Why Georgia’s Street Gang Act May Be Unconstitutional As Applied to Macon’s “Hybrid” Street Gangs

By Dave Oedel

This week, sitting in the gallery during parts of the trial of Andre Maurice Bonner, 32, who was convicted Friday for the murder of 17-year-old Jamonni Bland in the parking deck outside the Zodiac Lounge in Macon near Walnut and Broadway at about 3:30 a.m. on July 5, 2013, I thought about the constitutionality of Georgia’s law on street gangs.  Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act adds stiff penalties for crimes committed in association with street gangs – sentences of three to fifteen years in addition to the penalties for the predicate crimes committed. Bonner is affiliated with Macon’s Westside Mafia, a so-called hybrid street gang, and Bonner was also convicted of several street-gang enhancements.

The possible unconstitutionality of Georgia’s anti-gang law probably won’t matter to Bonner, though, whose conviction for murder largely moots the issue for him. He’ll be imprisoned for a very long time, so any enhancements to his sentence may well be practically irrelevant. … Continue Reading

What the Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Decision Might Mean for Georgia and Similar States with State Constitutions Banning Same-Sex Marriage

By Dave Oedel

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this past Tuesday, April 28, 2015, on two interrelated questions involving the federal constitutionality of state-based same-sex marriages bans in states like Georgia. The Court’s decision, expected by late June, is likely to have an impact on Georgia’s law and those of similarly-situated states. But what impact?

A couple of probable swing voters in the case, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, early on in the oral argument Tuesday signaled that they were doubtful about using the courts to redefine the definition of marriage itself, something that they suggested has been assumed for millennia.

But that didn’t stop the Chief from posing this hypothetical, … Continue Reading

Middle Georgia Senator John Kennedy Comments on His First Session

Georgia State Senator John F. Kennedy of Macon, Georgia was elected in 2014 for the District 18 seat being vacated by Cecil Staton after a lively race in which Kennedy bested Dr. Spencer Price from Thomaston. District 18 covers north, south and west Bibb County, plus Upson, Crawford, Peach and Monroe Counties, and parts of Houston County. Kennedy won in the decisive May 20, 2014 primary by 2,180 votes with a 57-43 percentage margin. Unopposed in the November election, Kennedy was then tapped by Governor Nathan Deal to be one Deal’s Senate floor leaders – an unusual position for a freshman senator indicative of Kennedy’s strong reputation even before arriving in Atlanta. The Monitor caught up with Senator Kennedy on April 24, 2015 after the conclusion of the 2015 term of Georgia’s General Assembly.

Monitor: Your first session of Georgia’s General Assembly as a senator is now complete. How would describe the major accomplishments of the General Assembly this session?

Kennedy: It was a good session. We tackled … Continue Reading

“Sheriff David Davis, First Witness for the Defense” – How the Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office’s Miscommunications Can Benefit the Alleged Tobesofkee Shooter

By David Dorer

On April 23, 2015, Basil Ghali, 24, of Macon Georgia turned himself in to the Bibb County sheriff’s office on a charge of reckless conduct with a gun – a misdemeanor charge stemming from a more-than month-old March 21st shooting on Lake Tobesofkee. When Ghali turned himself in, Bibb Sheriff David Davis made an announcement to the public. That announcement undermined the felony aggravated assault charge levied by District Attorney David Cooke against Ghali the next day.

The incident has garnered a good bit of local criticism lobbed at Sheriff Davis’ deputies, who allegedly confronted Ghali’s father, were denied consent to search or voluntary communication absent the presence of an attorney, and then failed to properly follow up and obtain the proper warrants. The case went seemingly uninvestigated for weeks, while the victims continually spoke out to the media demanding that justice be served.

I don’t in any way fault Ghali for exercising his constitutional right … Continue Reading