Attorneys for indicted DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis filed a motion Monday arguing that abuses by District Attorney Robert James mean he must drop his prosecution of Ellis on public corruption charges.
Two things taint the 15-count indictment that accuses Ellis strong-arming three vendors who work for the county into donating to his re-election campaign, the motion claims:
• The basis for the charges of theft, extortion and conspiracy came from a special grand jury investigation that had no authority to pursue allegations against Ellis.
• District Attorney Robert James did not give Ellis required notice of the indictment.
One legal observer described the latest skirmish “high-level lawyering for a high-profile case,” that will likely focus as much on the credibility of James and Ellis as the 14 felony charges.
“They are leaving no stone unturned because his career hangs in the balance, certainly his career as an elected official does,” said Jill Polster, a former prosecutor-turned defense attorney in Atlanta who is not involved in the case. “This is just the beginning.”
Also Monday, Ellis formally waived his arraignment before Johnson and entered a plea of not guilty on all charges.
The first claim in Ellis’ motion to stop prosecution includes the same arguments his legal team has made in courtroom battles for advance review of the special grand jury’s report, completed in January after a year of probing allegations of kickbacks and bid-rigging in county contracts.
That report remains under seal, though a separate suit from the jury’s foreman seeks a court order forcing the 81-page report be made public. None of the companies listed in Ellis’ June indictment were named in search warrants executed in January on Ellis’ home and office.
But the motion offers one new detail: that when investigators seized campaign records and county contracts from Ellis’ home and office, he was being asked before the special grand jury about his handling of county contract and vendors.
“These allegations form the basis of the present indictment,” attorney Craig Gillen wrote in the motion.
Gillen and James squared off earlier this month on the issue of proper notice. That came during a hearing to recommend if Gov. Nathan Deal should suspend Ellis from office.
James countered that Ellis was not charged with the crimes that would require notice. The panel appeared to have agreed with that assessment, unanimously calling on Deal to suspend Ellis.
The governor has since removed him from office and tapped County Commissioner Lee May as interim CEO.
Ellis, who has denied wrongdoing, is now making the case to get his job back. His legal team has argued state law requires the trial to begin by the end of August or he can petition for a return as CEO.
Last week, James filed a motion requesting an August trial date. But Judge Courtney L. Johnson is likely to first set a date for a hearing on the defense team’s motion.
A spokesman for the DA’s office would not address whether James plans to file any counter motions but reaffirmed that the office is ready for trial.
“All of these matters will be addressed in court,” spokesman Erik Burton said.
No future court dates have been set.
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