East Cobb Courts & Trials

Cobb Superior Court judges appoint new Circuit Defender

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Scott Halperin, a longtime Legal Aid attorney and public defender in metro Atlanta jurisdictions, has been named the new Circuit Defender for Cobb Superior Court.Scott Halperin named Cobb Circuit Defender

Cobb government announced in a release Thursday that Halperin was chosen unanimously by Cobb Superior judges, in consultation with the chief judges in Cobb Magistrate, State, and Juvenile courts, to serve as the lead defender.

Halperin has been the Circuit Defender’s lead advocate in Cobb Juvenile Court since 2020 and will succeed Randall Harris, who is retiring after 15 years in the position.

The Circuit Defender contracts with private attorneys to represent qualifying defendants in the Cobb court system.

A Georgia State University law graduate, Halperin has served as a public defender for Roswell, Sandy Springs and Doraville. In private practice, he represented defendants in criminal and juvenile courts.

“I want to express sincerest gratitude to Randy Harris for his steadfast dedication this office and its mission,” Cobb Chief Judge Rob Leonard said in a statement. “I’m proud to say that Cobb offers the best indigent defense services in the state. That is due in large part to Randy’s leadership and can only improve with Scott Halperin at the helm.”

Of Halperin, Leonard said that “he has a heart for serving the indigent. He also has the respect of the bar and the bench, and he understands the importance of maintaining the independence of the office.”

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Mt. Bethel, North Ga. Conference file settlement documents

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A consent decree between Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church and the denomination’s North Georgia Conference has been filed in Cobb Superior Court, and reveals more details beyond last week’s general announcement.

Mt. Bethel UMC, Dr. Jody Ray
Rev. Dr. Jody Ray, Mt. Bethel UMC

We’re reading through the full 125-page settlement (you can read it here), but the main terms are what was divulged last week—Mt. Bethel gets to keep its property and most assets and has 120 days from Monday, when the agreement was signed, to pay $13.1 million to the North Georgia Conference.

Mt. Bethel also will return certain intellectual property, including items with UMC insignia, and will officially remain part of the denomination until its obligations under the settlement are met.

After that, Mt. Bethel’s use of its property on its main campus on Lower Roswell Road will come with some restrictions.

That includes not using any of the parcels comprising the main church buildings and the Mt. Bethel Christian Academy as a headquarters or office for any religious denomination for seven and a half years.

Mt. Bethel has been an organizing member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, which recently launched the Global Methodist Church, an international consortium of conservative congregations.

But Mt. Bethel officials say that once the congregation has left the UMC, it will become an independent church.

Mt. Bethel also is prevented from selling the Lower Roswell Road properties for seven and a half years without giving the UMC and the North Georgia Conference the right of first refusal to purchase them.

Once Mt. Bethel completes the real estate closing, the organization will become Mt. Bethel Church Inc. with a trade name of Mt. Bethel.

The settlement stipulates that other properties near the main campus—three homes on Fairfield Drive, an older adult center, a day care center and the Mt. Bethel church cemetery on Johnson Ferry Road—can be sold at any time.

However, those facilities also may not be used to house a denominational office.

Mt. Bethel’s North campus on Post Oak Tritt Road is not included in the settlement because church leadership last year placed the facility under the ownership of Mt. Bethel Christian Academy.

The North Georgia Conference objected to that action, since there wasn’t a vote taken by the congregation, which was required by the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing documents.

The settlement terms also include a provision that information collected through discovery will not be shared or discussed by any of the parties.

A preamble to the settlement notes that “both sides plan to look forward and honor the mission and ministry of each other as Christians. Accordingly, the Parties shall encourage their members to focus on the mission of Jesus Christ and not the past actions and alleged transgressions of each another, as referenced in the civil action now being mutually resolved.”

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, North Georgia Conference UMC
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, North Georgia Conference UMC

In a letter to Mt. Bethel members on Monday, pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray, explained the terms, and concluded by saying that “we reiterate our great hope in the future of Mt. Bethel’s mission and ministry to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which we pray each and every one of you will be a part of.”

The Friends of Mt. Bethel, a group of church members opposed to the church’s actions against the North Georgia Conference, said that “while the settlement agreement may not be what we had hoped for, it does not change who we are. We are the beloved sons and daughters of the King. We will continue to pray for you as you prayerfully consider your steps forward. God has a place for all of us.”

They will be meeting next week with Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson of the North Georgia Conference at another Methodist church in East Cobb.

It was her reassignment of Ray to a non-ministerial post at the North Georgia Conference in May 2021 that set off a heated dispute lasting more than a year.

Mt. Bethel was among the conservative UMC congregations anticipating that the denomination would allow gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages, which are currently forbidden.

After Ray turned in his UMC ministerial credentials, he delivered a sermon in which he said he would not “bow the knee, or kiss the ring, of progressive theology. . . . which is no theology.”

Mt. Bethel kept him as CEO and lay pastor, positions the North Georgia Conference said weren’t allowed under the Book of Discipline.

After Mt. Bethel refused to acknowledge his appointed successor, Rev. Dr. Stephen Usry, the Conference announced it would seize the church’s assets.

After mediation failed last summer, the Conference sued Mt. Bethel in September 2021, and Mt. Bethel filed a countersuit.

The United Methodist Church had scheduled a vote on protocols for separation in 2020, but its conferences have been delayed until 2024.

There won’t be a vote for Mt. Bethel to disaffiliate, as has happened with some churches in the North Georgia Conference recently.

Mt. Bethel’s attorneys said they wanted to have a vote of its membership, but the North Georgia Conference did not schedule one.

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Mt. Bethel Church to keep property, pay $13.1M in settlement

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Mt. Bethel Church

Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church has finalized a legal settlement with the denomination’s North Georgia Conference that will allow the congregation to keep its property and assets at its two East Cobb campuses.

In return, Mt. Bethel will pay the Conference $13.1 million as it begins to leave the denomination following more than a year of highly charged rhetoric and legal action.

Robert Ingram, the lead attorney for Mt. Bethel, told East Cobb News on Thursday that the settlement has been agreed to by both parties, and awaits formal signatures.

He said once those signatures have been collected, he expects to file a motion in Cobb Superior Court early next week to finalize the agreement, and that it will take up to 120 days to become official.

Also next week, Ingram said, Mt. Bethel will be known only as Mt. Bethel Church, another significant step toward separating itself from the UMC, the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination.

Ingram said Mt. Bethel will have up to 120 days to submit the payment to the North Georgia Conference, and will be conducting a fundraising drive.

“They’re going to be out of the UMC,” Ingram said of Mt. Bethel, which has been seeking in its lawsuit a vote to disaffiliate.

Mt. Bethel was sending out word to its members and the public Thursday about the agreement, which was forged after several weeks of discussions facilitated by Cobb Superior Court Senior Judge Mary Staley.

The settlement announcement comes as the North Georgia Conference is holding its annual meeting in Athens, with more than 70 congregations requesting disaffiliation.

Mt. Bethel is not among them, due to the litigation. A tentative agreement was announced in early May, but no terms were disclosed.

Last September, the Conference sued Mt. Bethel after several months of contentious actions and public statements over the denomination’s reassignment of Mt. Bethel senior pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray.

When Ray refused, Mt. Bethel announced its intention to disaffiliate from the UMC. Mt. Bethel and Ray claimed they weren’t properly consulted by the North Georgia Conference, which each spring makes clergy assignments based on the UMC’s “itinerant ministry” tradition.

Mt. Bethel’s conservative leadership also has been at odds with the UMC over theological disputes that include the ordination of gay clergy and performing same-sex marriages. 

Currently, the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing documents forbid both, but the denomination is expected to change its policies.

Mt. Bethel has been a founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a consortium of conservative Methodist churches that have been planning to create a new denomination called the Global Methodist Church. 

After mediation failed last summer, the North Georgia Conference filed suit in Cobb Superior Court attempting to seize Mt. Bethel assets and property valued at $35 million.

The denomination also claimed that Mt. Bethel was not a church in good standing, including its refusal to accept Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, the Conference’s appointed successor to Ray, and was not eligible for disaffiliation.

The national UMC has been preparing for a split with more conservative congregations for several years. But international conferences to consider its Protocol for Separation and Reconciliation have been postponed due to COVID-19 measures.

When a conference scheduled for September was pushed back to 2024, the Global Methodist Church announced it was accelerating its launch to May.

On Wednesday, Wesleyan Covenant Association leader Keith Boyette—also a member of Mt. Bethel’s legal team—became the GMC’s senior executive and administrative officer, overseeing the denomination’s transition over the next 12-18 months.

Ingram told East Cobb News that because of the settlement, there won’t be a disaffiliation vote. He said Mt. Bethel wanted that to happen, especially because it would have cost “millions and million of dollars less” than what’s been settled.

“We wanted the court to allow a vote just on disaffiliation,” he said, explaining that only the North Georgia Conference superintendent could call for a such a vote.

“Despite our pleas, they never did that,” Ingram said. 

He said Mt. Bethel has not decided whether or not to pursue membership in the Global Methodist Conference.

Mt. Bethel, with nearly 10,000 members, is the largest congregation in the North Georgia Conference, which oversees nearly 900 churches.

Before the lawsuits, North Georgia Conference records indicated that Mt. Bethel was more than $2 million behind in making annual “apportionment” payments dating back a couple of decades.

A more recent update shows that Mt. Bethel paid only $24,037 of the $627,889 of assigned apportionments in 2021, the lowest dollar figure and percentage (3.8 percent) in records dating back to the early 1990s.

None of the churches seeking disaffiliation this week are in Cobb, and many are splitting over similar differences in theology as Mt. Bethel. Late Thursday, North Georgia Conference delegates voted to accept the disaffiliation requests, including Sardis UMC in Buckhead and Ebenezer UMC in Roswell.

A group of Mt. Bethel members opposed to the church’s handling of the controversy sent out a message Wednesday under the headline “What Now?” The group has been meeting with Usry, who gave the sermon at a special Easter service for them at Collins Memorial UMC in Atlanta.

“Many of us have big decisions to make, and those decisions should be made with a heart of discernment,” said the message of the Friends of Mt. Bethel group. “Under the direction of Pastor Steven we are working to help members of our faith family determine how to move forward, and to take care of each other during this time.”

As for Usry, the Friends of Mt. Bethel said that technically, he is assigned to Mt. Bethel through June 30, 2023. It’s not clear how the settlement will affect his status.

“He will be available to serve any church members, or former church members, during this transition,” the Friends of Mt. Bethel message stated. “He will be working with Friends of Mt. Bethel UMC members to try to discern how we can best support our community during this time.”

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Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge re-elected; other local results

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Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard
Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard

Following up on some other local races in Cobb County in last week’s elections, beyond our primary focus on East Cobb Cityhood and county and legislative races, were several non-partisan judicial contests.

Chief among them was for a seat on Cobb Superior Court. Chief Judge Robert Leonard had two challengers in attorneys Charles Ford and Matt McMaster. But Leonard eased to re-election by getting 67.8 percent of the vote.

You can check out more local results by clicking here; we’ve summarized the others below.

There will be a runoff on June 21 in another Superior Court race. Sonja Brown received 29 percent of the vote and James Luttrell got nearly 22 percent to forge another round of voting in a field of five candidates.

The winner will succeed retiring Judge Robert Flournoy. Judge Ann Harris won a third term after being unopposed.

Two other Superior Court vacancies have occurred in recent weeks due to retirements. Judge Tain Kell resigned to pursue private practice, and longtime judge Mary Staley also has stepped down.

Their terms end in 2024 and Gov. Brian Kemp will be making appointments to fill out those terms.

Four Cobb State Court judges were unopposed and have been re-elected: Eric Brewton, Jason Fincher, Bridgette Campbell Glover and Ashley Palmer.

Cobb Solicitor General Barry Morgan is not seeking re-election. Courtney Martin Brubaker won the Republican primary unopposed. On the Democratic side, Makia Metzger advanced to the general election with nearly 58 percent of the vote against Chris Lanning.

Cobb Commissioner Keli Gambrill, a first-term Republican from District 1 in North and West Cobb, was unopposed, and has no Democratic opposition in November.

The Cobb Board of Education will have at least two new members after November elections. In Post 6, Democrat Nichelle Davis won unopposed and has no Republican opposition in November. She will succeed first-term Democrat Charisse Davis (no relation), who did not seek re-election.

Post 6, which currently includes the Walton and Wheeler clusters, was redrawn to exclude areas of East Cobb and will consist the Smyrna-Cumberland-Vinings area.

In Post 2, also in the Smyrna area, Democrat Becky Sayler and Republican Stephen George advanced to the November general election. The winner will succeed first-term Democrat Jaha Howard, who failed to reach a runoff for state school superintendent.

In Post 4, which includes the Kell, Lassiter and Sprayberrry clusters, two–term Republican incumbent and current board chairman David Chastain and Democrat Catherine Pozniak ran unopposed in the primaries. They will meet in November.

Three justices on the Georgia Supreme Court were re-elected: Carla McMillian and Shawn Ellen LaGrua, both of whom were unopposed, and Verda Colvin, who got 68.8 percent of the vote in a primary against Veronica Brinson.

Three judges on the Georgia Court of Appeals were re-elected without opposition: Anne Elizabeth Barnes, Chris McFadden and Trea Pipkin.

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Mt. Bethel Church, North Georgia UMC agree to settlement terms

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Mt. Bethel Church

Nearly a year after a contentious dispute began between Mt. Bethel Church in East Cobb and the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, the two sides are close to reaching a legal settlement.

A tentative agreement has been reached following lawsuits filed in Cobb Superior Court last fall.

A joint statement issued late Thursday from the North Georgia Conference—which oversees nearly 800 churches, including Mt. Bethel—and the church reads as follows:

“The Trustees of the North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church and Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church have jointly agreed to the general terms and framework of a full resolution of their pending dispute. All parties now look forward to the resolution of the civil litigation. We ask members of our faith communities for their prayers and patience during this time as we prepare formal documents to bring this dispute to a close.”

Tom Cauthorn, the lead attorney for Mt. Bethel, released an additional statement Friday:

“The parties are pleased to have reached a full settlement in principal that should allow them to return their focus to their true missions. It is also important to recognize the efforts of Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley for her willingness to spend several days meeting with the parties and attorneys in mediation, leading to this resolution.”

The details of the terms were not disclosed.

Jonathan Lawson, an associate pastor at Mt. Bethel, told East Cobb News that “beyond those two statements, we are unable to comment at this time, but will be happy to speak further with you at a future time as we progress.”

Mt. Bethel members were told Thursday night during an administrative council meeting about the proposed settlement.

Attorneys for Mt. Bethel and the North Georgia Conference have been meeting with Staley after a hearing in March in which they asked her to oversee settlement discussions.

The North Georgia Conference sued Mt. Bethel last September after months of conflict over reassigning its top clergy and a failed attempt at mediation. The regional denominational leadership has claimed it is the rightful owner of Mt. Bethel properties and assets it values at $35 million.

Mt. Bethel countersued, saying the Conference was engaging in a “fraudulent conspiracy” and demanded an accelerated vote to disaffiliate from the UMC.

Mt. Bethel, the largest congregation in the North Georgia Conference with more than 10,000 members, is a founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a consortium of conservative Methodist churches that has been preparing for the creation of a new denomination, the Global Methodist Church.

Delegates to the United Methodist Church were to have voted on a set of protocols to allow more conservative congregations to leave in 2020, but its conference has been delayed several times due to COVID concerns and has been rescheduled for 2024.

The GMC moved up its activation date from September to May 1.

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East Cobb man sentenced in fatal Sandy Plains Road crash

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A driver who slammed into another vehicle near Mountain View Elementary School more than two years ago, killing an elderly man, was sentenced to five years in prison this week.East Cobb man convicted

John James Hamm, now 45, also will serve 10 years on probation when he is released, according to filings in Cobb Superior Court.

He pleaded guilty on Monday to one charge vehicular homicide, after three other similar charges were merged into one. The sentence was handed down by Judge Lark Ingram.

According to his indictment, Hamm was driving an Infiniti on Sandy Plains Road near Davis Road on Feb. 23, 2020, when it struck a Mazda truck driven by John Spadafora, 91.

Cobb Police said at the time that Spadafora died after being taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital.

The indictment stated that as Spadafora was heading south on Sandy Plains, attempting to make a left turn onto Davis Road, he was hit by Hamm’s vehicle, heading north, that was weaving and traveling 20 miles over the posted speed limit of 45 mph,

Hamm also did not apply the brakes before the crash, according to the indictment, also states that Hamm was well over the legal alcohol limit. He was taken to Kennestone but had no life-threatening injuries.

Cobb Sheriff’s Office records indicate that Hamm was taken into custody Monday at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.

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Ex-business partner of murdered East Cobb man gets 20 years

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Ross Byrne, Ex-business partner sentenced murder East Cobb man
Ross Byrne

A former bakery owner charged with plotting the murder of his former roommate and business partner in East Cobb more than eight years ago was sentenced this week to 20 years in prison.

Ross Byrne, 58, pleaded guilty in Cobb Superior Court on April 8 to charges of violating the RICO Act, conspiracy to commit concealing a death, conspiracy to commit hindering apprehension of a suspect, and criminal solicitation to commit murder, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.

The Cobb DA said in a release Tuesday that the sentence was handed down by Judge Mary Staley Clark.

Byrne was arrested in 2018 for his role in the death of Jerry Moore, who was found stabbed to death 32 times in his home off Holly Springs Road in January 2014.

They were partners in The Best Dang Bakery Around in Woodstock and both lived together for a time at Moore’s East Cobb home.

Byrne was charged two weeks after Johnathan Wheeler, an employee at the bakery, was convicted of killing Moore and sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole.

Byrne’s indictment alleged that he plotted the killing after Moore wanted out of the business partnership because the bakery was financially struggling.

Jerry Moore
Jerry Moore

According to Byrne’s indictment and testimony presented in court, Byrne—who had since moved elsewhere—helped clean blood from Wheeler’s clothes after the murder and kept items stolen from Moore’s home.

Prosecutors said after the murder, Byrne became the sole owner of the bakery, which opened on Highway 92 in Woodstock in 2008.

Byrne had denied knowing anything about the murder, but prosecutors claimed in court that after Wheeler’s trial, Byrne asked an inmate to kill Wheeler, fearful he would testify against him.

The DA’s office said that in entering his guilty plea, Byrne admitted his roles in both plotting Moore’s murder and in wanting Wheeler killed.

“Despite having introduced Jerry Moore to his killer, this defendant showed absolutely no remorse for Johnathan Wheeler’s vicious killing,” said Cobb Senior Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Green said in the statement, who prosecuted the Wheeler and Byrne cases.

Wheeler is serving his sentences at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.

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Longtime Cobb judge Mary Staley Clark to retire after 40 years

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Mary Staley Clark, who has served as a judge in Cobb County for 40 years, announced Friday that she is retiring on May 1.Cobb Judge Mary Staley Clark retiring

In a release issued by Cobb government, Staley Clark said she is stepping down for family reasons, including getting married this spring.

Gov. Brian Kemp will appoint a successor to fill out the rest of her term, which ends in 2024.

Staley Clark is the third Cobb Superior Court judge to announce retirement this year.

Judge Tain Kell also is stepping down at the end of April to return to private law practice, and Kemp has not announced a successor.

Judge Robert Flournoy is not seeking re-election this year.

Staley Clark has been a Cobb Superior Court judge since 1992 and served as Chief Judge from 2005 to 2007. She also was a judge in Cobb Magistrate Court and Cobb State Court.

Staley Clark helped create the Cobb Mental Health Court and currently presides over the Cobb Drug Treatment Court.

She also is presiding over the current legal dispute between Mt. Bethel Church in East Cobb and the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

At a hearing this week, she agreed to mediate settlement talks between both sides.

“It will take time to adjust to not being on the bench every day. Of course, I’ll continue to help as a senior judge, but I am looking forward to getting married this spring and being able to spend more time with my parents and family,” Staley Clark said in the Cobb government release.

Staley Clark earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of West Georgia and a law degree from the University of Georgia.

Before her time as a judge, she was an assistant district attorney in Cobb County. In her statement, she thanked former Cobb District Attorney Tom Charron for hiring the first female prosecutors in the county.

She was recognized by the Cobb County YWCA as its 1994 Woman of Achievement and was the 2014 recipient of the Cobb Schools Foundation Leaders & Legends Award. Staley Clark was awarded the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Woman Award in 2015.

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East Cobb man sentenced to two life terms for child molestation

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An East Cobb man arrested nearly four years ago on charges that he sexually abused his stepdaughter has been sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.East Cobb man convicted

Marcelino Rebollar, 49, was sentenced on Tuesday by Cobb Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.

The DA’s office said that a Cobb jury last week found Rebollar guilty of two counts of aggravated child molestation and two counts of child molestation.

Rebollar, whose home address is on Freydale Road, was arrested on April 1, 2018, after being accused by his stepdaughter that he molested her from the ages of 10 to 13.

The Cobb DA’s office said the girl confided in her cousin and church pastor, leading to an investigation by police and forensic interviews at the Safepath Children’s Advocacy Center.

During the trial, the DA’s office said, evidence was presented from the victim and expert witnesses, and Rebollar was convicted on all counts.

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Mt. Bethel Church, UMC ask Cobb judge to settle lawsuits

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Mt. Bethel Church UMC seek settlement
An overflow crowd in Cobb Superior Court prompted the hearing to be livestreamed.

The nearly year-long feud between Mt. Bethel Church of East Cobb and the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church may be settled soon.

At a hearing in Cobb Superior Court Tuesday, attorneys for both sides said they were dropping motions and delaying depositions as they try to resolve deep divisions over governance of the Conference’s largest congregation and how to determine ownership of Mt. Bethel’s properties and assets.

The attorneys also asked Judge Mary Staley Clark to mediate upcoming meetings as settlement talks begin.

The North Georgia Conference sued Mt. Bethel last September after months of conflict over reassigning its top clergy and a failed attempt at mediation. The regional denominational leadership has claimed it is the rightful owner of Mt. Bethel properties and assets it values at $35 million.

Mt. Bethel countersued, saying the Conference was engaging in a “fraudulent conspiracy” and demanded an accelerated vote to disaffiliate from the UMC.

But in a packed courtroom on Tuesday morning, the charged rhetoric that has been exchanged between the two sides for several months was replaced by conciliatory language and a desire to iron out their differences.

Robert Ingram, chief attorney for Mt. Bethel, told Clark that the ideal way to reach an agreement is “with your persuasion rather than your orders.”

After reading through a proposed joint consent order, Clark said she would do that, and asked to meet with attorneys and parties for both sides separately.

(You can read the documents filed with the court on Tuesday here and here. You can also read all the court filings by clicking here and entering case number 21106801.)

The motions that were dropped include requests by North Georgia Conference Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, Superintendent Jessica Terrell and its board of trustees not to be joined together as defendants as well as Mt. Bethel’s motion for a default judgment.

Those parties will have 30 days to respond to Mt. Bethel’s countersuit, and discovery can continue through Oct. 15.

The order also states that no vote to close Mt. Bethel—which the Conference had threatened to do—will take place at its annual meeting this summer.

The Conference includes nearly 800 churches. Mt. Bethel has nearly 10,000 members on its two campuses on Lower Roswell Road and Post Oak Tritt Road.

During discovery, Mt. Bethel attorneys had subpoenaed at least one church member and requested documents from the Conference to its officials and other Mt. Bethel members as well as former Senior Pastor Randy Mickler.  

It’s been 11 months since Haupert-Johnson tipped off the controversy by reassigning Rev. Dr. Jody Ray, Mt. Bethel’s senior pastor, to a non-ministerial position at the Conference office in Atlanta.

He and Mt. Bethel objected, saying they weren’t properly consulted. Ray turned in his UMC ministerial credentials and was hired by the church as a CEO and lead pastor, actions the Conference said were not allowed in its Book of Discipline governing documents.

Doctrinal disputes within the UMC have been building for several years, notably over gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages, both of which are prohibited by the Book of Discipline.

But Mt. Bethel and other conservative Methodist churches have been anticipating that would change. 

The UMC was to have voted on a protocol allowing them to leave the denomination in 2020, but COVID-19 concerns have prompted delays.

Mt. Bethel is a founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a consortium of conservative Methodist churches that has been preparing for the creation of a new denomination, the Global Methodist Church.

When the UMC announced last month it was delaying its general conference again, to 2024, due to COVID-related travel issues, the GMC said it would move up its official activation date from September to May 1.

Among the leaders of the GMC is Keith Boyette, the WCA founder and a member of Mt. Bethel’s legal team. 

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Mt. Bethel UMC lawyers seek documents sent to former pastor

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Steven Usry, appointed Mt. Bethel pastor
Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, appointed Mt. Bethel senior pastor

Former Mt. Bethel UMC senior pastor Randy Mickler is among the church and denominational leaders named in a request for documents in the congregation’s legal battle with the North Georgia Conference.

So is Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, whom the Conference appointed to serve as Mt. Bethel’s senior pastor nearly a year ago, touching off a dispute that has landed in Cobb Superior Court.

A filing there on Wednesday by Mt. Bethel is requesting that the North Georgia Conference provide unspecified documents sent to them and other individuals as the discovery process continues.

The North Georgia Conference sued Mt. Bethel last September after months of conflict over reassigning its top clergy and a failed attempt at mediation.

Mt. Bethel is seeking an expedited vote to disaffiliate from the UMC in its countersuit, as well as recovering church assets and properties claimed by the Conference.

As East Cobb News reported last week, Judge Mary Staley Clark has scheduled a hearing on March 15 to consider motions in both suits. Both sides are seeking injunctions to be considered the week of April 25, according to court filings.

Mt. Bethel claims that the Conference engaged in a “fraudulent conspiracy” to strip the church of its properties, valued at nearly $35 million.

The documents request also seeks Conference documents sent to Mt. Bethel member Donna LaChance.

She’s part of the Friends of Mt. Bethel, a group of church members opposed to the actions by the congregation’s leadership.

LaChance has been outspoken on the topic, telling East Cobb News in an interview last June that the rift has “torn apart” a church community of nearly 10,000 members.

All of those named in the documents request are non-party individuals, meaning that they’re not part of either lawsuit. So is another church member who has retained an attorney after being issued a subpoena by Mt. Bethel lawyers to appear at a deposition.

That deposition, which seeks communications between the member and Conference officials as well as Usry, has been delayed to March 16.

Mickler was Mt. Bethel’s senior pastor for 28 years, and was succeeded in 2016 by Rev. Dr. Jody Ray.

Last April, Ray refused a reassignment from the Conference and turned in his UMC ministerial credentials. Mt. Bethel hired him as a CEO and lead pastor, moves the Conference says violate the UMC’s Book of Discipline governance procedures.

As East Cobb News has previously reported, Mt. Bethel is declining to provide office space and a fall salary to Usry. He’s also had the support of Mickler and has met with Mt. Bethel members off campus.

Usry also is considered a theological conservative, which is among the sticking points in the dispute.

Mt. Bethel is a conservative congregation and a founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. Its leader, Keith Boyette, is a member of Mt. Bethel’s legal team.

The WCA was formed in 2016 as theological differences in the UMC began to widen.

They center in particular on ordaining gay and lesbian clergy and performing same-sex marriages, both currently forbidden by the UMC.

But conservatives anticipate that changing, and also formed a more conservative denomination, the Global Methodist Church.

On Thursday, the Global Methodist Church announced it was formally launching on May 1. That follows the decision by the UMC to postpone its General Conference to 2024 due to continuing travel issues related to COVID-19.

That conference was to have been held in 2020, with a vote likely on allowing conservative churches to leave.

(You can read the Mt. Bethel documents by clicking here and entering case number 21106801.)

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As Mt. Bethel UMC lawsuits proceed, church member subpoenaed

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Mt. Bethel Church

Attorneys for Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church have issued a subpoena for a church member and may call others for depositions as lawsuits proceed involving the East Cobb congregation and the denomination’s North Georgia Conference.

A deposition with the church member that was scheduled for Wednesday has been delayed to next Tuesday after she retained a lawyer, according to filings in Cobb Superior Court.

(You can read the Mt. Bethel documents by clicking here and entering case number 21106801.)

The North Georgia Conference sued Mt. Bethel in September after months of conflict over reassigning its top clergy and a failed attempt at mediation (you can read the lawsuit here).

In addition to trying to recover church assets and properties claimed by the North Georgia Conference, Mt. Bethel is demanding in its countersuit (you can read that here) that it vote to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church before the denomination’s scheduled General Conference meeting in September.

The Mt. Bethel church member is addressed in the subpoena as a “non-party,” meaning she is not a defendant or other party in the suits.

She was ordered to appear at the offices of Mt. Bethel’s attorneys with communications between her and “any agent of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church” regarding Mt. Bethel or the lawsuit.

The subpoena also ordered her to provide communications between her and Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, the appointed senior pastor at Mt. Bethel that the church has refused to accommodate, as well as Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson and superintendent Jessica Terrell of the North Georgia UMC.

The church member also was ordered to provide communications between her and members of the press and between “you and with any person since Jan. 1, 2018” regarding Mt. Bethel or the suit.

Cobb Superior Judge Mary Staley Clark has scheduled a March 15 hearing to consider motions in a lawsuit filed against Mt. Bethel by the North Georgia Conference, as well as Mt. Bethel’s countersuit. Both sides are seeking injunctions to be considered the week of April 25, according to court filings.

Mt. Bethel leadership has called a church administrative council meeting for Sunday at 4 p.m. in the sanctuary on the main campus (4385 Lower Roswell Road).

On Friday, Mt. Bethel’s lead attorney sent a congregation-wide e-mail explaining that the process of collecting documents and testimony from “from individuals and entities they believe may have knowledge of relevant facts” is part of every lawsuit, “and such requests are in no way accusatory, nor should assumptions be drawn based upon them.”

That message, written by Robert D. Ingram of the prominent Marietta law firm of Moore, Ingram, Johnson & Steele, added that “while the inconvenience and disruption caused by the discovery process is unfortunate, it is an important tool for developing and preserving relevant facts. It is in this way that the truth both comes to light and may then be presented in a court of law.”

‘What purpose is served by this?’

Mt. Bethel members who are against the actions by church leadership have formed a group called the Friends of Mt. Bethel, and on Tuesday sent out an e-mail denouncing the subpoena of the church member.

“Our church is using this legal process to go after some of its own members, people who are in no way responsible for any of the decisions at issue in this lawsuit,” said the Friends of Mt. Bethel e-mail.

The message acknowledged that while issuing subpoenas to its members is legal, “it should never have happened. These members are not parties to the lawsuit, and they had no involvement in the decisions at issue in the case. Their private messages should not have been requested by Mt. Bethel, nor should the Conference have shared them without a court order.

“Imagine the amazement, concern, and fear when people realize their own church has served them legal papers and that they must now obtain legal counsel. What purpose is served by this?”

Mt. Bethel, with nearly 10,000 members, is the largest of the 800 congregations comprising more than 300,000 members in the North Georgia Conference.

The Mt. Bethel dispute arose in April 2021, when Haupert-Johnson reassigned Rev. Dr. Jody Ray, Mt. Bethel’s senior pastor, to a non-pastoral post in the North Georgia Conference office.

Mt. Bethel refused the reassignment of Usry to replace him, alleging the church was not properly consulted. Ray turned in his UMC ministerial credentials and was hired by Mt. Bethel as a lead pastor and CEO.

The church also declined to provide Usry office space or pay his full salary. Although he has met with Mt. Bethel members elsewhere since his appointment, he said he is staying away from the Mt. Bethel premises during the legal dispute.

Mt. Bethel’s countersuit lists North Georgia UMC leadership as defendants, as well as five “John Doe” defendants it describes as “unknown individuals or entities who conspired with the other counterclaim and third-party claim defendants and engaged in the wrongful conduct described herein.”

According to Mt. Bethel, North Georgia UMC officials and other defendants in the Mt. Bethel countersuit “agreed, schemed, combined and aspired . . . to prevent Mt. Bethel’s disaffiliation vote and to take its property.”

After declaring it was not a church in good standing, the North Georgia Conference concluded that “exigent circumstances” prompted it to possess Mt. Bethel properties and assets, and ordered it closed.

Claims of ‘fraudulent conspiracy’

Mt. Bethel claims that’s part of a “fraudulent conspiracy” to strip the church of those properties, valued at nearly $35 million by the North Georgia Conference.

Activities at the main Mt. Bethel campus on Lower Roswell Road and another property on Post Oak Tritt Road are continuing, and Ray remains in the positions created for him.

The North Georgia UMC said those actions and others, including Mt. Bethel’s treatment of Usry, violate the denomination’s Book of Discipline governing procedures.

Nearly 200 UMC delegates are asking that the General Conference be delayed to 2024 due to continuing COVID-19 issues.

That policy-making body was originally scheduled to meet in 2020, but has been delayed by COVID-19 concerns.

The UMC—the second-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.—has been roiled in recent years by conflicts over theological issues, particularly gay and lesbian clergy and performing same-sex marriages.

The UMC currently bans both, but conservative congregations, including Mt. Bethel, formed the Wesleyan Covenant Association in 2016, anticipating that would change.

The North Georgia Conference claims churches not in good standing are not eligible to have a disaffiliation vote.

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Cobb DA’s office to hold prayer vigil for Ahmaud Arbery Day

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The Cobb District Attorney’s Office said this week it will be holding a prayer vigil Wednesday in observance of Ahmaud Arbery Day.Arbery prayer vigil

The prayer vigil will take place at the Marietta Square at 2 p.m. Wednesday, on the two-year anniversary of Arbery’s death.

He was a 25-year-old black man in Brunswick who was shot to death on Feb. 23, 2020, as he was jogging through a neighborhood.

The Cobb DA’s office prosecuted the murder trials of Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William R. Bryan, who were convicted by a Glynn County jury in November.

The three men also are defendants in an ongoing federal hate crimes trial in Savannah.

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Former East Cobb attorney sentenced in litigation fraud scheme

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A disbarred attorney from East Cobb has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison after being convicted by a federal jury of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft involving some of his clients.East Cobb man convicted

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta, Chalmer “Chuck” Detling II, who was disbarred in 2016, was given a sentence of five years and 10 months, plus three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $254,837 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May.

Detling, 45, who was the owner of the Detling Law Group on Roswell Road, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2018, after prosecutors alleged he used the identities of his clients without their knowledge to obtain litigation advances totaling nearly $400,000.

During his trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said evidence was presented showing Detling received the high-interest loans between October 2014 and April 2016.

The office said that Detling “knew when he submitted the agreement paperwork that the clients had not actually executed the agreements. He did so even after several clients expressly told him they did not need or want such financing.”

A release by the office said that “Detling was able to secure these fraudulent litigation advances without his clients’ knowledge in part because the financing companies did not require the clients to be present when applying for the litigation advances or receiving the disbursements.”

In 2012, Detling was fined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after admitting that he helped conceal a federal fraud indictment against a former client who was pursuing a municipal bond issue to purchase a casket company.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said it was told the litigation fraud scheme after an anonymous tip was given to the Georgia Bar Association.

“This tough but fair sentence should remind those considering similar behavior about the consequences of those decisions, especially licensed professionals who are considering exploiting their clients in a time of need,” said U.S. Attorney Karl Erskine in a statement.

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Cobb Magistrate Court booking Valentine’s weddings in February

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Cobb Magistrate Court Valentine's weddings

The “Month of Love” is what the Cobb Magistrate Court is calling February, and is offering special wedding appointments on selected dates.

Some of them will be taking place on Valentine’s Day on Monday, but there are other appointments on Feb. 22 as well.

Judges will be conducting group ceremonies throughout the day, and the court will be holding weddings at noon and 6 p.m. daily through February.

Newlyweds also can enjoy a photo area to capture the initial memories of their marriages.

A fun photo area for Cobb’s newlyweds to capture memories of their big day will also be available during the entire month of February.

Chief Magistrate Court Judge Brendan Murphy said in a county release that “we’re glad to welcome those wanting to tie the knot during this Month of Love while keeping the newlyweds and their guests safe and healthy!”

But because of social-distancing protocols, all ceremonies are by appointment only.

Using the Court’s new online reservation system, couples can make an appointment online at www.cobbcounty.org/magistrate or by calling the Warrant Division at 770-528-8900.

Couples must show a valid license issued by a Probate Court in Georgia, and they may invite up to four guests.

Masks are required inside the courthouse, but couples may temporarily remove them during their wedding ceremonies.

 

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Jury trials in Cobb courts paused due to rising COVID-19 cases

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The chief judge of Cobb Superior Court has ordered that jury trials to be paused for three weeks due to a sharp increase in COVID-19 transmission.Cobb Superior Court, Cobb judicial emergency

Judge Robert Leonard on Monday said the delays will go through Jan. 21, which coincides with the day before the end of an emergency declaration issued by Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid.

The courts have operated under separate orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Leonard said that “I did not make this decision lightly. We must keep in mind that jury service compels people of all walks of life, with all health conditions and vaccination status to attend court. Additionally, the likelihood of successfully getting through a lengthy jury trial when our community spread is at this record level is slim.”

The delay will not affect grand jury proceedings, according to a statement issued late Monday by Cobb County government.

Cobb State Court, which hears misdemeanor cases, also will be following suit with a jury trial delay, according to the county statement.

In addition, Cobb Juvenile Court has imposed some changes to its operations that continue through Feb. 4.

Leonard’s order was issued on the first working day of 2022, after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, which have been marked by a rapid spike in COVID-19 cases.

Cobb and Douglas Public Health is reporting that the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 in Cobb is 1,975, far above the “high” transmission threshold of 100.

As of Friday, that figure was at 1,505, and those figures represent the highest transmission levels in Cobb since the pandemic was declared in March 2020.

The Cobb County School District and Marietta City Schools are returning to classes Wednesday for the start of the spring semester on an in-person basis, as other metro Atlanta school districts are going remote for this week.

In his order, Leonard said that “I will continue to consult with our stakeholders and the department of public health and re-evaluate things in the weeks ahead. I will continue to strive to take a measured approach and may extend this pause in jury operations or resume it as appropriate.”

 

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Cobb DA releases statement on Arbery murder convictions

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Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady Jr. has spoken out on the murder convictions of three men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick.Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady

Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William R. Bryan, all white defendants, were found guilty of the murder of Arbery, a black man, by a Glynn County jury the day before Thanksgiving.

The case, which drew national headlines, was prosecuted by Cobb DA’s office. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr reassigned the cases in May 2020 after the Glynn District Attorney recused herself because Gregory McMichael worked as an investigator in that office.

Broady, who defeated appointed Cobb DA Joyette Holmes last November, said in a statement issued by his office Friday that “were determined that each of the defendants were given a fair trial and I believe we did that.”

He also commended his staff, including “lead prosecutor Senior ADA Linda Dunikoski, Senior ADA Paul Camarillo, ADA Larissa Ollivierre and a host of others from our office [who] worked tirelessly to ensure justice for this [Arbery] family.

“We held firm to the belief that our criminal justice system works. When you remove the hate, the intolerance and divisiveness and focus on truth, integrity, and unity that justice will prevail.”

Arbery, who was 25, was jogging in a Brunswick neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020 when he was shot down.

A viral video showing him being shot as he ran was released several weeks later, and made national headlines in the wake of the George Floyd death in Minneapolis, sparking national protests at the behest of Black Lives Matter.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, publicly fought for her son’s death to be prosecuted after the Glynn District Attorney declined to bring charges, citing Georgia’s citizen arrest law.

After an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Carr assigned the Cobb DA’s office to investigate and prosecute the cases.

In its 2021 session, the Georgia legislature revised the citizen arrest law and enacted a hate crimes statute for the first time.

The Glynn County jury had 11 white people and one black juror, and during the trial saw video footage showing Travis McMichael in a pickup truck, shooting Arbery at close range as he ran.

Travis McMichael was convicted of malice murder and eight other felony charges. His father, Greg McMcMichael, was found guilty of four charges of felony murder but was found not guilty of malice murder.

Bryan, who recorded the incident from his phone while riding in the McMichaels’ truck, was convicted of three felony murder charges.

They all face life in prison.

Broady said that the Glynn jury “made a clear statement ” in finding all three men guilty of murder, one that “reflects a new direction for our communities, this State, and the nation, to denounce hate, division and intolerance and promote unity.

“This case has garnered national attention, recalling attention to a past, this nation yearns to forget. It is important that we never forget. That we look at our past and map a new way forward. That we understand our prior shortcomings and work to the goal enumerated in our founding documents, ‘all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’ and may we add Justice. In order to do that it takes strength and courage, to demand the rights entitled to us by our Constitution and laws.”

The Cobb DA’s office is in charge of prosecuting Jackie Johnson, the former Glynn prosecutor, who was indicted in September for her handling of the cases.

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Cobb Law Library offers legal information to the public

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Submitted information:Cobb Superior Court, Cobb judicial emergency

Cobb’s Law Library is open to the public and provides resources for legal information for attorneys and laypeople.

The Law Library is on the fourth floor of Cobb Superior Court, 70 Haynes St., Marietta, and is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The telephone number is 770-528-1884. We do not give legal advice.

Packets of some domestic relations forms, for situations including divorce, legitimation, and name change, are available for purchase in the Law Library. Bring cash! Packets range in price from $1 to $15. The forms – with instructions — are also available on our website at cobbcounty.org/courts/superior-court/administration/forms  We do not have forms available for every conceivable issue.

The Law Library has computers available for legal research. We also have self-help books available on a variety of common legal needs, such as drafting a simple will, the divorce process, and landlord and tenant rights.

No library or county employee can provide legal advice or advise individuals how to fill out forms. If you need legal advice, contact the Cobb Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service at 770-424-2947 or the Cobb office of Atlanta Legal Aid at 770-528-2565.

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Cobb jail inmates to be provided 24/7 mental health services

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Submitted information:Cobb sheriff

Under the leadership of Sheriff Craig Owens, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office will become the first sheriff’s office in the state to provide its detainees around-the-clock access to behavioral and mental health services. 

Beginning Nov. 15, the Adult Detention Center will have a full-time psychiatrist on staff and be able to quickly assess, diagnose, and treat patients with mental health issues. The staff will also include psych registered nurses and licensed practical nurses.

“Many of the men and women in our custody would likely never have entered the criminal justice system if someone ensured they had access to quality mental health services at various stages of their lives,” said Sheriff Craig Owens. “From intake to discharge, we are committed to getting our detainees the help they need so they never have to walk back through our doors again.”

The new mental health program will utilize the American Psychiatric Association’s assessment and treatment plan formulation, leading to patient-specific support. The Sheriff’s Office and the healthcare team will place emphasis on suicide prevention and substance abuse support. 

“Wellpath supports the Sheriff’s vision to treat our patients with the dignity and compassion they deserve by enhancing the mental health services being provided, said Zela Guirola, Group Vice President of Partnership Development. “We are committed to providing 24/7 mental health coverage, enhanced staffing, intensive programming, and discharge planning focused on finding resources to support inmates upon discharge back into the community. These soft handoffs to community resources will support the continuation of care resulting in better served communities.”

The Sheriff’s Office will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony when the program launches to celebrate the launch of this momentous shift in prioritizing detainee care. 

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Five men graduate from Cobb Drug Treatment Court

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Judge Staley and four graduates

Submitted information and photos:

Judges and staff of the Superior Court of Cobb County congratulate five men who celebrated recovery and completed the Drug Treatment Court program on Monday, Oct. 4.

The intensive program, suited for criminal offenders who are generally non-violent, lasts a minimum of two years and aims to treat an individual’s underlying addictions and return him or her to a productive member of society while reducing incarceration costs.

Judge Mary Staley Clark recently took over as presiding judge of this accountability court program. 

“You persevered and kept going,” she told the graduates at the start of the celebration. “It takes enormous courage to do a program like this. You dug deeper into your mind, your heart, your soul.”

She is pictured above with graduates (from left) James, Jason, John and Joel.

Joel, 42, entered the program in December 2019, and during his time in the program has grown his business, gotten married, and become a father. 

“Life as I knew it has taken on a whole new meaning,” he said. “Drug Court provided me with the tools and resources, along with structure and accountability, to achieve and maintain a sober and happier life.”

Each graduate introduced family and friends who were attending in person or via Zoom, and thanked the staff and nonprofit groups that helped them get back on track. 

Jason, 44, began Drug Court in summer 2019. “I have my life back,” he proclaimed. 

More than 650 people have graduated from Cobb’s Drug Treatment Court. Many continue to support each other in their recovery, including through an alumni group.

DTC graduates with staff
New graduates of Drug Treatment Court join program officials in Judge Mary Staley Clark’s courtroom, Oct. 4, 2021.

A team that includes prosecution and defense attorneys, treatment counselors, probation officers, administrators and the presiding judge reviews each application for Drug Treatment Court and monitors admitted participants throughout. Punishment for violations can range from a night in jail to expulsion from the program.

Porsha Middlebrook is the Coordinator of Drug Treatment Court. Kayla Tomes is the Case Manager. 

Various county and state offices collaborate in operating individual Accountability Courts. Additional support is provided by nonprofit groups including the Davis Direction Foundation, Restoring Lives Alliance, and WorkSource Cobb. 

For more information, visit cobbcounty.org/SuperiorAC.

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