Fani (Fulton DA) OUTSIDE the law??? #ysltrial #youngthug #trumpnews
In the ongoing litigation between the Merchant law firm, representing one of the Trump Co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case, and the office of Fonny Willis, Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney, one of the latest developments saw the DA’s office appear in a court hearing and essentially argue that it does not exist.
The Merchant law firm is currently requesting that the DA’s office produce documents in accordance with the Open Records Act. The DA’s office is resisting this request, which Judge Rachel R. Krause notes is a common practice among government offices. Instead of producing the documents, the DA’s office has filed a motion to dismiss the request, arguing that the DA’s office does not exist as the kind of entity that could respond to a records request.
In conducting the hearing, Judge “Lady” noted that the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office office has “an open records agent, a records custodian, and a process and procedure in which it routinely engages to provide open records, to fulfill open records requests that are submitted to it.”
Attorney Sandy Monroe, representing the DA’s office, responded that the DA’s office has made a process for fulfilling open records requests, quote, because it’s their civic duty. But she goes on to add that the office has immunity from suits and hence the civic duty does not subject the office to suit.
Judge Krause cited two previous cases in which the District Attorney’s office was sued over open records, and that the appellate courts did not note in the cases that the District Attorney’s offices had immunity.
Attorney Monroe did not seem to have an answer for the question.
At issue seems to be whether the respondent is Fulton County, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, or the Fulton County District Attorney herself.
But Attorney Monroe argues that Fulton County is algo not the correct entity to respond to the request for records.
At a crucial point, Judge lady asked Monroe if her position is that the Merchant law firm has simply petitioned against the wrong entity in its lawsuit, or if Monroe is saying that the open records act does not apply to the District Attorney’s office at all, including the district attorney herself.
But though Monroe suggested that suing the District Attorney in her official capacity, as opposed to suing her personally, may be a way forward, Attorney John Merchant argued that doing so equates to suing the District Attorney’s office, putting the plaintiff in the same situation as before.
The back and forth prompted Judge Lady to try to get to the root of the issue.
