By MONROE ROARK
mroark@thecitizennews.com

A U.S. District Court judge in Newnan has reversed a jury verdict and ruled in favor of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department concerning the termination in 1997 of veteran deputy, Lt. Joe Winn.

A jury found May 11 that Winn was fired for filing a sworn statement with an opposing lawyer after a 1997 traffic stop involving the late Beverley Watson's husband, Jim Watson.

Winn had been awarded $15,000 by the jury, and the Sheriff's Department asked Judge Jack T. Camp for a summary judgment, which Camp issued Friday.

Sheriff Randall Johnson said he was glad the case was finally over after nearly three years.

“It worked itself out. I thought it would come out eventually,” said Johnson. “We're glad to get it over with. We hated that it came up to start with.”

Winn filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the department because he felt he was terminated for speaking out about wrongdoing, his attorney Bruce Miller said last week. But Marvin Devlin, attorney for the Sheriff's Department, said that the jury was instructed to rule only on whether Winn was fired for his statements, and the judge would have to decide if Winn's statement was protected speech.

According to court records, Winn was instructed by Maj. Bruce Jordan to stop Jim Watson's Mercury Mountaineer July 2, 1997. Jordan searched the vehicle and found a loaded Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, which was checked and later returned to Watson. No charges were filed against Watson in connection with the traffic stop.

Watson was stopped for suspicion of having illegally tinted windows. Winn was unable to produce a card issued by the Sheriff's Department to check the window tint, court records indicated.

Watson never refuted the charge concerning his windows. Winn performed the traffic stop at Jordan's orders, Miller said, and watched Jordan search the vehicle over Watson's protests.

Watson alleged that the action constituted an illegal search and seizure and a civil rights violation. He filed a federal lawsuit in that regard, and Jordan countersued for libel. Both actions were thrown out of federal court earlier this year.

In the month following the traffic stop, Winn was approached by Watson's attorney Lee Sexton, whom court records stated was an old friend of Winn's and had done legal work for him in the past.

Jordan saw Winn speaking with Sexton at the courthouse a few days after the traffic stop, and told him not to discuss the Beverley Watson investigation with Sexton. She disappeared more than three years ago after last being seen at her home in Fayette County.

A portion of her remains were found in Fulton County last spring. Fulton County authorities have not officially announced that her death was the result of foul play, and Jim Watson was never officially named a suspect by Fayette County authorities after her disappearance.

Jordan's orders were confirmed by Maj. Whitlock, Winn's division commander, who added that Winn should not discuss the case without the county attorney present, court records stated.

Winn eventually signed a written affidavit for Sexton, swearing that he did not see Watson's vehicle commit a traffic offense or commit any other rule of the road that would justify pulling it over. He added that Watson denied Jordan consent to search the vehicle and Winn did not see any probable cause to do so.

Winn's affidavit led to an immediate suspension, and within two days a disciplinary board unanimously voted to terminate him.

The jury was instructed by Judge Camp to consider only whether Winn was fired as a result of his statements to Sexton, and it was up to the judge himself to determine whether Winn had a constitutional right to make those statements in light of his position with the Sheriff's Department. That was the key to the case being reversed, according to the defendants.

“The evidence clearly showed that Joe Winn had ulterior motives when he provided the affidavit to Lee Sexton,” said Jordan. “That's why his speech was not protected.”

Camp noted in his ruling that the Sheriff's Department did not attempt any kind of coverup for wrongdoing, and Winn had established channels through which he could have brought his concerns to light if he perceived abuses in the department.

“The interests of discipline and efficiency of the Sheriff's Department outweigh Deputy Winn's First Amendment rights under the particular circumstances of this case,” Camp's ruling stated. “Deputy Winn did not have a right to criticize publicly a superior officer's operational orders during on ongoing investigation, when he had ample means available to him for commenting upon any perceived abuse.”

An 18-year veteran of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, Winn now works as a deputy in Clayton County and plans to run for sheriff of Pike County, his attorney said last week.