It's round 3 in Snellville's liquor flap

On Friday, Snellville's liquor saga returns to court for the third time.

Three months after Snellville was forced to turn off the tap on Sunday sales, the city will ask Gwinnett County Magistrate Judge Mark A. Lewis to grant a new trial and, in the meantime, allow seven restaurants to serve alcohol again. The argument: Newly discovered evidence the city says justifies its December decision to amend its liquor laws by council vote rather than through a referendum.

At issue
Friday's hearing centers on two provisions of state law that appear to conflict. One requires cities and counties to conduct a referendum to authorize Sunday sales at restaurants. The other says liquor-friendly counties with populations of 160,000 or more -- and cities within those counties -- can decide Sunday sales by a vote of the governing body. The latter provision, which applied specifically to Gwinnett County, was written in the late 1980s by then-legislator Charles Bannister. On Friday, the city will argue the legislative intent of this provision, using an affidavit from Bannister, currently the county commission chairman.

Brief history

• Dec. 14: The City Council approves Sunday alcohol sales.
• Dec. 15: The city issues licenses and seven restaurants begin pouring beer and wine on Sundays.
• Dec. 23: Attorney Rick Stepp, on behalf of eight residents, files a lawsuit against the city, saying the council acted unlawfully by not conducting a referendum.
• Dec. 28: Judge Lewis issues a temporary restraining order against Snellville, which prevents the city from handing out additional licenses.
• Jan. 27: The judge overturns the council's decision and voids the licenses already issued.

The plaintiff says
Stepp maintains that residents have the legal right to a referendum. The city's motion for a new trial carries a high burden of proof, one he says the city won't be able to surmount. "It is too little, too late," Stepp told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The defendant says
Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer believes the judge made law in his January decision. "You can't let that lie," Oberholtzer said. The mayor is willing to go to the legal mat because he believes Sunday sales are the "linchpin" to the city's economic future.