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Harris removed from sign cases; Judge says solicitor may himself have violated ordinance

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@thecitizennews.com

Fayette County’s state court prosecutor has been removed from seven cases involving the county’s sign ordinance.

State Court Judge Fletcher Sams issued an order last week recusing Steve Harris from the case because he “has erected multiple personal signs in and around Fayette County that are arguably in the same state of violation,” Sams wrote.

Harris did not return a phone message seeking comment Monday; a staffer said he was out of town at a conference. He has contended that as prosecutor of misdemeanor cases, he has the discretion to drop cases.

Harris ran unsuccessfully for superior court judge against incumbent Tommy Hankinson, losing by a 2-1 margin in all four counties in the circuit, which includes Fayette, Spalding, Pike and Upson counties. Hankinson won the race with 21,468 votes to Harris’s 12,654.

In a written order, Judge Sams noted that part of Georgia’s standards for lawyers require attorneys “not to represent or continue to represent a client if there is a significant risk that the lawyer’s own interest ... will materially and adversely affect the representation of the client.”

Sams wrote, “There is a significant risk that the solicitor-general’s own interest in avoiding any possible prosecution of himself will materially and adversely affect his representation of Fayette County. Solicitor-General Harris is hereby recused from representing Fayette County and the State of Georgia in the investigation and prosecution of the above-referenced ordinance cases.”

Sams appointed the state attorney general to handle the cases in Harris’ place.

Several weeks ago, Harris said he was going to drop four of the cases where local residents were cited for sign ordinance violations with political signs. He wasn’t sure about the other two because the persons charged in those two cases were displaying his signs either before or after a warning was issued by a Fayette County marshal.

Harris has contended that the county’s sign ordinance is unconstitutional as applied to political signs because it restricts political speech.

The issue has been a contentious one, as Sams responded to a letter Harris wrote, noting that Harris didn’t have the authority to declare the ordinance unconstitutional. In that letter, Sams pledged that the cases would be adjudicated in state court without any political preference.

County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn also wrote Harris, imploring him to reconsider his stance.

The county’s ordinance limits homeowners to no more than one “non-commercial” sign per parcel, with a size limit of six square feet.