'Breakdown' ad in hot-car case leads to DA’s subpoena

What's next: The trial begins Sept. 12 in Brunswick.

When the decision was made to move the Ross Harris hot-car murder trial from Marietta to Brunswick, the hope was enough fair-minded people who lived more than 300 miles away could be found to sit as jurors on the high-profile case.

But for the past few weeks, a classified ad running in The Brunswick News recommends that anyone interested in the Harris case should listen to "Breakdown," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's podcast that focuses on the hot-car trial. The ad, which is to run until Aug. 9, appears under the heading "Reasonable Doubt."

The ad caught the attention of the Cobb County district attorney’s office, which obtained a subpoena last week requiring the Brunswick newspaper’s advertising director to appear in court on Aug. 19. Once there, he was to provide the name, address and phone number of the person who bought the ad and disclose how much the person paid for it. Otherwise, the paper could just turn over the information without him having to appear, the subpoena said.

After consulting with its lawyers, the newspaper complied and recently turned over the information to the Cobb DA’s office.

Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds said the subpoena was issued to determine whether the person who took out the ad was a potential Glynn County juror or if the person was somehow involved in the case.

Once it was determined that neither of those possibilities applied, the DA’s office quickly dropped the matter altogether, Reynolds said. He declined to disclose the identity of the person who took out the ad.

Maddox Kilgore, Harris' lead defense attorney, declined to comment on the unusual development.

Tim O’Briant, The News’ general manager and executive editor, said he’d never before been served a subpoena for a classified ad.

“When we got it, it kind of raised the hairs on the back of my neck, and my first instinct was to get with the lawyers and figure out how to quash it,” he said.

But the paper’s lawyer noted this did not involve journalism, such as protecting a confidential source. Instead, it was a business transaction — and businesses are frequently compelled to release customer information.

“So I set aside my basic instinct and we complied, even though we certainly respect the privacy of our customers,” O’Briant said.

Harris faces murder charges for the death of his 22-month-old son. Cooper died on June 18, 2014, after being left in Harris' SUV.

His trial begins anew on Sept. 12. In May, after spending weeks trying to seat a jury, Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark granted a defense motion to change venue. She found hostility against Harris ran too deep among prospective Cobb jurors. The subpoena served on the Brunswick paper was issued under Staley Clark's name.

Augusta attorney David Hudson, who represents The News, said newspapers in Georgia have a qualified privilege when confronted with a subpoena that seeks information in their possession. They cannot withhold information if they have information that cannot be obtained from another source or that’s relevant and material to a party’s case.

“In this case, the information could not be obtained from another source and the DA was concerned someone may have been trying to taint the jury pool,” Hudson said.

Hudson applauded Reynolds for dropping the matter when he did. "But if the ad had been placed by a member of the defense team, a witness, a member of the prosecution team or someone in law enforcement, it would have been an entirely different matter."

Atlanta criminal defense attorney Buddy Parker, who has been involved in a number of sensational cases, said he’d never heard of anything like this happening before.

“There is a valid concern as to whether or not a person who’s in the jury pool or associated with the case could be behind the ad. But, still, you’re treading on very protected areas when you’re talking about freedom of speech or expression.”