Suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis will head to trial as scheduled on June 2, now that a Superior Court Judge has shot down his bid for a pre-trial appeal.
Ellis’ legal team needed Judge Courtney Johnson to allow them to challenge her ruling that a special grand jury investigating corruption allegations did not go beyond its charge with its probe. The jury’s work helped lead to Ellis’ criminal indictment on 14 felonies, ranging from bribery to theft to perjury.
In court hearings, prosecutors won over Johnson with arguments that the special grand jury’s work prompted a separate, criminal investigation into Ellis.
Ellis has strongly denied wrongdoing. His lawyers contend that District Attorney Robert James is conducting a political witch hunt by accusing Ellis of shaking down county vendors for campaign cash and punishing those who didn’t give.
But Johnson also rejected those arguments following two sets of hearings in the case this year.
In her order dated April 15, Johnson denied Ellis’ legal team from pursuing two arguments with the Court of Appeals.
In addition to the challenge to the special grand jury’s work, Ellis’ attorneys argue that he is a “peace officer” by virtue of overseeing DeKalb’s public safety forces and therefore qualified for a 15-day notice of his indictment and the right to testify before the grand jury that indicted him.
Johnson effectively upheld her rejection of both claims by denying Ellis’ legal team the ability to pursue an appeal. The move also avoids any lengthy delays in the trial that would come with more court battles.
However, attorneys said the appellate court could still be involved in the matter. Legal experts expect Ellis’ attorneys will make their same arguments on appeals if Ellis is convicted.
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