Atlanta journal constitution archives online trial#
In this case, avoiding a lengthy trial with 19 co-defendants may reduce some legal fees. Rubin says the most common reason to call for a speedy trial is for a client who is detained in jail, awaiting trial without bond. Pool/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee presides over a hearing Thursday regarding media access in the case against former President Donald Trump and 18 others. Georgia law allows defendants to demand a trial within the same term of court as their indictment was handed up, or in the following one.įulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who's presiding over the case, has set Chesebro's trial date for Oct. Meanwhile, defendants Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, both lawyers for Trump after the 2020 election, have moved for a "speedy trial." It's also uncertain whether an order removing one defendant's case would drag all the other defendants along to federal court as well, meaning the decision on Meadows could have implications for the entire case. "At the same time, conservatives particularly have a broad view of executive power." "The right of states as sovereign entities to prosecute crimes without federal courts intervening, that's something generally conservatives would agree with," Kreis says. Supreme Court on appeal, and how the conservative-leaning court would rule is not clear. Kreis says this debate could reach the U.S. The Hatch Act restricts federal officials from engaging in campaign activity in their official capacity, though Meadows denies that's what he was doing. His lead counsel, Steven Sadow, observed Meadows' Monday hearing from the gallery.ĪP Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows faces two felony counts in the Georgia indictment.īut first, Judge Jones will need to weigh whether Meadows' activities - like offering campaign funding to a Georgia official to speed up a signature audit, sending an email referring to the coordination of fake electors, and facilitating Trump's phone call asking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" votes - really were part of his official duties.įulton County prosecutors argue that those actions could not have been under the scope of Meadows' White House job. So are David Shafer and Cathy Latham, who falsely claimed to be official electors for the state, though most legal experts agree their effort is a stretch. Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark is also seeking to have his case tried in federal court. In other words, Meadows may try to claim immunity from prosecution because the state of Georgia can't criminalize conduct the federal government explicitly allows.įormer U.S. "At the end of the day, if Mark Meadows was able to show he was acting entirely consistent with what the federal law authorized him to do, then he has a very strong case to suggest the Constitution's Supremacy Clause renders any prosecution by the state of Georgia null and void," Kreis says. If Meadows is successful, one likely benefit to him would be a broader, more Republican-leaning jury pool, as jurors would come from 10 counties in northern Georgia, not just heavily Democratic Fulton County.Īnthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University, says there's another potential benefit for Meadows. Taking the witness stand on Monday, Meadows claimed the activities outlined in the indictment fell under his official duties as White House chief of staff, meaning he has a right to remove his case to federal court.
District Judge Steve Jones is weighing whether former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows can have his Georgia criminal case tried in federal, rather than state, court. "Because the case involving these 19 defendants seems to be going in a lot of different directions all at the same time and that's very unusual." "We're in a huge state of flux right now," says criminal defense attorney Bob Rubin. And some want their cases severed from others so they can move at their own pace. Two defendants moved for a speedy trial to occur this fall. Several defendants are seeking to have their cases tried in federal court. Then the potential courses ahead get complex. ATLANTA - With Donald Trump's not guilty plea on Thursday, the Georgia election interference case may be entering its most frenzied period yet, as the conflicting legal strategies of 19 co-defendants and the crowded calendar for the former president's other court cases complicate the path to trial.Īll defendants will enter their pleas by Wednesday.
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