The office of District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez is embroiled in controversy. A downtown business manager alleges that Gonzalez is neglecting the duties of her office by instituting a blanket policy of not prosecuting people for a variety of minor offenses, including possession of drug-related objects, possession of marijuana, and truancy. After a judge refused Gonzalez’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and some additional legal wrangling, the case is now headed to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
On Friday, Chief Superior Court Judge Eric Norris ruled that the prosecutor’s office had violated the Georgia Crime Victim’s Bill of Rights in its handling of a rape case. B04 Alexia: To learn more about the ruling and the law, my colleague Martin Matheny sat down with Bill Overend, who was an assistant district attorney in the Western Judicial Circuit under Gonzalez’s predecessor, Ken Mauldin. He now represents victims of domestic violence in divorce and custody cases against their abusers.
