Wednesday, Mar. 23, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Lawyer in countys legal firm faces Open Records arrestBy BEN NELMS An attorney who works for the law firm representing Fayette Countys government is facing a misdemeanor arrest charge for violating Georgias open records laws. Fayetteville attorney E. Allison Ivey Cox is facing the open records violation in connection with a Union City lawsuit alleging a woman inmate was abused and humiliated. Cox and her firm, McNally, Fox and Grant of Fayetteville, serve as the city attorney for Union City. The same firm has served as the attorneys for Fayette County for more than two decades. At issue was the request of information by attorney Eldridge Suggs IV. The open records request was for documentation relevant to a lawsuit filed against the city of Union City by city resident Shakita Perdue. The woman is alleging officials mistreated her while in custody last July at South Fulton Municipal Regional Jail in Union City. An internal investigation by jail authorities revealed that Perdue was strapped naked to a restraint chair for more than three hours in an area of the jail known as the cage, an area in plain view of male inmates and jail officials. Cox is an attorney with Fayettevilles McNally Fox and Grant law firm, which represents the South Fulton Municipal Regional Jail, the city of Union City and Fayette County. The misdemeanor charge, a violation of state law 50-18-74, involves the unlawful refusal to provide access to public records. The warrant was granted by Fulton County Magistrate Judge Franklin Biggins on March 17, according to officials at the criminal warrants division of Fulton County Magistrate Court. In response to the charge, Cox said Tuesday that the city (Union City) has followed the law in responding to every request Mr. Suggs has made. Suggs said he requested that Cox provide him with a copy of the internal investigation conducted by jail personnel relating to the incident July 31, 2004 when Perdue was strapped naked to a restraint chair for several hours in plain view of male inmates and jail personnel. Coxs alleged failure to comply impeded his ability to inspect the document until after the time frame specified by the law had expired, Suggs said. The Georgia Open Records Law states that an individual is entitled to a response to public records within three business days from the time of the request. The agency must produce the records within three days or state in writing what records it has and when it will do so or the exceptions upon which it relies to deny access to the records. For Suggs, that less than timely response compelled him to take action on behalf of his client, a woman, he said, that had already suffered enough while in custody at the jail. They had already done something horrendous and atrocious to Ms. Perdue and they followed it up by flatly violating the spirit of the law when it comes to Ms. Perdue and her attempt to capture the public information that documents their horrendous and atrocious actions toward her, Suggs said Monday. Were here to say that Ms. Perdue is not going to be violated anymore. |
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