The prosecution of former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson made some progress last month before being stalled again in the latest in a saga of court delays.
Retired Senior Bulloch County Superior Court Judge John Turner ruled on a request by Johnson’s attorney, Brian Steel of Atlanta, allowing him to file documents supporting Johnson under seal, according to a Sept. 25 order. Turner ordered those documents by Oct. 9, two weeks after the order, but Steel appears to have missed this deadline.
The order and missed deadline are indicative of the stop-and-go nature of the criminal case against former DA Johnson, which is more than two years old. The judge’s September order ended an eight-month document stalemate and set deadlines that did not exist before for Johnson and her attorney. Three weeks prior to the order, The Current reported on the prolonged case and how Johnson’s attorney Steel has been the major holdup in the case moving forward.
A Glynn County Superior Court clerk told The Current on Wednesday no new documents have been filed — indicating Steel missed the latest deadline.
No trial nor hearing dates can be set due to Steel’s other commitments, according to court officials with knowledge of the situation. Steel is representing Atlanta rapper Young Thug in a sprawling racketeering case in Fulton County. Jury selection has been underway for nine months and not a single juror has been chosen. It is the longest jury selection in state history, and the trial itself could last a year.
Johnson faces charges for allegedly interfering in the death investigation of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black jogger, in favor of the three white men who killed Arbery. One of the men was a former investigator for Johnson’s office. A grand jury indicted Johnson in September 2021 and she has been free on a $10,000 bond since. Johnson was voted out of office in Nov. 2020, largely in response to the Ahmaud Arbery scandal.
Her criminal case stagnated after a flurry of court activity last year. In March 2022, Steel filed motions to dismiss the indictments, arguing that “there are no truthful, competent facts” to support that she tried to protect the son of her former employee, Greg McMichael. Steel also argued that Johnson lawfully recused herself from the case.
Two months later, Attorney General Chris Carr’s office, which is prosecuting the case, refuted Steel’s claims and produced new evidence showing repeated contact between McMichael, Johnson and others. Prosecutors allege she knowingly acted with a conflict of interest and tried to sway the case.
Johnson’s lawyers, who have not responded to repeated requests for interviews by The Current, have not yet filed a response. The judge was waiting on further documents from Johnson’s team before ruling, according to a court official with knowledge of the situation. The Sept. 2023 order shows Turner went ahead and set deadlines.
Those deadlines include filing exhibits, which are pieces of evidence used to back up a motion. Turner granted Steel’s request to keep certain exhibits out of public view. However, Steel has not filed anything and missed an Oct. 9 deadline to file them, according to a Glynn County Superior Court clerk.
Turner has not set any dates for a hearing or a trial. Filing deadlines are also often extended in criminal and civil court cases, given extenuating circumstances of those involved.
The Current will keep watching for further developments.
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