Ellis hearings resume today

Lawyers for Burrell Ellis will make their case this morning for why the DeKalb District Attorney Robert James should not be allowed to drop the first indictment against him and pursue the second round of charges that accuse the suspended CEO of political corruption.

The hearing comes two weeks after DA Robert James and two former prosecutors who worked under him took the stand to testify about office tensions and clashes while building the case against Ellis, who is accused of strong-arming vendors into donating to his re-election campaign and punishing those who refused.

Ellis says the 14-count indictment against him is the result of a political witch hunt by James, creating a series of personal attacks in motions expected to continue in today’s hearing.

The hearing begins at 10:30 a.m. in Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson’s courtroom. The AJC will provide live Twitter updates of the proceedings @AJCDeKalb.

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