A judge has granted a directed verdict on a misdemeanor obstruction charge against former Georgia prosecutor Jackie Johnson, who is facing trial for misconduct in the investigation of the Ahmaud Arbery murder. The judge found the case against Johnson on that charge too weak for any reasonable jury to convict her. Johnson was also charged with violating her oath of office, a felony, in connection with her handling of the Arbery case.
A judge on Monday ordered the acquittal of a former Georgia prosecutor on one of the two misconduct charges against her, ruling that prosecutors at her trial failed to present any evidence she obstructed justice. Soon after prosecutors rested their case Monday, the judge took the rare step of granting a directed verdict on the misdemeanor obstruction charge against Johnson.
The ruling means the judge found the case against Johnson on that single charge was too weak for any reasonable jury to convict her. \“There is not one scintilla of evidence that I’ve heard that would authorize a verdict on that count,” Senior Judge John R. Turner said from the bench. Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves with guns and used a pickup truck to chase Arbery after spotting the 25-year-old Black man running in their Georgia neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan joined the pursuit in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery at close range with a shotgun. The men told police they suspected Arbery was a burglar and argued that he was shot in self-defense. No one was arrested for more than two months, until cellphone video of the shooting leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police.\Since Johnson's trial opened a week ago, prosecutors have tried to build a case that she worked behind the scenes to protect Travis McMichael and his father, a retired investigator from Johnson's office, even after the district attorney had recused her office from the case. Last week when Glynn County Assistant Police Chief Stephanie Oliver testified that she and Johnson have never spoken about Arbery's case. Oliver was one of two officers named in the 2021 indictment charging Johnson with obstruction by “directing that Travis McMichael should not be placed under arrest.” Prosecutors rested their case Monday without calling Stephan Lowrey, the second officer named in the indictment, to testify. Johnson's defense attorneys also asked the judge for a directed verdict on the charge that Johnson violated her oath of office, a felony punishable by one to five years in prison. Turner told attorneys he was letting the oath violation charge stand “for the moment.” He asked both sides to submit written briefs with additional legal arguments. Johnson recused her office from handling Arbery's shooting because Greg McMichael had worked for her. Prosecutors argue Johnson abused her power by recommending the attorney general appoint a neighboring district attorney, George Barnhill, to oversee the case without disclosing that Barnhill had already advised police that the shooting was justified. The judge ordered the jury to return to the courthouse Tuesday morning. Johnson was voted out of office in November 2020 and largely blamed her defeat on controversy over Arbery’s killing months earlier. A grand jury indicted her in September 2021
Jackie Johnson Ahmaud Arbery Georgia Prosecutorial Misconduct Directed Verdict Obstruction Of Justice
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