They are afraid of exposure - charges dropped against the publisher and his attorney for seeking public records in Georgia

On July 3, 2016 I posted a blog covering the latest efforts by various members of the government in the United States to punish in various ways people who seek public records and use them to expose misconduct in the government.

On the same day, July 3, 2016, I published a separate blog highlighting a specific example of the above sanctions, the recent arrest in Georgia of a publisher, Mark Thomason, and his attorney Russel Stookey in Georgia.

Mr. Thomason and Mr. Stookey were arrested by the DA on a complaint from a judge whose court records were sought by Mr. Thomason and Mr. Stookey, under the interesting circumstances that the DA was the judge's former law clerk, and the records sought could expose judicial misconduct and misuse of funds in the court operating account.  Specifically, the records sought to verify whether the court system, with knowledge and/or approval of the complaining judge Brenda Weaver, has paid $16,000 in legal fees to private attorneys of a stenographer who counter-sued Mr. Thomason when Mr. Thomason, with the help of attorney Stookey, was trying to get an audio tape of court proceedings that, in its own turn, could show that the presiding judge (who quickly retired) used the "N-word", not reflected in the transcript, in calling discussing an African American criminal defendant in open court.

So - the publisher and his attorney sought records that would prove (1) racism of a judge;  (2) that the transcript was cooked.

When that lawsuit was squashed by the court system, without releasing the audio, and the stenographer had the audacity to seek attorney fees against Mr. Thomason and his attorney despite the fact that she withdrew her counter-claim, Mr. Thomason and his attorney sought copies of court records to prove that the fees in question were already paid from another source - the court operating account.

And for that they were arrested by the judge's former law clerk turned DA, charged with three felonies and thrown into jail.

Now it has been announced that the charges were dropped - after a campaign in the media and social media.

It is good that the system is afraid of exposure of misconduct.

It is good that justice and common sense prevailed - this time.

Yet, nobody can undo for Mr. Thomason and Mr. Stookey time spent in jail, the indignity and stress of arrest and criminal charges, the threat of disbarment for Mr. Stookey, an attorney charged with 3 felonies for doing his job for his client.

And, the case was dismissed not because it was unlawful and unconstitutional, but because the alleged "victim", Judge Brenda Weaver, the District Attorney's former employer, asked the DA, her own former law clerk, "after conferring with individuals who the judge greatly admired", to drop the charges.

So, the judicial system managed to turn even dropping of unconstitutional charges into a farce.

And, I hope that Mr. Thomason and Mr. Stookey will now sue Judge Brenda Weaver, DA Sosebee and those who helped them in this shameful mess - just like attorney George Galgano recently did in New York, after two full-blown criminal felony prosecutions, complete with ransacking his law office, because he also happened to investigate corruption in the local government, including police and prosecution, as part of his job.

I will dedicate a separate blog to the disgraceful letter of Judge Brenda Weaver asking to drop the charges against Mr. Thomason and Attorney Stookey.

Stay tuned.