Georgia’s new elections law may have effects on local governments
4/12/21
By: William Linkous Georgia’s new elections law, which has been widely reported upon nationally, passed the Georgia General Assembly during the 2021 session and was signed into law by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp near the end of March. The 95-page revision may significantly affect the operations of local governments, which are often tasked with handling elections…
2/6/19
By: Jake Loken It is a rare sight to see a judge being sued, so what happens when one is? The process is generally the same as any other lawsuit, but one important doctrine can get in the way: absolute judicial immunity. The doctrine of absolute judicial immunity was recently discussed in McCullough v. Finley,…
Georgia Court of Appeals Concludes the Term “Affiliate” is Ambiguous
2/4/19
By: Jake Carroll In Salinas v. Atlanta Gas Light Company,[1] the Georgia Court of Appeals’ recently examined whether Georgia Natural Gas (“GNG”) and Atlanta Gas Light Company (“AGLC”) were “affiliates.” Both AGLC and GNG were owned and controlled, either directly or through an intermediary, by a company named AGL Resources, Inc. In Salinas, AGLC sought…
1/8/18
By: Allan J. Hayes Most businesses are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations. The business value at stake from legislative and government regulatory intervention is huge: about 30 percent of earnings for companies in most industries, according to a 2010 study by McKinsey & Company, and higher still in the banking sector, where…
The Entrepreneurs Parole Visa – Full Steam Ahead – For Now
12/4/17
By: Kenneth S. Levine On 12/1/2017 a Federal Judge ruled that the Department of Homeland Security did not have legal cause to delay the enactment of a visa program for foreign entrepreneurs. The program, referred to as the “International Entrepreneur Rule,” was supposed to have gone into effect on 07/17/2017. On 7/10/2017 the current presidential…
Let’s Go to the Replay: Effective Use of Video Footage to Defend Constitutional Claims
9/27/16
By: Andrew Treese and Kevin Stone The 1989 premier of COPS, and more significantly the Rodney King incident in 1991, marked the beginning of a new era in law enforcement: the era of “policing on video.” Technological advances, combined with lower prices and the availability of state and federal grants, spurred law enforcement agencies across the…
Baltimore Prosecutor Strikes Out on Criminal Charges for Arrest Without Probable Cause
8/12/16
By: Wes Jackson Recent high-profile deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police officers have been met with a clarion call for police reform on multiple fronts. Proposals range from requiring officers to wear body cameras to mandates that individual officers carry professional liability insurance. In this spirit, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn…
Police Body Cams – Look Before You Leap!
6/10/16
By: Sun Choy Many in the media and the public believe that law enforcement agencies should be rushing to equip every officer with a body cam. While the focus is on the many benefits of body cams, there is little discussion about the many limitations and unanswered questions raised by the use of body cams. …
Police Officer’s Mistake of Law Does Not Make an Arrest and Search Invalid
12/16/14
By: Wayne Melnick Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a police officer’s mistaken belief of the state of the law does not make an arrest and search invalid as long as the officer’s belief was reasonable. In Heien v. North Carolina, Case No. 13-604, an 8-1 majority affirmed the ruling of…
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month
10/15/12
By: Dave Cole
You may already know that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but did you know that it also is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month? In his proclamation of this as Cybersecurity Awareness Month, President Obama explained that, although our country benefits immensely from the Internet, increased connectivity brings increased risk of
8/13/12
By: Sun Choy
In GeorgiaCarry.org v. Georgia, the Eleventh Circuit upheld Georgia’s 2010 ban on guns in places of worship. The Baptist Tabernacle of Thomaston and GeorgiaCarry.org, a gun rights group, claimed that the ban violated their constitutionally protected religious freedoms and their right to bear arms. In rejecting plaintiffs’ argument that guns were necessary to protect the congregation, the court noted:
Supreme Court of Georgia Expands Waiver of Sovereign Immunity for Motor Vehicle Claims
7/9/12
By: Sun Choy
Last week, the Supreme Court of Georgia held in Gates v. Glass that the General Assembly created a “two-tier scheme” for waiving sovereign immunity in motor vehicle claims against cities and counties when it amended O.C.G.A. § 33-24-51 and enacted O.C.G.A. § 36-92-2. In the process
