Advertisement

Georgia Court of Appeals Sets Date to Hear DA Willis Disqualification Arguments

Advertisement

OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


The Georgia Court of Appeals has set a date for hearing oral arguments in a case brought by former President Donald Trump and others to have District Attorney Fani Willis removed from the 2020 election interference case she brought against them.

According to a docket notice sent to defense counsel in the case, oral arguments on the issue are tentatively scheduled for Oct. 4. That virtually guarantees that Trump won’t be tried in the case before the November election, ABC News reported.

“A calendar will be sent to counsel of record confirming the exact date of oral argument,” the notice says.

The issue with Willis began in early January when former White House staff member Michael Roman filed a motion seeking to disqualify DA Willis from prosecuting the case against Trump and his co-defendants. The motion alleged that Willis had an “improper” relationship with then-Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade and claimed that she financially benefited from both the investigation and the relationship.

On March 15, Judge McAfee ruled that Trump and his co-defendants “failed to meet their burden” of proving that the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade constituted a “conflict of interest” or that Willis benefited from it. However, McAfee acknowledged a “significant appearance of impropriety” and decided that either Willis or Wade would need to step aside for the case to proceed in Fulton County. A few hours later, Wade resigned.

Advertisement

On March 18, Trump and several of his co-defendants sought permission from Judge McAfee to appeal his decision, and on March 20, McAfee granted their request. On March 29, attorneys for Trump and his co-defendants filed an application for an interlocutory appeal, arguing that Wade’s departure did not resolve the appearance of impropriety and had “cast a pall over these entire proceedings.”

On May 8, the Georgia Court of Appeals agreed to hear the appeal, giving Trump and his 14 co-defendants 10 days to file a notice of appeal, thus transferring the case from Fulton County Superior Court to the Court of Appeals, Fox 5 reported.

Meanwhile, a recent ruling allows attorneys representing one of the co-defendants in the Georgia case to contend that Willis exceeded her jurisdiction when she filed election-related racketeering charges against him.

Harrison Lloyd, a former leader of the Black Voices for Trump coalition, was granted a certificate of immediate review by District Judge Scott McAfee earlier this month. This allows Lloyd to request a review by the Georgia Court of Appeals. The McAfee decision is unexpected because it goes against earlier decisions invalidating procedural motions to prevent Willis from pursuing specific crimes.

McAfee wrote that he was willing to entertain Lloyd’s argument that Willis’ “election-related” investigation was beyond her jurisdiction.

He has previously argued that she “did not have authority to investigation or presentment authority to bring election-related charges against the Defendant absent a referral from the State Election Board,” according to filings.

“It is undisputed that no referral was sought nor granted,” Floyd’s latest motion reads. “Despite this Court’s explanation of ‘harmony’ amongst these statutes, to hold that the District Attorney holds concurrent jurisdiction with the SEB, and that a referral from the SEB to the District Attorney is not necessary in election-related cases, renders O.C.G.A. § 21-2-35 absolutely meaningless and superfluous.”

Advertisement

Willis is currently dealing with yet another legal issue—this time, a lawsuit brought by a state legislator in Georgia.

In her suit, Rep. Mesha Mainor, a Republican elected to the Georgia House in 2020, “alleges that Willis, Commissioner Marvin Arrington, the Fulton County Ethics Board, and the county itself were derelict in their duties to properly litigate a criminal case in which Mainor was repeatedly stalked by a former friend and political associate,” Newsweek reported.

In her suit, Mainor said she was never informed of a deal offered by Willis to serial stalker Corwin Monson, which she Mainor argues is a violation of the Georgia Victims Bill of Rights.

Trending Sponsored Stories