District Attorney Candidates Debate Reform or Competency

District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez and Kalki Yalamanchili have sharpened their attacks on each other in the last two candidate forums; Gonzalez called his independent opponent a closet Republican, and Yalamanchili cited examples of serious courtroom missteps during his tenure.

One of the forums was held Oct. 21 at the historic Black Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, while the other was held Oct. 22 at the Piedmont Athens Regional auditorium before an audience of mostly Republicans. In both forums, the candidates compete are someone who is experienced and competent in the field of law and clearly shares Athens’ political values.

While Gonzalez often talks about moving forward with progressive reforms he has initiated over the past four years, Yalamanchili said “we are going backwards” in areas such as prosecuting violent crimes and addressing mental health and substance abuse problems in the community. The official said the incumbent “does not provide services for victims of serious violent crimes.” “We have been a complete failure to do that.”

Meanwhile, Gonzalez said the most important issue in the race is “racism and discrimination within the system.” He defended his record by portraying himself as the victim of hostile or indifferent judges, law enforcement, defense attorneys, public defenders, county commissioners and others, and said the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of funding had slowed his progress toward reform. .

Political Trends: Gonzalez, a former Democratic state representative, described himself as a proud Democrat who votes more or less blue. He criticized Yalamanchili for accepting money and support from Republicans. “You get the money, you identify with the people you get the money from,” he said. “And they will always expect something in return.”

Yalamanchil’s office said it would take him back to the philosophy of longtime former prosecutors Ken Mauldin and Harry Gordon, who voters rejected in 2020. “Going back to fighting crime, the only way to hold people accountable is through punishment; that’s his vision.” “He gives it to you,” he said.

Yalamanchili refused to reveal who he voted for. flagpole that he believes the office should be non-partisan and does not want to alienate half of the residents of the Western Circuit either way (the circuit includes both Clarke and Oconee counties). But he disputed Gonzalez’s claims that the options were reform or a tough-on-crime approach. He said he would use pretrial diversion and accountability courts to get nonviolent defendants the help they need, as well as secure convictions for serious violent crimes like murder and sexual assault.

“Just because my opponent can’t do it doesn’t mean it’s not possible,” he said, adding that only about half of the available slots in special court programs for mental illness, substance abuse and veterans are filled. Gonzalez blamed the screening committee, uncooperative defense attorneys and public defenders for the vacancies.

When asked about specific political issues, such as abortion and the death penalty, Gonzalez reiterated that he would not prosecute anyone under Georgia’s strict six-week abortion ban and said he had decided not to seek the death penalty against Laken Riley’s alleged killer, Jose Antonio Ibarra. He consulted with Riley’s family. Yalamanchili did not take a general stance on either issue because he said he would invite the state attorney general’s office to come and take over these cases. He also noted that no one has been charged with a crime under the abortion law.

Gonzalez was questioned about his decision to bring in an outside prosecutor in the Ibarra case. “I’m Latino,” he said. “I didn’t want it to become a problem. I didn’t want it to be a distraction.”

But Yalamanchili said the DA’s office should prosecute such high-profile cases itself so voters can hold the DA accountable. He questioned whether Gonzalez could handle the case and why he didn’t call in outside prosecutors for the other murders. “This is not justice for everyone,” he said.

Trial Errors: Yalamanchili laid out several examples where prosecutors under Gonzalez made serious mistakes that led to dismissal of charges and/or reprimands from judges; these facts were facts that Gonzalez did not dispute but nevertheless sought to explain.

In a case involving a man accused of molesting his daughter, an assistant district attorney dismissed the charges without notifying the victim’s family just before the hearing. A judge ordered the charges reinstated, and the prosecutor in the neighboring district won the conviction after the jury deliberated for less than an hour. In another, the wife of a hit-and-run victim was not informed of the decision to reduce the charges against the driver from vehicular homicide to a misdemeanor; Gonzalez’s office argued that Marsey’s Law did not apply because she was his common-law spouse. The third case he argued involved the murder of a homeless man, for whom Gonzalez’s office cut three- and five-year plea deals for two defendants. He talked about the prosecutor hiding the evidence and sentencing the defendant to 14 years in prison. And in one case, the defendant waited 13 months in jail before the prosecutor’s office scheduled a trial, he said. Additionally, Yalamanchili said, local judges arrested assistant district attorneys for disrespecting the production of evidence, withholding evidence from the defense, and coming to court unprepared.

“Things are not getting better. “They are getting worse,” he said. “We need to make a change so we can have the prosecutor’s office we all deserve.”

Gonzalez said there is a lot of confusion among attorneys and judges about the Marsey Act and that no one is pursuing violations other than “one person who brings this to hearings” and frequently, citing Oconee County attorney Kevin Epps. critic. He said the 13-month wait for the hearing was because the judge did not schedule the hearing and the ADA, who withheld the evidence, lied during the job interview. In other cases, he attributed mistakes to learning experiences. He said some cases were lost because “rookie cops” did not know how to testify and did not allow the Athens-Clarke County Police Department to educate them on the rules of evidence.

“I will always hold my employees to the highest ethical standards,” he said.

Yalamanchili said he would develop better relations with law enforcement because police and prosecutors must work closely together when investigating a case and also hold law enforcement accountable for abuses.

Staff Levels: Yalamanchili criticized Gonzalez’s “failure record.” He attributed the low conviction rate to a combination of inexperience (Gonzalez had never handled a criminal case before taking office) and staff turnover. He said his office lost more than 40 attorneys, and although it is now nearly fully staffed, only 11 of 16 positions are held by people licensed to work in Georgia.

“It’s not new that when leadership changes, there’s a change there,” Gonzalez said. The same thing happened to Mauldin in 2004, he said. In addition, she said, when she took office, she faced challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, a backlog of cases and uncompetitive salaries for ADAs.

Although the Western Circuit has never paid as much as the metro Atlanta circuits, the Athens circuit has never had such problems with turnover either, according to Yalamanchili. “It’s very clear that this is a leadership issue,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez said Yalamanchili has no experience in administrative duties such as budgeting. “There is a difference between the trial skills my opponent talks about and managing and operating an office,” he said.

Yalamanchili worked as a prosecutor under Mauldin before leaving to start a private defense practice. “What I learned during that time was how to prepare for a trial and have a trial in front of a jury,” he said.

He said he will use his connections in the legal community and at UGA to keep a pipeline of talented prosecutors flowing.

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