Court reinstates Fulton child molestation charges
The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday reversed a ruling that threw out Fulton County charges against a man accused of sexually molesting a 10-year-old girl.
In a unanimous ruling, the court sent the case back to a Fulton judge with instructions to apply a different legal analysis when weighing Phillip Pickett's right to a speedy trial.
Pickett was arrested in July 2003 on the molestation charges and indicted almost three years later. A Fulton judge had dismissed the case in December 2008 on speedy-trial grounds.
About the Author
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.
