The newly-sworn District Attorney in the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit has changed course on an appeal involving a man who has waited thirteen years for his case to be resolved.
John Dennis Baillie was arrested in 2012 and was behind bars without interruption while he awaited final adjudication of his case. After cycling through four Assistant District Attorneys and 4 public defenders, 3 indictments, more than a decade of court proceedings, and, ultimately, one ‘fatally defective’ search warrant, a judge said the evidence was ‘fruit of a poisonous tree’ and could not be used.
But the District Attorney’s Office under Daphne Totten would not dismiss the charges, prompting a Superior Court Judge to take action, dismiss the case, and ultimately release Baillie on his own recognizance. Still, the finality was disrupted when the DA’s office said they would appeal the judge’s decision.
You can read the full story with a timeline here.
The course changed Monday with an announcement from a new chief prosecutor, however. District Attorney Robert Busbee, whose term began on January 1, issued a press release Monday afternoon indicating the office would no longer pursue an appeal.
“After a thorough review and consideration of all circumstances surrounding this case, the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office has informed Judge Lovett Bennett, Jr. and the defense that it will not appeal the court’s ruling in Mr. Ballie’s case.”
The decision by the District Attorney’s Office means Judge Bennett’s previous Orders stand, including the suppression of the evidence obtained from the defective warrant and the dismissal of the charges entirely due to the suppression of the evidence.
