It Just Didn’t Make Sense….

The Grand Jury findings, that is. I am struggling to understand why we have a County Charter if the Commissioners are not bound to uphold it or can be prosecuted if they don’t. Because of that, I decided to send the following appeal to the Attorney General, Sam Olens:

Greetings:
In November, 2010 I contacted your campaign office regarding a situation that involved County Charter violations and other issues in Gilmer County, Georgia. I was instructed by your office at that time to file a complaint with the State Ethics Commission, which I did. They said they did not have jurisdiction on the matter, but after researching it, they instructed me to file with the local District Attorney and that if I did not get satisfaction there, that this was one of the few instances that a private citizen can approach the Attorney General for relief. I wish to exercise that right at this time.
To provide background information, I am enclosing a copy of the original complaint I made to the State Ethics Commission and the Appalachain Circuit District Attorney. The District Attorney’s office did an exhaustive investigation and made a presentation to the Gilmer County Grand Jury in October, 2011. The result was a “no bill”, however the Grand Jury voted to conduct a Civil Investigation of the Gilmer County Commissioners Office.
The civil investigation was indeed conducted and the results and recommendations were signed by Superior Court Judge Roger Bradley and recorded on January 18, 2012. What is particularly troubling is in the bottom paragraph of page 7 of the findings. It states that a Commissioner can not be charges with violating the oath of office that requires them to uphold the County Charter because they don’t take the oath as required by the County Charter. Instead, they are administered an oath sent to the probate judge by the Governor’s Office which only requires them to uphold State and Federal Laws. Based on that, I would like you to issue an opinion addressing the issues which the aforementioned raises on the following :

1. Since the County Charter is indeed created by the State Legislature, is it not a State Law?
2. If it is a State Law, are Commissioners in all 159 Counties required to uphold their Charters, including Gilmer County?
3. If a Commissioner cannot be prosecuted for “violation of oath of office” for not upholding requirements of a County Charter because they didn’t take an oath to uphold it, how can prisoners currently housed in State prisons and County jails be incarcerated for violating laws they never took an oath to uphold? Is there an “immunity clause” in the Georgia Code for elected officials? If so, please cite it.
4. Do you agree with the Grand Jury’s recommendation (page 8, #3) that criminal penalties are needed and should be imposed for violations of the County’s Code of Ethics?
5. Do the Grand Jury findings, as presented and signed by a Superior Court Judge, set a precedent for all other “violation of oath of office” cases that presumably could be brought in the State of Georgia in the future?

I thank you in advance for addressing these important issues. I think the ramifications of this case could possibly have an enormous impact on “business as usual” for local governments, and you have an opportunity to express your opinion on what taxpayers and citizens deserve and should expect from their elected officials on the local level.
Sincerely,

This constitutes the bulk of the appeal I sent to Sam Olens along with my original complaint and the Grand Jury report. I am not absolutely certain that I will get a response, but I feel the questions are valid and deserve answers. The results can have an enormous effect on local governments across the State, not just here in Gilmer County.