Former DeKalb Schools chief gets win in court
Embattled former DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Crawford Lewis will get to keep his lead attorney after the state Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that would have ousted Mike Brown over a conflict of interest.
Lewis and former Chief Operating Officer Patricia Reid were indicted in May 2010 on charges of running a criminal enterprise at the school system.
The following October, Superior Court Judge Cynthia J. Becker dismissed Brown, because his firm, Alston & Bird LLP, also represents the employer of a witness for the state in the school corruption case.
DeKalb Count District Attorney Robert James said his office will spend the next 10 days deciding on whether to appeal the ruling to the State Supreme Court.
“But if we do not appeal, nothing stands between us and the trial,” James said.
A trial date has not been set.
About the Author
Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.
