atlanta — The president of the nonpartisan group that supports Georgia’s attorneys general said the new state law is one the president is imposing Donald Trump Others are accused of The issue of interference in elections They use To search for millions Attorney fees and costs from the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office are likely unconstitutional.
The law contains “serious and potentially unconstitutional deficiencies,” particularly because it deprives county governments of any kind of due process when defendants in a case seek redress, Georgia Council of Attorneys General Executive Director Pete Skandalakis wrote in a lawsuit Wednesday.
Georgia state legislators Last year a law was passed Which states that if a prosecutor is disqualified from a case for improper conduct and the case is then dismissed, any person charged in that case has the right to seek “all reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs incurred” in defending themselves. The judge supervising the case is then responsible for reviewing the application and ruling on the fees and costs to be paid from the budget of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Skandalakis indicated that Trump is seeking more than $6.2 million, and that the total amount requested by him and the other people accused in the case is about $17 million.
Fulton County District Attorney Fanny Willis obtained an indictment against Trump and 18 others from a grand jury in August 2023, using… State anti-extortion law They are accused of participating in a large-scale scheme to illegally attempt to overturn Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia.
Willis and her office were removed from the case after the Georgia Court of Appeals found there was an “appearance of impropriety” created by Romantic relationship She had a special prosecutor she chose to lead the case. Skandalakis took over the case late last year He rejected it in November.
The new law “may be unconstitutional because it leaves county governments — entities politically and practically separate from the elected district attorney — responsible for paying costs that are not related to them, with no legal recourse to challenge that liability,” Skandalakis wrote. He said that deprives them of due process under the U.S. and Georgia constitutions.
A spokesman for Willis declined to comment on Skandalakis’ file. Willis had previously asked the judge to allow her to be heard on any claims for fees and costs brought in the case.
Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead lawyer in Georgia, said in an emailed statement that the law is constitutional and “Mr. Skandalakis’s claims are simply false.”
Due process requires notice and an opportunity to be heard, but the new law “treats county government as a nonpartisan entity subject to a fiscal ruling that it cannot challenge,” Skandalakis wrote.
He also noted that the new law requires a prosecutor to be disqualified “for improper conduct,” and says no improper conduct was found in this case. Instead, the Court of Appeal found a manifestation of inappropriate conduct. Therefore, to award Trump and others their legal costs, a judge must “find that the appearance is the same as the completed act.”
Skandalakis also points out that the law does not set a reasonable hourly rate for a lawyer. The hourly rates paid to attorneys who intervene when there is a dispute between the district attorney or state attorney general are $66.57 and $125, respectively, Skandalakis wrote. Those rates are much lower than some defense attorneys have charged in the election case, but “they should be considered a fraction of what is reasonable,” Skandalakis wrote.
Defense attorneys sought to have Willis dismissed after one revealed in January 2024 that Willis had a romantic relationship with Willis. Nathan Wade, Special Prosecutor She has been appointed to lead the case. Defense lawyers said the relationship created a conflict of interest.
The trial judge, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, rebuked Willis, saying in a March 2024 order that her actions showed a “serious lapse in judgment.” But he found no conflict of interest that would disqualify Willis. he Final ruling That Willis could remain on the case if Wade resigned, This is what the special prosecutor did After hours.
Defense attorneys appealed this ruling to the Georgia Court of Appeals Willis removed from the case In December 2024, citing “inappropriate appearance.” Georgia Supreme Court in September He refused to hear Willis’ appeal.