ATLANTA (CN) — The Georgia judge overseeing the racketeering case against 61 protesters of Atlanta’s planned police and fire training facility, dubbed “Cop City,” said Tuesday that the anticipated trial will likely kick off before the end of the year.
During a trial conference, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Adams said that only five defendants will be tried together at a time.
Adams instructed the packed courtroom of defense attorneys to submit any proposals for the order in which the defendants will be tried, as well as their motions and time estimates of how long it will take the court to hear them and to conduct each of the trials.
"I want to proceed in a way that makes sense and is efficient," Adams said, setting May 21 as the deadline for the proposals. She noted 142 motions have already been filed in the massive case she is tasked with navigating.
The judge also scolded attorneys representing the state for not having all of their discovery evidence submitted.
"Trickling discovery is going to be problematic," she said.
Deputy Attorney General John Fowler said the Attorney General's Office wants to submit more evidence that they "didn't know existed at the time" it was due.
"You all indicted 61 people, so you don't get to come tell me that you're having issues with getting evidence," Adams replied.
She ordered the state to have all discovery materials in the case filed by May 17, so that the defendants can properly review it and file any supplemental motions.
Multiple defense attorneys expressed interest in being able to visit the construction site of the training facility as several of the charges in the indictment are related to the site.
The state expressed concerns with security and getting permission of the Atlanta Police Department to arrange scheduled visits to the site.
Any inspections of the site will be limited to the attorneys only, Adams said. She ordered the state to make arrangements with defense attorneys on conducting the inspections and providing them safe transportation.
"The city of Atlanta doesn't get to say no," Adams told the state. "The site is at issue, its at the heart of the indictment."
The first trial for defendant Ayla King was slated to begin in January but was put on hold after the 19-year-old appealed the judge’s denial of a motion to dismiss. The motion seeks to acquit King on the basis that their October speedy trial demand was not met.
Under Georgia law, a jury must be seated and sworn into service by the end of the speedy trial deadline. The deadline in Fulton County is two terms of court, or about four months.
Through defense attorney Surinder Chadha Jimenez, King argued the court should not have agreed to a 30-day continuance after the 14-person jury panel was selected, and instead should have kept the trial set for the November-December 2023 term of court.
A Georgia Court of Appeals panel is expected to hear King's argument on June 18.
A separate legal battle over an effort to force a citywide referendum repealing the mayor of Atlanta's authority to lease city land to the Atlanta Police Foundation for the facility is pending in federal court.
The referendum seeks to repeal a city ordinance authorizing Mayor Andre Dickens to lease 381 forested acres of land to the foundation for the construction of what is set to be the nation’s largest public safety training facility.
Dickens and other supporters of the project say the new training center is necessary to replace inadequate facilities and retain new police officers and first responders. The project is expected to cost the city’s taxpayers $36 million.
The high price tag has drawn criticism from local residents, while the destruction of one of Atlanta's largest remaining forested areas and fear of the facility perpetuating greater militarization of the police and overpolicing of poor and majority-Black communities has drawn opposition from around the world.
Brought in September, the sprawling 109 page indictment accuses the 61 defendants of joining a conspiracy to prevent the training center from being built.
It describes the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement as a "self-identified coalition and enterprise of militant anarchists, eco-activists, and community organizers.”
“Based in Atlanta, this anarchist, anti-police, and environmental activism organization coordinates, advertises, and conducts 'direct action' designed to prevent the construction of the Atlanta Police Public Safety Training Center and Shadowbox Studios (previously known as Blackhall Studios) and promote anarchist ideas,” prosecutors say in the indictment.
The individual charges range drastically from more serious offenses including arson and destruction of government property, to money laundering of bail donations, and to multiple individuals accused only of misdemeanor trespassing.
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