Judge rules DA's office violated Marsy's Law in vehicular homicide case

Western Circuit Superior Court Judge Lawton Stephens ruled late Monday afternoon that the office of District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez had violated the Marsy’s Law in the prosecution of a man charged in the death of a bicyclist in 2022.

The law protects the rights of victim in criminal cases.

A nearly-day long hearing in Clarke County Superior Court resulted in the ruling by Stephens, who found that Susan Wilson was the lawful wife of James V. Jones, 67, of Athens who was killed when his bicycle was hit by a car driven by Luke Harrison Waldrop, 26, of Spartanburg County, S.C.

Waldrop pleaded guilty to reduced charges of misdemeanor vehicular homicide and improper passing. Athens-Clarke police had originally charged him with felony vehicular homicide and drunk driving.

Stephens at the September sentencing accepted a plea agreement reached between the DA’s office and defense attorney Robbie Ballard and sentenced Waldrop to 24 months on probation. But the facts of the crash were told to the judge by the defense attorney and not prosecutors, according to Epps.

When confronted with the Marsy’s Law complaint, the DA’s office decided that Susan Wilson was not the victim in the case as she and Jones had a common law marriage, a once legal union that is no longer recognized by the state since the law changed in 1997.

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However, Stephens ruled that the pair had lived together as man and wife since the 1980s before the law was enacted and the preponderance of the evidence showed that Susan Wilson was his wife for 37 years.

In addition, Stephens ruled that that Wilson was a victim in the case and was entitled to a reasonable notice about the plea and that she should have been afforded an opportunity to give a victim impact statement much as she did at Monday’s hearing.

Wilson testified she received a telephone call from the DA’s office on the morning of the plea while she was teaching a class at Athens Technical College and she was unable to answer the call. Testimony also showed that a victim’s advocate for the office also called Jones’ sister in Virginia that morning. Testimony showed the calls were made less than hour before the plea calendar was to begin that morning.

But the sister, who was nine hours away, did express her displeasure with the plea agreement, according to court testimony.

Attorney Kevin Epps of Watkinsville and Lane Fitzpatrick of Danielsville represented Wilson in seeking the Marsy’s Law violation, which was passed to give victim’s of crimes the right to be notified of pending court actions and the right to give the court an impact statement.

Stephens told the lawyers along with Gonzalez and assistant district attorney Robert Wilson, that he would draft an order in regards to his decision.

Epps said the law does not provide for a fine, but the judge’s order will include a reprimand to the district attorney.

In June, Gonzalez admitted to a Marsy’s Law violation in a rape and child molestation case.

That defendant faced reindictment on the charges, but new charges cannot be filed in the Waldrop case, according to Epps.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Judge rules DA Gonzalez office violated Marsy's Law in homicide case