April 9, 2010

Atlanta criminal attorney wins acquittal for DeKalb teacher accused of allowing students to perform striptease dance in class

A DeKalb County jury has acquitted a former Southwest DeKalb High School teacher of charges which alleged that he allowed students to strip-dance and simulate sex acts in class. The "not guilty" verdict was handed down on Wednesday after two days of trial and six hours of deliberation.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.

The teacher, Nathan Grigsby, was charged with five counts of contributing to the deprivation of a minor. Grigsby was arrested after a video of the incident appeared on Facebook. The one minute video was captured by one of Grigsby’s students and depicted three male students stripping and performing simulated sex acts.

Prosecutors say that in addition to the inappropriate dancing the video showed Grigsby smiling in the background. Grigsby claims it was simply a look of shock. Grigsby explained to jurors that he had his back turned to the rest of the class when the dancing first started. He went on to explain that he ended the dancing as soon as he turned around and saw what was happening.

Prosecutors will now direct their attention to the three male students caught on the video. All three face public indecency charges.

Defense lawyer Jackie Patterson represented the teacher and did a great job in the case.

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Posted In: Georgia Criminal Trials , Metro Atlanta , Sex Crimes

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February 12, 2010

Dekalb County murder trial ends in a hung jury

On Monday, a DeKalb County judge declared a mistrial in the case of a Dunwoody woman accused of shooting and killing her wealthy husband. The mistrial was handed down after jurors became deadlocked as to whether the woman acted in self-defense.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.

The week-long trial forced jurors to answer whether Lona Scott, 47, shot her husband six times to protect herself or whether she was after his millions of dollars. After 20 hours of deliberation, the jury, which consisted of four women and eight men, were evenly divided as to guilt. It was at that time that Superior Court Judge Cynthia Brown issued the mistrial.

Lona’s husband, Ralph C. “Cliff” Scott, 42, was described as a muscular man who ran a successful trucking company. Lona and Ralph Scott wedded in 2000 and endured a turbulent marriage with alleged past acts of violence and cheating.

During trial, jurors heard Lona Scott explain how her husband, Ralph C. “Cliff” Scott, became angered late one night in March of 2008 after she refused to have sex with him or talk about the divorce petition she had filed. She then described to jurors the scene that took place in the couple’s master bedroom. Cliff Scott apparently pulled Lona’s hair and put her in a choke-hold. He only released her after she told him that he was going to wake their 5 year old daughter. Lona then retrieved a .22 caliber hand gun from a desk in hopes of leaving the home safely.

However, Cliff Scott refused to let her leave and told her that he could kill her since she had a gun. He then allegedly charged after Lona at which time she fired a single bullet into his chest. Lona claims that Cliff charged her again causing her to pull the trigger five more times. Three of those bullets struck Cliff in the elbows and forehead. The other two lodged in his back as he turned and fell to the floor. Lona then called 911.

Defense attorney Brian Steel, of the Steel Law Firm in Atlanta, asked Lona Scott why she did it. She told jurors, “Because he was going to kill me.” However, Assistant District Attorney John Melvin believes that money was the true motive. Melvin argued to jurors that Lona was after Cliff Scott’s five million dollar estate. Melvin explained that Lona became enraged after learning that Cliff was in the process of transferring his money into a secretive account in the Bahamas where he planned to live.

The District Attorney’s Office expects to retry the case soon.

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Posted In: Georgia Criminal Law , Georgia Criminal Trials , Metro Atlanta , Violent Crimes

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January 29, 2010

Georgia criminal lawyer wins acquittal on reckless conduct charge in after-prom party death in Barrow County

Barrow County High School student Leland Martin, 18, died of suffocation in 2007 after passing out during a prom party. Authorities say alcohol contributed to the death. On Thursday, a Barrow County jury acquitted Anthony Perry, who was 19 at the time, of playing a role in Martin’s death.

The Athens Banner-Herald has the story.

The Barrow County District Attorney’s Office had charged Perry with reckless conduct, since the party at which Martin died occurred in Perry’s home. At trial, it was revealed that Martin’s body was not found until the following morning even though 20 to 40 people were at the prom party. Perry's defense attorney, Christine Koehler, did a fantastic job defending her client.

The trial came on the heels of a plea deal prosecutors made with Barbara Ann Michael, Perry’s step-mother. Michael was accused of allowing her teenage children to throw parties at her home. Prosecutors alleged that Michael was aware that alcohol was being served at the prom party even though she was not at home during the party and did not provide the alcohol. She ended up pleading to eight misdemeanors.

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Posted In: Georgia Criminal Law , Georgia Criminal Trials , Northeast Georgia

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Contributors

Page Pate
Page Pate is an accomplished trial lawyer and founding partner of Pate & Brody. Page was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association, and is a frequent commentator on Georgia and federal criminal procedure for the local media...

Bernard Brody
Bernard Brody is an experienced trial and appellate criminal defense lawyer and founding partner of Pate & Brody...

Jess Johnson
Jess Johnson graduated first in his class from the University of Georgia in 2006, where he attained degrees in political science and sociology...

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