Attorneys for suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis have filed a notice that they plan to appeal his conviction for attempting to extort a $2,500 campaign contribution from a vendor and for lying to a special grand jury investigating suspicions of corruption in county government.
The notice of appeal lists 18 areas that Ellis plans to challenge, most of them regarding limits the judge placed on defense witnesses’ testimony and evidence Ellis wanted the jury to see.
While he appeals, Ellis has already started serving an 18-month sentence for his July 1 conviction. Judge Courtney Johnson refused to let Ellis be free on bond while he appealed his conviction to the Georgia Supreme Court.
According to the notice of appeal filed last week, Ellis’ attorneys will contest Johnson’s order to limit questions about Ellis’ character to his reputation for honesty and truthfulness.
Johnson also wouldn’t let Ellis argue that he was “set up” when he was called to testify before a special grand jury that asked about his role in county contracting, and he was not told he was a target of the special purpose grand jury’s investigation. Johnson would not let Ellis’ lawyers call other vendors to testify that the CEO did not pressure them for contributions to his 2012 re-election campaign or threaten their contracts when they refused him.
The jury convicted Ellis of trying to shake down Power and Energy Services for a $2,500 campaign contribution and lying under oath about his role in awarding county contracts. The jury also acquitted him bribery, extortion and attempted extortion of other county vendors.
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