First ATL61 RICO trial delayed 2-4 weeks pending appeals decision

FULTON COUNTY—The speedy trial of Ayla King was scheduled to begin in earnest Wednesday but went into recess for an expected 2-4 weeks while the Georgia Court of Appeals decides on a motion to dismiss the case entirely. 

Out of the 61 defendants indicted by a grand jury in August under the Georgia racketeering-influenced and corrupt organization (RICO) act as part of a crackdown against a multi-year protest movement against a police training facility just outside Atlanta, King is the only one to file for a speedy trial before the Oct. 31 deadline. The 61 defendants refer to themselves as the ATL61.

Under Georgia law, a defendant must be tried before the end of the next court term following a demand for a speedy trial. King filed for a speedy trial on Oct. 30, one day before the end of the September-October court term. According to arguments made by defense attorney Surinder K. Chada Jimenez in his motion to dismiss filed Jan. 1, King’s trial should have commenced by Dec. 31—the end of the second court term after the speedy trial demand—to satisfy the requirements set forth in the Georgia speedy trial statute. 

The case against King will be dismissed if the defense wins the appeal.

Under the Georgia speedy trial statute, if a defendant is not tried within the time frame allotted “they shall be absolutely discharged and acquitted of the offense charged in the indictment.”  

“[Jimenez] filed the motion to dismiss because he’s arguing that the case wasn’t tried within the speedy deadline,” explained attorney Josh Lingsch, who is representing one of the other ATL61 defendants. “The jury was empaneled, but he’s arguing that the trial should have commenced before the deadline.”

While jury was selected for the trial in December, a brief filed Monday by Jimenez cited several federal and Georgia state court decisions that rule jury selection is not sufficient to satisfy speedy trial requirements. At issue is the decision by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams, who is presiding over the ATL61 RICO trials, to take a four-week recess. Adams initially instructed the prosecution and defense that she would deny any leaves of absence between the beginning of jury selection on Dec. 11 and Dec. 29—leading to the assumption the trial would be held during that period—but Adams recessed the case until Jan. 10 once jury selection was completed on Dec. 12. 

“In this case,” Jimenez wrote in his Jan. 8 brief, “the nearly month-long recess following the completion of jury selection violates not only the letter, but also the spirit and purpose of [the Georgia speedy trial statute].” 

Judge Adams denied the motion to dismiss Tuesday but granted Jimenez a request to make an interlocutory appeal of her decision before the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Unlike other appeals, “with interlocutory appeal you’re asking that the issue be immediately decided by the Court of Appeals,” Lingsch said. “You have to ask the trial court for a certificate of immediate review, which means [the decision] can be reviewed before the actual trial of the case. Otherwise, you would have to wait until the actual end of the case.”

Judge Adams told counsel she would have the certificate of immediate review ready by the end of the day Wednesday. 

Lingsch said he does not expect the oral arguments to take place in the appeal. The State and defense counsel will provide new written arguments to the appeals court, which will then rule on the decision. If they rule in favor of King, the case will be dismissed. If not, the case will resume as planned.

After discussing the logistics of the appeal with counsel, Adams called the jury into the courtroom and informed them that while they have not been dismissed, they are free to return to their normal lives for “possibly four weeks, maybe longer.”

The judge was apologetic to the jury for the unexpected delay. “This is the first time the Court has had to proceed in this fashion in 15 years,” Adams said. 

There is some uncertainty regarding when the trial will resume and how long it will take, but Judge Adams instructed the jury they would have a one-week warning before court reconvenes. 

One juror asked if their travel plans “mid-February” should be rescheduled, and Adams informed the jury that they should be prepared to be available through the end of February “out of an abundance of caution.” 

Follow the Atlanta Community Press Collective’s live tweet account to keep up with our live coverage of Ayla King’s trial and the future trials of the ATL61 defendants.