Citizens Concerned About the Athens-Clarke/Oconee County District Attorney's Office

The District Attorney’s Office lost a jury trial on March 21, 2023 for a single-count case for disorderly conduct. The Defendant was initially charged with several counts, including Terrorist Threats and Battery. The District Attorney’s Office decided to move forward with the lesser-included offense of disorderly conduct. Despite the case being ripe for transfer to State Court where these types of low level domestic violence cases are handled regularly, the District Attorney’s Office kept the case despite their significant backlog. At trial, the prosecutor was unable to convince a jury that the offender had committed the most basic of offenses.