The lawsuit was submitted in Athens Monday. It alleges a lack of staffing as effectively as a refusal or inability to prosecute is hurting the county.
ATLANTA — Deborah Gonzalez, the district lawyer for Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties, has been accused of not satisfying the needs of her business thanks to a lack of prosecutors and a refusal or lack of ability to prosecute specified cases, in accordance to a lawsuit filed Monday.
Lawyers for Athens enterprise proprietor Jarrod Miller allege that Gonzalez “has been unable and unwilling to conduct her statutory responsibilities” as leading prosecutor for the Western Judicial District. Miller, who owns 1785 Bar and Grill, is trying to get the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court to get Gonzalez to adequately do her work. 11Alive was the to start with to obtain a duplicate of the lawsuit.
Gonzalez did not reply to calls, e-mails or textual content messages from an 11Alive reporter prior to publication.
According to the lawsuit, a deficiency of assistant district lawyers and significant turnover costs in Gonzalez’s office has delayed court docket proceedings or prompted cases to be dismissed in the counties.
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In accordance to the doc, at minimum 50 workforce have resigned or been terminated due to the fact Gonzalez took workplace in January 2021. The office environment has the capacity for 17 assistant district lawyers. However, only 5 are currently employed, leaving the office unable to properly staff courtroom hearings, in accordance to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Gonzalez also unsuccessful to properly suggest and convene grand juries. At the finish of 2022, Gonzalez’s workplace had 900 scenarios in Athens-Clarke County in the pre-indictment section. For the duration of the latest grand jury session, only two indictments had been issued, according to the lawsuit.
Gonzalez also improperly accused defendants 74 occasions applying a repealed point out law, in accordance to the lawsuit. The statute gave district attorneys the electricity to accuse crimes that would usually arrive prior to a grand jury. The measure was passed in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and repealed in June 2022.
Lawyers representing Miller allege that Gonzalez failed to prosecute instances. She’s refused to prosecute truancy situations as perfectly as marijuana and other drug possession situations offenses.


According to the lawsuit, close to 150 misdemeanor scenarios in Oconee County could be dismissed mainly because Gonzalez’s business unsuccessful to convey prices within the two-calendar year time limit.
The Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office environment has also violated a number of defendants’ rights to a speedy trial and mishandled quite a few sexual intercourse crimes, according to the lawsuit. Attorneys for Miller cite a youngster intercourse crime case that was dismissed because Gonzalez failed to consider the defendant in time.
Allegations in the lawsuit mirror worries that outstanding court docket judges in the Western Judicial District expressed to Gonzalez in Oct 2022.
In a letter obtained by 11Alive, the judges explained that they experienced grow to be “increasingly worried with regards to the efficacy, preparing and procedural readiness of Assistant District Lawyers doing the job in our four courts.”
Amongst their problems, the judges explained pleas and discovery were not remaining offered in a well timed method. Grand juries also weren’t staying used to their whole likely because functions resumed in March 2021.
Gonzalez, a Democrat, was elected District Attorney in 2020. She previously served in the Georgia Household of Representatives. Gonzalez is the very first Latina elected District Legal professional in the state.
The lawsuit will come as each the Ga Home of Representatives and the Georgia Senate passed individual laws that would generate a commission with the electricity to take away or self-control solicitors-typical and district lawyers. Republicans supportive of the fee have cited Gonzalez as a motivator for the laws.
It is not the very first time she’s drawn the ire of the GOP. In 2021, Georgia Lawyer Standard Chris Carr criticized Gonzalez, saying she had fully commited a doable violation of oath of workplace by selectively enforcing only specific misdemeanors.
11Alive Investigative Reporter Rebecca Lindstrom invested the past 3 months researching issues regarding Gonzalez and her business office. Lindstrom speaks with Gonzalez and individuals at the rear of the lawsuit tonight at 11.
In a assertion on the Western Judicial Circuit DA’s Fb page, Gonzalez mentioned the “assault” on her office is a aspect of a “politically-motivated campaign to undermine prosecutors who have been elected by their communities.” The assertion extra that she’s happy of the get the job done her office does.
“My neighborhood elected me primarily based on my assure to battle for a safer and far more just future. I will usually attempt to be greater in utilizing new approaches, and I am proud of the perform our workplace does just about every day, preventing for victims and a much more just lawful program,” the assertion reads in part. “I will keep on to maintain myself accountable to my neighborhood and resist endeavours to strip them of the management they have duly elected to carry out this position.”
