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DOT commissioner speaks at Chamber event
ByToddTruelove
Staff Writer
Georgia Department of
Transportation (DOT) Com¬
missioner Harold Linnenkohl
recently spoke to members
of the Cumming-Forsyth
County Chamber of
Commerce about the status
of road projects in and
around the county.
The Chamber’s annual
transportation meeting was
conducted at the DeKalb
Office Environments in
Alpharetta.
Linnenkohl said the event
went well.
“We had an excellent visit
with the Chamber,” he said.
“The Chamber and the elect
ed leadership of Forsyth
County have been excellent
partners in helping to identi¬
fy and prioritize the county’s
• Court reverses ID theft
Thieves can be prosecuted
where the victim resides
By Stephen Gurr
Staff Writer
If your identity is stolen
and used for a cross-country
shopping spree, at least you
won’t have to start ringing
up out-of-town police
departments, thanks to a
court decision this week.
A controversial court rul¬
ing on the fast-growing
crime of identity theft was
reversed this week by the
Georgia Supreme Court,
drawing universal praise
from law enforcement offi¬
cials who said their hands
had been tied in prosecuting
criminals.
In October the high court
upheld a Clayton County rul-
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transportation needs. As
always seems to be the case,
there are more projects than
there are dollars with which
to do them.”
Linnenkohl briefly com¬
mented on some of the
scheduled road projects.
“We have significant work
ongoing and planned in
Forsyth — such as [Hwy.] 20
widening, its new interchange
with Ga. 400, and the Reagan
Parkway extension — as well
as work outside the county —
such as the Ga. 400 and
[McGinnis Ferry] Road
widenings all of which
will help relieve congestion
and improve mobility for
Forsyth residents,” he said.
Chamber President James
McCoy said Forsyth County
roads have been getting a
“very high level of attention
in large part due to the great
ing that identity thieves must
be prosecuted in the county
or state in which the infor¬
mation was illegally used -
not where the victim resided.
That ruling drew widespread
criticism from prosecutors
and investigators who were
forced to refer local victims
of identity theft to out-of
county and out-of-state law
enforcement agencies.
This week, in a 4-3 deci¬
sion, the state Supreme
Court reversed its earlier rul¬
ing and upheld a 2003 state
identity theft statute that
says the crime can be prose¬
cuted where the victim
resides, regardless of where
the identity was used.
“Since the crime of iden-
ft
The projects focused on Ca. 400 are
very important as are from the primary
arteries that lead Ca. 400
such as Hwy. 9 and [Hwy.] 20.
- Chamber President James McCoy
99
work of [DOT board vice
chairman] Mike Evans ... and
Jerry Bowman, who is on the
[Georgia Regional Transpor
tation Authority] board.
“The projects focused on
Ga. 400 are very important as
are the primary arteries that
lead from Ga. 400 such as
Hwy. 9 and [Hwy.] 20,” said
tity fraud ... takes place in
the county where the victim
and his or her personal infor¬
mation are located, there is
no constitutional bar to try¬
ing the defendant in that
county,” the majority wrote
in an opinion authored by
Justice George Carly.
Justices Leah Ward Sears,
Harris Hines and Harold
Melton issued a lengthy dis¬
sent, saying the new ruling
was contrary to the Georgia
constitution, which with few
exceptions requires criminal
prosecution where a crime
— such as theft — occurs.
“As (identity fraud)
evolves, our manner of deal¬
ing with must evolve as well,
but, as always, this legal evo¬
lution should occur within
the framework of our consti¬
tution,” Melton wrote.
For Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Office financial
crimes investigator Jeff Roe,
the ruling meant he can go
McCoy,
The Chamber president
also said roads in the north
area of the county such as
Hwy. 369 should not be for
gotten to prevent congestion
before it starts,
Bowman said he was sur
prised at the amount of road
construction underway in the
6t
Since the crime of identity fraud...
takes place in the county where the
victim and his or her personal infor¬
mation are located, there is no con¬
stitutional bar to trying the defen¬
dant in that county.
- The majority wrote in an opinion
authored by Justice George Carly
99
back to actively pursuing the
dozens of local identity theft
cases that reach his desk
without passing them off to
outside agencies.
“It’s a solid decision,”
Roe said. “It’s going to
enable law enforcement to
better serve the citizens of
the county.”
Said Lt. Col Gene Moss,
“There’s a lot of frustration
for victims of identity theft
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Thursday, November 24,2005
county and the familiarity
associated with those proj¬
ects.
“What was a little bit sur¬
prising to me is that there are
a lot more projects underway
that affect north metro and
specifically Forsyth County
than I think most people are
aware of,” said Bowman.
“We are beginning next
month on the widening of Ga.
400 all the way up to the
Hwy. 20 exit,” he said, adding
the project consists of two
new north bound lanes and
one south bound lane.
Bowman also mentioned
arterial projects such as
widening Hwy. 141 to four
lanes from the county line to
Ga. 400 which is scheduled to
be bid upon for construction
in upcoming months.
He said Hwy. 20 is also to
be widened to four lanes from
already without having it
prosecuted somewhere else.”
The earlier ruling prompt¬
ed Georgia Attorney General
Thurbert Baker to file a
motion for reconsideration
that had the endorsement of
every district attorney in the
state.
“I am gratified that the
Court ultimately recognized,
on reconsideration, that
Georgia’s identity theft
PAGE 3A
Ga. 400 to 1-85 in Gwinnett
County.
A portion of that construc¬
tion is already underway.
“There’s a lot more going
on in Forsyth County than I
think people are aware of,”
said Bowman.
Chamber Economic
Development Manager Pam
Bowman, who helped organ¬
ize the event, said she had to
reschedule it from last April
due to the DOT commission¬
er’s schedule.
She said the commission¬
er’s speech centered on proj¬
ects listed on the DOT’s Web
site at http://www.dot.state
.ga.us, and that it was helpful
getting the information from a
state official.
“People like to have some¬
one ... with that much auth¬
ority comment on projects,”
she said.
statute was drafted to protect
Georgia consumers from
both instate and out-of-state
identity thieves,” Baker said
in a prepared statement.
“(The decision) reinforces
the core concept that identity
theft will not be allowed to
flourish in Georgia.”
Joe Burford, director of
trial support for the
Prosecuting Attorneys
Council of Georgia, said the
ruling confirms the intent of
the law: “the only place you
can lose (your identity) is
where you are.”
“I think it’s a good ruling,
and we’re pleased the court
chose to reconsider,” Burford
said.
Burford discounted any
political pressure the court
may have felt from prosecu¬
tors and lawmakers to revisit
its earlier decision.
“The court doesn’t react
to that,” Burford said. “The
court interprets the law.”