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Judge quashes recallTue, 09/01/2009 - 4:32pm
By: John Munford
Commissioner Horgan's arrest not connected to official duties; criminal case to be heard A court ruling Friday quashed the efforts of a citizen’s group trying to get Fayette County Commissioner Robert Horgan kicked out of office. But the same jurist who ruled in Horgan’s favor may also have handed him another hurdle. Superior Court Judge A. Quillian Baldwin of the Coweta Judicial Circuit said Horgan could be forced to resign from office as a requirement of a probation sentence for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Because Horgan’s arrest could not be directly tied to any official duty, Judge Baldwin said that under Georgia law he could not be subject to a recall. The law is different for public officers arrested on felonies, but in this case Horgan is accused of a misdemeanor, Baldwin said. Judge Baldwin noted that Horgan, who was arrested May 23, was pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy near 6 p.m. on a Saturday when he was driving home from the Fayetteville Lowe’s home improvement store. The initial reason for the stop was that Horgan was driving a truck with an expired auto tag, and he was also cited for that charge. Horgan was arrested at the scene. According to the deputy’s incident report, Horgan at first said there was nothing illegal in the truck but he later admitted at the scene that he had been smoking marijuana while driving. The Committee To Recall Robert Horgan had hoped to survive Friday’s court hearing with its initiative intact. Had that occurred, the committee would have needed to secure more than 21,000 signatures of voters who voted in the November election when Horgan was re-elected to office. Robert Ross of Peachtree City, who has led the recall effort and was the petitioner, has a chance to appeal Judge Baldwin’s decision to the Georgia Supreme Court. Ross was represented in court by former Fayette County Attorney Dennis Davenport, whose law firm was dismissed as county attorney in 2007 by the current commission. Ultimately the commission chose to use an in-house attorney for most of its legal matters. Horgan said after the hearing that he felt “a lot better” and was “a little relieved” about the outcome because it saved county taxpayers the cost of a recall election. If the recall were to be approved, it would actually cost the taxpayers two elections, as a separate election would have been required to replace Horgan. A court date has not been set for the criminal case against Horgan, which includes the misdemeanor marijuana possession charge and also the expired tag charge. During Friday’s hearing, Horgan’s attorney Christy Jindra argued that Horgan is not alleged to have committed any criminal act directly related to his office. “Mr. Horgan has not stolen any money, has not misappropriated anything, and has not done anything wrong at any of the meetings,” Jindra said. login to post comments
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