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Title: Judge Gets Journalist Indicted For Literally Doing His Job and Seeking Public Records
Source:
lawnewz
URL Source: http://lawnewz.com/high-profile/out ... er-indicted-for-doing-his-job/
Published: Jul 4, 2016
Author: Rachel Stockman
Post Date: 2016-07-04 18:14:42 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 1180
Comments: 14
What is going on in a small rural Georgia town is almost so crazy, it’s unbelievable. In fact, I probably wouldn’t believe it was true — except for the fact I spent three and half years reporting in Georgia and know some of the players involved from my days investigating local issues there. Here are the basics. Local reporter Mark Thomason, publisher of the Fannin Focus, and his newspaper’s attorney were jailed on felony charges after they tried to obtain records about the North Georgia court. I’m not kidding, that’s pretty much all they did. Chief Judge Brenda Weaver was so incensed by Thomason’s “relentless pursuit of public records” she took matters into her own hands and called up the local district attorney, who sought the indictment, according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Now Thomason, and the newspaper’s attorney, Russell Stookey, are out on bail and may even be forced to undergo drug tests as one of the conditions. Worse yet, Judge Weaver, who recommended the charges to the DA, chairs the state Judicial Qualifications Commission which is the very body that is supposed to investigate judges for judicial misconduct! What a mess. Thomason and Stookey were charged with felonies including identity fraud, making a false statement and attempted identity fraud. The AJC did an excellent job of summarizing what got the judge so mad that she went after these ridiculous charges: Thomason was trying to find records that might support rumors that some court funds were misspent. His open records request sought copies of checks that “have not been deposited but cashed illegally.” The legal saga is rooted in a fight Thomason was having with a local court reporter. He had filed suit to obtain audio tapes of a court proceeding — tapes he thought would reveal information that was not in the court reporter’s transcript. The stenographer filed a counterclaim, saying Thomason had defamed her by questioning the accuracy of a court transcript. Thomason’s suit was dismissed and the court reporter then withdrew her action. But she persuaded Judge Weaver to use a court account funded by taxpayers, to cover her attorney fees, which came to about $16,000. Thomason and Stookey then obtained subpoenas for copies of those checks. So get this, the criminal charges against Thomason stem from the fact that on a open records request, he requested a copy of the actual cleared checks which “according to several banks, some of these checks appear to have been deposited but cashed illegally.” The DA claims that “cashed illegally” was a false statement, and he got a grand jury to indict the journalist for that (remember the old saying, you can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich? Well it happened here). As for the identity theft charges, I’m having trouble making sense of the legal justification but it has something to do with the fact that Thomason and Stookey didn’t get Judge Weaver’s approval before sending subpoenas to a bank where the Judge maintained accounts for office expenses. According to the AJC, Weaver suggested the Thomason and Stookey could be trying to steal banking information. Both Weaver and the DA are standing by the charges. Even based on Weaver’s own statements, you can’t help but come to the conclusion that the charges are politically motivated. “I don’t react well when my honesty is questioned,” she said, according to the AJC. “It’s clear this is a personal vendetta against me. I don’t know how else to explain that.” Since the charges surfaced last week, several legal organizations have strongly come out in the journalist’s defense. The Society of Professional Journalists has called for the Georgia Attorney General to look into the matter. In fact, several local attorneys have called for Weaver to resign from Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission. That would be an obvious first step for her to take. In Georgia, like many states, there are few checks on district attorneys and judges once they assume office. This is a clear example of why there should be more. Editor’s Note: An earlier version referenced Fannin County Superior Court, it was actually the Appalachian Judicial Court, which includes Fannin County. 
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#1. To: cranky (#0)
Does "doing his job" include sending subpoenas to the bank where the Judge maintained accounts for office expenses prior to the Judge's approval? Sounds to me like an indictable offense.
Maybe if you're a ham sandwich.
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LOL! Good reply.
It's not clear if they sent an Open Records Request, which any citizen has the right to do (under that state law) or an unsigned or fraudulent subpoena. Nothing quite defames a stenographer more than refusing to present audio records to corroborate how good a job s/he does. And $16,000 in legal fees to defend a refusal to present an audio record that says the exact same thing as the court transcript??? That smells pretty bad to me. The checks should most certainly be reviewed by the public. Could be a case of a dirty judge and court officers embezzling.
"While there may have been some missteps in making the open records request, Thomason said there was nothing nefarious in the request and no attempt for financial gain or identity theft. Hudson explained the law requires that anyone requesting bank records also notify the customer or depositor, which may not have been done in this case." I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
From the way I see it, every party involved here is a vindictive asshole. And that judge looks like she has had her face in a lot of carpet.
Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
Something's missing here. I find it hard to believe the stenographer would file a defamation lawsuit over a simple records request.
Since the stenographer is in charge of the court transcript, and is being accused of fraud in doing her her job, I don't find it out of the ordinary that she wouldn't want to protect her reputation. Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
Is she? So you're saying every government records request, every verification request, every request for supporting documentation, could be followed by a defamation countersuit? Well, that puts a big chill on the Freedom of Information Act, now doesn't it?
Well, I was just going as to basis for the suit. They said the records weren't kept properly. But as i first said, everybody involved in this seems to be an asshole as far as I am concerned. i don't see any good guys. Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
It seems as though this "reporter", Mark Thomason, is trying to make a name for himself. He must have made some accusation about the trial transcript before actually listening to the audio.
Sounds to me that an official complaint needs to be filed against this judge and even sue her in her personal capacity. Also, some phone calls and letters need to be written to the State Representatives of that district.
This is the second case lately where I have seen wild overreaction to an attempt to ascertain whether the court record is an accurate representation of true events.
"Judge Gets Journalist Indicted For Literally Doing His Job and Seeking Public Records"
#2. To: misterwhite (#1)
#3. To: cranky (#0)
publisher of the Fannin Focus
#4. To: Logsplitter (#2)
Maybe if you're a ham sandwich.
#5. To: cranky (#0)
He had filed suit to obtain audio tapes of a court proceeding — tapes he thought would reveal information that was not in the court reporter’s transcript. The stenographer filed a counterclaim, saying Thomason had defamed her by questioning the accuracy of a court transcript.
#6. To: cranky (#0)
(Edited)
#7. To: cranky (#0)
#8. To: cranky (#0)
"The stenographer filed a counterclaim, saying Thomason had defamed her by questioning the accuracy of a court transcript."
#9. To: misterwhite (#8)
I find it hard to believe the stenographer would file a defamation lawsuit over a simple records request.
#10. To: no gnu taxes (#9)
"and is being accused of fraud in doing her her job"
#11. To: misterwhite (#10)
#12. To: no gnu taxes (#11)
#13. To: cranky (#0)
#14. To: no gnu taxes (#9)
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