DeKalb prosecutor to lead public defenders

Gov.-elect Nathan Deal on Friday named a Dekalb County prosecutor to head the state's public defender agency.

W. Travis Sakrison, 40, will replace former state Rep. Rob Teilhet as executive director of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council. Teilhet, appointed to the job by Gov. Sonny Perdue in September, was told this week he will be replaced after Jan. 10.

Sakrison is a deputy chief DeKalb DA and oversees the drug-trafficking task force and asset forfeiture units. From 2001 to 2006, he was a Fulton County prosecutor and has also served as a lawyer for the Consumers' Insurance Advocate of Georgia and as a senior staff attorney for Georgia Court of Appeals Judge John Ellington.

About the Author

Bill Rankin

Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.

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