Lawyer: Protesters reject plea deals

May 4—Minutes after Decatur's municipal court opened Friday morning, the assistant city attorney asked to be dismissed after a family law attorney — representing pro bono seven Steve Perkins supporters charged with disorderly conduct — said none of her clients were interested in a plea deal.

"How long you been doing this?" assistant city attorney Chip Alexander, filling in for the city prosecutor, asked attorney Laura Powell before the judge entered.

Powell said she's been practicing law since 2011 but acknowledged that representing so many clients at once was new to her.

"A lot of things are new to me in Decatur," she said. "How long have you been doing this, Chip?"

"Thirty-four years," Alexander responded.

Powell's clients included Kurstin White, Kourtney West, Tyric Taylor, Dakota Simmons, Alex Owens, and Jaheim Malik.

Judge Takisha Gholston, after explaining the rules and expectations of her courtroom, began reading the names on the docket. A seventh defendant, David Snyder, entered the room just as he was called and had not yet retained counsel. All seven defendants were sworn in collectively by Gholston.

Then, Alexander told Gholston that before she entered, "Powell gave a riveting soliloquy on the city and advised her clients not to take any settlements." He requested he be dismissed and, his request granted, began collecting his things.

"Who do you represent?" Gholston asked Powell.

"Everyone here," Powell said.

"She thinks!" Alexander said, halfway to the exit.

They forgot about Snyder. Alexander turned back toward the bar.

"Want a free lawyer?" Powell asked Snyder.

Snyder said yes, so Alexander turned again and left the courtroom.

Without hearing the city's plea deal offerings, the defendants were then dismissed to await trial.

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'They want their day in court'

Afterward, Alexander, from his sixth-floor office, said he had prepared offers for each defendant, although he couldn't elaborate on the specifics of each offer, as they were case-by-case.

"In my experience, it's always worthwhile to get an offer," he said. "She (Powell) chose not to do that, and there was no reason to sit down and watch the show. So, I asked the judge if I could come on up and let them be set for trial."

Despite numerous attempts, Powell did not respond to requests for comment. Criminal defense attorney Tony Hughes, who plans to represent some of the charged Perkins supporters at trial, said Powell is one of several attorneys working collectively for the same cause.

"There are several people that have been charged in Decatur that are in a similar situation," Hughes said. "What they're doing is exercising their constitutional rights, and they don't believe that they've broken any laws in the city of Decatur.

"They want their day in court, and it's our position that they're going to get their day in court. They want to be able to be heard and to defend these charges against them."

Of Powell's involvement, Alexander said it's very unusual for an attorney to take on so many clients at the last minute.

"It's a huge risk, because before you get in a case, you should make sure you don't have conflicts," he said. "There's a lot of due diligence you have to do. But that's up to her; she makes the decision who she represents.

"It seems to me you'd like to at least hear — because from the offer you can get an idea how strong the case is, what to expect, etc. It's just the next step in the process. Didn't have to agree to anything today but, you know, the lawyers I've been dealing with since I started at least want to hear what the offer is."

Powell's role on Friday was merely to accompany the defendants and enter not guilty pleas, according to Hughes. He also said it was premature to discuss settlement offers, as the defendants have yet to receive discovery (evidence) from the city of Decatur.

"I find it odd that a prosecutor would make a comment regarding pending cases in his court and whether or not they wanted to accept a plea offer or not," Hughes said. "I find that odd, in this case."

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.