A Fulton County grand jury indicted a 44-year-old Pennsylvania man after he allegedly defecated on a gay pride flag and caused approximately $10,000 in damage to vendor equipment, furniture, and signage.
“This defendant intentionally selected the victims of these crimes on the basis of their actual or perceived race, color, sex, sexual orientation, and gender,” remarked Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis. She emphasized that hate crimes would not be tolerated in Fulton County, especially as thousands converge on the city for Atlanta’s Pride Festival.
Willis described the crime as “despicable” and noted that her office is seeking enhanced penalties under Georgia’s hate crime laws. “Here we are seeing a terrible crime committed against members of the African American LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum expressed his dismay at the crime as well. “As we were literally hosting the world here for Black Gay Pride, this act was carried out. Some people may think that this represents Atlanta, Georgia, and it does not.”
Grand Jury Indictments
Usually, the wheels of justice turn slowly in criminal courts. Authorities wait at least three or four months to file criminal charges. But this time, the hammer came down quickly. Many times, prosecutors fast-track cases with certain political or other implications. These political implications also make post-trial relief easier to obtain. More on that below.
First, let’s focus on the often-misunderstood grand jury process. When most people hear “jury,” they think of an impartial body that carefully considers all facts before reaching a decision. But a grand jury is a “jury” in name only.
A grand jury only hears a prosecutor’s version of events. A Marietta criminal defense attorney isn’t allowed in the room. Defendants may excuse themselves to speak with attorneys, but when they do so, they hang giant “INDICT ME” signs around their necks.
Grand jury targets must comply with grand jury subpoenas. They must appear, but they have a Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions. Once again, this refusal is like hanging the sign, but at that point, an indictment is probably inevitable anyway. Grand juries indict about 99.99 percent of the cases they consider.
On a related note, if you learn you’re a target of a grand jury investigation, don’t voluntarily appear and try to talk your way out of it. Doing so simply means digging a deeper hole.
The Hate Crimes Law
In 2020, Georgia became one of the last states in the Union to pass a hate crimes law, which is technically a hate crimes enhancement.
Under Georgia’s hate crime law, a person found guilty of committing a misdemeanor hate crime faces a mandatory additional six months in jail. This sentence enhancement can be up to twelve months. Additionally, the court may impose an additional fine of up to $5,000 for one of five misdemeanor offenses. The additional fine provision, which has no mandatory minimum, also applies in felony cases, as does a maximum of two additional years in prison.
This law also requires law enforcement officers to complete a written report when investigating any offenses that might be a hate crime, even if official charges aren’t filed. The Bias Crime Report includes such information as the complainant’s name and protected status, and whether any evidence exists that ties the incident to the victim’s actual or perceived attributes.
These additional penalties apply if the court finds, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the defendant targeted the alleged victim’s actual or supposed:
- Ethnicity,
- Color,
- Religion,
- National origin,
- Gender,
- Sexual orientation,
- Gender identity, and/or
- Disability.
Hate is not an element of the hate crime law. The state must only prove that the defendant targeted the alleged victim because of a prohibited reason. If Bill vandalizes a country club because he thinks it has Jewish members, prosecutors could tack on a hate crimes enhancement, even if his belief is mistaken.
Prosecutors can use direct or circumstantial evidence to establish a hate crime enhancement. Direct evidence is usually racial or other slurs uttered at the time of the commission of a crime. Or, as in the above story, a hate crime enhancement could be almost self-proving. Circumstantial evidence includes online posts that indicate animus against a protected class.
Hate Crimes Complications
We mentioned one complication of a hate crime enhancement above. Even if prosecutors don’t go forward with the case, the defendant’s name goes into a database. This database’s origins and purposes are unclear.
These enhancements have other collateral consequences as well, if they’re part of the official judicial record. We live in a one-sided society. When most people see a hate crimes enhancement, they don’t want to hear about mitigating circumstances. They just want to get angry.
Hate Crimes Defenses
Georgia’s hate crimes enhancement is so broad that it’s almost impossible to strike down in court. Frequently, however, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer convinces prosecutors to drop the enhancement, if the defendant agrees to something in return, such as a longer prison sentence or more restrictive probation conditions.
Contesting the evidence in the underlying case is a much better strategy. If the defendant is not guilty of the underlying offense, any enhancement add-ons are meaningless.
When police officers investigate crimes, as they did in the above story, they often commit procedural errors. These errors often include overuse of unreliable informants and illegal interrogations.
Usually, when officers have little to go on other than a pile of poop, they immediately question probationers in the area, believing that they know something about the matter. Frequently, officers subtly, or not so subtly, coerce these individuals into providing information about the offense.
The information they provide may be accurate. However, it was unreliable. Many people will say almost anything to avoid law enforcement intrusions. According to the Supreme Court, unreliable informants are a leading cause of wrongful convictions.
Furthermore, any police officer interrogation, friendly or unfriendly, is custodial interrogation (asking questions when the person doesn’t feel free to leave). Therefore, any information the person provides is inadmissible in court, unless officers first apprised that individual of his/her Fifth Amendment rights.
Don’t let criminal enhancements scare you. For a free consultation with an experienced Marietta criminal defense lawyer, contact The Phillips Law Firm, LLC. Convenient payment plans are available.
