Willis is facing a challenge from newcomer Andre Dickens.   Willis is one of the least progressive members of the Atlanta City Council, with a score of 36.84 out of 100 on the APN City Council Scorecard.  Willis has a history […]

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Andre Dickens, Willis’s Council Opponent, on the Issues

(APN) ATLANTA — Over the last two days, Atlanta Progressive News interviewed Andre Dickens regarding his position on the issues in preparation for this November’s Municipal Elections for the City of Atlanta, in which Dickens is challenging Lamar Willis (Post 3-at-large).     As previously reported by APN, Willis has had numerous ethical issues over the years.  He is currently […]

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Councilman Willis Failed to Disclose Donations, Has Numerous Liens, Faces New State Ethics Complaint

  (APN) ATLANTA — Atlanta City Councilman H. Lamar Willis (Post 3-at-large) faces a new complaint submitted to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (GGTCFC) regarding his failure to disclose at least four thousand dollars in campaign contributions in reports that he filed with the Commission; and has numerous recent outstanding liens against him, in addition to the […]

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Beltline TAD Saved by Constitutional Amendment, Georgia Supreme Court Rules

  (APN) ATLANTA — In a unanimous opinion, on June 03, 2013, the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that the 2008 statewide ballot referendum, which sought to retroactively approve unconstitutional Tax Allocations Districts (TADs) in the State of Georgia, effectively brought the TADs back to life, despite the fact that the same Court had found the TADs to be previously […]

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