2/2/2011 Corruption cases run deep, wide | Jacks…

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Published Sunday, August 31, 2008

Corruption cases run deep, wide

The Alapaha Judicial Circuit is being looked at from every side

Teresa Stepzinski

The Alapaha Judicial Circuit is a sort of quiet in-between place with bustling Valdosta to the west and the nation's
commerce thundering along rails through Waycross to the east.

Federal prosecutors contend it is a place where official corruption has flowed like the blackwater river that gives the
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circuit its name.

Whether the assertions hold true could be known in part soon. Clinch County Sheriff Winston Peterson will stand trial in
a week in U.S. District Court in Valdosta on charges of obstruction of justice and perjury. Peterson, 62, is among eight Things to do
court or law enforcement officials indicted in the five-county circuit since the FBI began investigating former chief judge
Brooks E. Blitch III four years ago. Most of the accused were indicted within the past year.
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Blitch, 74, was indicted July 17 on the most severe charges in the case that Gov. Sonny Perdue said caused the circuit's Friday, Apr 01, 8 pm
residents to suffer through what appeared "to have been great abuses of judicial power." Florida Theatre

The governor also rebuked the circuit's lawyers and other judges for doing little to counter the culture of corruption that Ridin Solo Easter Bash Featuring
came to light only through the federal investigations and a coinciding state Judicial Qualifications Commission probe. Keith Sweat & Silk
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Alapaha isn't the only judicial circuit that has had officials in trouble. Sheriffs in the neighboring Brunswick and
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Waycross judicial circuits have been scrutinized during recent years. Jeff Davis County Sheriff Jimmy Laddie Boatright
Jr. was charged Aug. 14 with federal wire fraud and bank fraud. Coffee County Sheriff Rob Smith stepped down after
pleading guilty to one state count of misdemeanor malpractice and malfeasance in office on March 31, 2006. Cats
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But Alapaha is the only circuit in which charges have been filed on all levels, from court clerks to sheriff to judges. The Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts
circuit also is the only one to trigger the governor's public ire over the widespread misconduct allegations.

Perdue issued the scathing criticism in July while naming a new judge to replace Blitch, who resigned in May to avoid
state judicial misconduct charges.
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So far, neither the indictments nor the governor's rebuke appear to carry much weight in Clinch County, which is the 2 3 4 5 6 All
heart of the circuit.
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"I think people don't like corruption, and they know that it's gone on, but we don't feel shamed by the governor's
comments. He never comes south of Macon," said Philips Martin, executive vice president of the Clinch County Submit an Event | More Things To Do
Chamber of Commerce.

Martin said there's no indication tourism has declined or that the scandal and bad publicity have affected business.

"People are just shaking their head over it and going on about their business," Martin said.

But lawyers, court personnel and elected officials are reluctant to talk publicly about the situation. Clinch County
Commission Chairman John "Wink" Strickland declined to comment to the Times-Union.

District Attorney Cathy Helms didn't return two Times-Union telephone messages seeking comment about the
scandal's effect, if any, on the prosecution of criminal cases in the circuit.

Elected in 2004 after the federal investigation began, Helms has cooperated with the FBI in the case, court documents
show.

"I don't believe she is seen as being part of the past history of problems that the governor said has occurred in the
circuit. If anything, she is seen as a reformer, one of the people responsible for correcting the problems," said Richard
Malone, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia.

However, some backlash is possible, he said.

"That's the bad part of political corruption. People tend to paint everyone with a broad brush," Malone said.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys alike may find it harder to get impartial jurors in the circuit the longer the case

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2/2/2011 Corruption cases run deep, wide | Jacks…
remains at the forefront in the community, said Alan Cook, director of the Prosecutorial Clinic at the University of Georgia
School of Law.

"Obviously, because of the publicity the jury pool will have heard about it but hopefully they won't hold it against the sitting
judges, prosecutors or defense attorneys," said Cook, who previously served as Alcovy Judicial Circuit district attorney
for 10 years.

Questioning prospective jurors to determine what they know and what they think about the matter should reduce the risk
of future trials being tainted by the scandal, Cook said.

Some wonder why the governor didn't ask the state attorney general to investigate, or take other action to stop the
corruption rather than criticize it afterward.

"These people [accused officials] are constitutionally elected officers, and the only time the governor can intervene is
when they've been indicted," said Bert Brantley, a Perdue spokesman.

"He just can't act on rumors or hearsay. In the state code, it's very clear as to what his authority is in these kind of
situations," Brantley said.

He said the governor didn't intend to insult anyone with his remarks. The governor only wanted to emphasize his
concern about the situation and the need for the public, lawyers and elected officials to unite to prevent future corruption,
Brantley said.

"It's important that people have confidence that the justice system is working in a fair and objective manner." Brantley
said.

Corruption can flourish anywhere unless the public and elected officials are vigilant and willing to expose it, he said.

"As there is more scrutiny, corrupt officials will be rooted out," Brantley said.

teresa.stepzinski@jacksonville.com (912) 264-0405

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PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS' COUNCIL OF GEORGIA GOVERNOR RICHARD MALONE TIMES-UNION CLINCH

COUNTY CHAMBER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CHAIRMAN JIMMY LADDIE BOATRIGHT JR. GEORGIA JEFF DAVIS
COUNTY SHERIFF COFFEE COUNTY SHERIFF BROOKS E. BLITCH III BRUNSWICK JUDICIAL EVENT CLINCH
COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ROB SMITH COUNTY COMMISSION ALCOVY JUDICIAL CIRCUIT DISTRICT
ATTORNEY BERT BRANTLEY TERESA.STEPZINSKI@JACKSONVILLE.COM

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