LOCAL/STATE
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia I gainesvilletimes.com
Thursday, February 22, 2024 3A
Ga. lawmakers seek change with traffic ticket laws
BY JEFF AMY
Associated Press
Atlanta Police Department via AP
In this image take from police body camera video provided by the
Atlanta Police Department, Johnny Hollman Sr. speak with
Officer Kiran Kimbrough on Aug. 10, in Atlanta.
ATLANTA — Georgia
lawmakers are seeking to change
state law to say that officers
don't have to arrest people who
refuse to sign traffic tickets after a
church deacon died in August after
initially refusing to sign a citation
and struggling with an Atlanta
police officer.
The state House voted 156-
10 on Wednesday to pass House
Bill 1054, which removes the
requirement for a driver to sign
a citation, allowing an officer to
instead write that someone refused
to sign and then give the driver the
ticket. The measure moves to the
Senate for more debate.
State Rep. Yasmin Neal,
the Jonesboro Democrat who
sponsored the bill, said removing
the requirement to sign would
reduce a source of conflict that
leads to risks for officers and
drivers. Officers could still choose
to arrest traffic offenders, but they
would not be required to do so.
“No more arguments, no more
fights, no more instances of officers
risking their lives in an attempt
to arrest someone for lower-level
traffic crimes,” said Neal, a former
police officer. “Everyone goes
home safe at the end of the night.”
Under the measure, people who
refuse to sign citations would not
be allowed to prepay the ticket and
would be required to show up for
court. A judge could suspend the
driver's license of people who skip
court dates.
Neal said some cities and
counties across the state already
allow the practice, but she said she
wanted to standardize it, saying
jail should be reserved for people
accused of more serious crimes.
“We do not want our officers on
the side of the road, arguing and
fighting with citizens over traffic
tickets if a citizen does not agree,”
Neal said.
Atlanta is one city that lets
people refuse to sign citations, a
change made only after the Aug.
10 arrest of Johnny Hollman Sr.
Relatives say the 62-year-old
Hollman was driving home from
Bible study at his daughter's house
and taking dinner to his wife when
he collided with another vehicle
while turning across a busy street
just west of downtown.
Body camera video shows
Officer Kiran Kimbrough
repeatedly demanded that
Hollman sign the citation, but
Hollman insisted he did nothing
wrong. The two men then tusseled,
with Holloman ending up on the
ground. He repeatedly said “I can't
breathe,” and Kimbrough used a
Taser to shock him. Hollman then
became unresponsive, and he was
later declared dead at a hospital.
An autopsy determined Hollman's
death was a homicide, with heart
disease also a contributing factor.
Lance LoRusso, an attorney
for Kimbrough, has previously
said Hollman resisted arrest and
Kimbrough acted lawfully when
he deployed his stun gun and used
force.
Kimbrough was fired Oct. 10
after Atlanta Police Chief Darin
Schierbaum said he violated
department policy by not waiting
for a supervisor to arrive before
arresting Hollman. The Fulton
County district attorney's office is
reviewing the case to determine
whether criminal charges are
appropriate.
Hollman's family has sued
Kimbrough, Schierbaum and
the city in federal court, arguing
Kimbrough violated Hollman's
rights by using excessive force. The
lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive
damages and other compensation.
Hollman's family has also sued
a tow truck driver who assisted
Kimbrough and has called on
prosecutors to charge the officer
with murder.
—
TT7T
inonri
Mirsr
IS
> wu
R
. :
1ST
m'* *wmM
■HI I
TffTHIffT
IB
RJ. Rico Associated Press
Nia Thomas stands in front of her Atlanta home on Feb. 14. Thomas was bailed out of jail by the nonprofit
Barred Business in May 2022 through the “Mama’s Day Bail Out,” initiative, a practice that could be signifi
cantly restricted, if not criminalized, under a recently passed Georgia bill.
Churches, nonprofits ensnared in
Georgia push to restrict bail funds
BY R.J. RICO
Associated Press
ATLANTA — When she
was behind bars in Geor
gia, Nia Thomas would use
toothpaste to stick hand
written flyers to the wall
and spread the word about
community bail funds that
could pay inmates' bonds,
no strings attached.
“I was posting the phone
numbers in everybody's
rooms, everybody's dorms,
every jail I went to,” Thomas
said.
But wide-scale initia
tives like the one that paid
$50,000 for her pretrial
release on drug trafficking
charges in May 2022 could
be significantly restricted,
if not criminalized, under
a Georgia bill awaiting
Republican Gov. Brian
Kemp's signature. Oppo
nents have called the mea
sure an unprecedented attack
on bail funds, churches and
other community organi
zations that post inmates'
bonds as they await trial.
Thomas, a mother of four
who is currently awaiting
sentencing after reaching a
plea deal, said she frequently
encountered fellow inmates
who had been charged with
misdemeanors or traffic vio
lations but were languishing
in jail for months because
they were unable to gather
a few hundred dollars to
secure their freedom.
Her own bond was far
larger, but her application for
relief was accepted by the
Georgia nonprofit Barred
Business, which paid for her
release as part of community
bail funds' annual “Mama's
Day Bail Out” initiative.
Within days, Thomas, now
30, was reunited with her
family in Atlanta as they
held a celebratory crab boil.
Initiatives such as
“Mama's Day Bail Out”
and the “Freedom Day
Project” — which occur
in June, around Juneteenth
and Father's Day — are a
hallmark for some Black
churches in Georgia includ
ing Atlanta's historic Ebene-
zer Baptist Church, where
the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr. preached.
Senate Bill 63, which
passed the GOP-domi-
nated Legislature earlier
this month, would expand
the number of charges that
require cash bail, while
restricting who can post that
bail.
Specifically, no person
or organization could post
more than three cash bonds
in a year. Groups such as
churches or charitable bail
funds could post unlimited
surety bonds, but only if they
fulfill the same requirements
that bail bond companies
do — a process involving
passing background checks,
paying fees, holding a busi
ness license, securing the
approval of the local sher
iff and establishing a cash
escrow account or other
form of collateral.
Proponents say well-
meaning organizations
should have no issue fol
lowing the same rules as bail
bond companies. Republi
can bill sponsor Sen. Randy
Robertson insists he has
not created any “red tape”
by forcing bail funds to go
through these numerous
requirements.
But the measure comes
as conservative legislatures
in recent years have sought
to constrain community bail
funds. Countless protesters
arrested during 2020's racial
injustice protests benefited
from the funds, and more
recently they've posted bond
for activists arrested in con
nection with violent demon
strations against a planned
Atlanta-area police training
center that critics dubbed
“Cop City.”
Georgia prosecutors have
noted that some “Stop Cop
City” protesters had the
Atlanta Solidarity Fund's
phone number written on
their body, evidence, accord
ing to the prosecutors, that
the activists intended to do
something that could get
them arrested. Three of the
bail fund's leaders were
charged with charity fraud
last year and are among 61
indicted on racketeering
charges.
Rep. Houston Gaines said
the Atlanta Solidarity Fund's
legal issues show the need
for more oversight.
“Once they reach that
(three-cash-bond-per-year)
threshold, these groups need
to register properly as a
bondsman.... They can bail
out as many folks as they
want, but they need to do
so under the same rules and
regulations as bondsmen,”
he said.
Democrats, though, are
aghast at the proposal, which
they argue would cause even
worse overcrowding in jails
and disproportionately hurt
poor, minority defendants.
FROM 1A
Martinez
Kosky had not gone over
the evidence with him and
that he contacted Corso
and his sister-in-law about
his concerns.
Bagwell pointed to the
plea paperwork, which
includes questions about
being made aware of the
evidence against them and
their satisfaction with their
attorney's performance.
Martinez answered yes to
all.
Kosky testified she was
“very uncomfortable”
with Corso remaining in
contact with the family, as
she believed there could
not be a joint defense.
She informed Corso in
September that she would
not be communicating
with him “as I believed
that he was compromis
ing the representation of
Mr. Martinez and it was
not in Mr. Martinez's best
interest.” Kosky testified
she had similar concerns
regarding communication
with Martinez's family
because of their connec
tions to his co-defen
dant, which she said was
done with Martinez's
permission.
“I did not need Mr.
Corso's assistance in the
case,” Kosky said. “Mr.
Corso often would reach
out to me with sugges
tions of things I needed to
do in Mr. Martinez's case.
Unfortunately, Mr. Corso
and I had very different
theories on this case, and
some of the theories that
he thought needed to be
advanced in the case I
would never advance in
the case.”
In Law's motion,
he wrote that he was
“unaware of Ms. Kosky’s
proficiency in Spanish.” It
was later clarified during
the hours of testimony that
Kosky speaks Spanish and
has a degree in Spanish
literature.
Kosky prepped the
case as if she were going
to trial, she said, though
Martinez ultimately opted
for the plea for fear of a
longer prison sentence.
Kosky told the court
that Martinez's plea was
entered freely and vol
untarily with no pressure
from her.
In his closing argument,
Law said the case was not
about “throwing stones”
at either of the previous
attorneys.
Law argued to Deal that
“the situation that he was
in, he felt like he had no
choice but to go forward
with the plea.”
Bagwell argued that
there was no evidence that
Kosky was ineffective as
counsel.
Scott Rogers The Times
Juan Martinez enters Hall County Superior Court
Tuesday, Feb. 20.
FROM 1A
Wilkins
The warrants stated Wilkins
sent lewd photographs to the
girl between March 1 and Sept.
9 of 2022. The girl's age was
not identified beyond being a
minor.
Wilkins was originally
charged with enticing a child
for indecent purposes, but the
charge was dismissed by the
prosecution ahead of Tuesday's
plea.
The Times has reached out to
Northeastern Judicial Circuit
District Attorney Lee Darragh.
Under the First Offender
Act, Wilkins will have the case
discharged from his record
without being found guilty
if he fulfills the terms of his
sentence.
Hall put on the record a
potential conflict of interest, as
Wilkins previously worked as
a probation officer at the time
she was the Flowery Branch
Municipal Court judge. Wilkins
waived the potential conflict,
and the sentence by Hall was
the recommended terms set
forth by the prosecution.
The sentence does not
include sex offender condi
tions. Wilkins will, however,
undergo a psychosexual evalua
tion, and he will not be allowed
to be around minors except his
own biological children.
Defense attorney Blake
Poole said he appreciated the
district attorney's office closely
evaluating the circumstances of
the case and the judge's candor.
“I'm happy for Mr. Wilkins
and his family,” Poole said. “He
seems like a person deserving
of the reduction and the ability
to stay out of custody, live his
life without being a convicted
felon, not be on the registry and
ultimately have the case dis
charged 12 months from now.”
FROM 1A
Maze
site already has been acquired
by Atlanta-based real estate
company Seefried Properties for
industrial use, and the corn maze
property appears to be located in
Buford's sewer district.
Buford Commission Chair
Phillip Beard has been a vocal
critic of Hall County's objection
to property owners who seek to
annex into the city - often for
industrial rezoning and water/
sewer services. Beard told The
Times that he believes there's “no
logic” to the county's continued
opposition.
“The people want to be in
Buford, and ultimately they'll be
here,” Beard said. “(Hall County)
has a job, and I've got a job. I'm
looking out for Buford. I don't
understand their mentality. They
want to hold people hostage in
Hall County, and there's a reason
these people want out.. .we have
quality utilities. Everything we
do is cheaper and better than Hall
County services, and they can't
compete with us.”
Commissioners will likely vote
to formalize the objection at 6
p.m., Thursday, Feb. 22, at Hall
County's Government Center.
