Cop City RICO: Trial of Ayla King delayed again over mistrial, double jeopardy appeal

Описание: The speedy trial of “Cop City” racketeering defendant Ayla King resumed Monday after 18 months of delays and was promptly put back on hold as the Georgia Court of Appeals rules on whether King faces double jeopardy.

“What I'm appealing right now,“ said King’s attorney, Surinder K. Chadha Jimenez, following Monday’s hearing, “is that my client has already been placed in jeopardy once, and the Constitution guarantees that you cannot be placed in jeopardy twice.”

The Georgia State Constitution also provides additional protections against double jeopardy, Chada Jimenez said.

18 months of delays and a Court of Appeals opinion set the stage for Monday’s hearing King, who uses they/them pronouns, and 60 other people were indicted by a grand jury on Aug. 29, 2023, for alleged violations of the Georgia Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act as part of a multi-year protest against the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as “Cop City.” If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison.

King filed a demand for a speedy trial before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams in October 2023, and jury selection began in December 2023. Media and members of the public were not allowed in the courtroom during jury selection, which lasted for three days. The Court scheduled a holiday break that lasted into the New Year immediately following jury selection.

Chadha Jimenez filed a motion to dismiss just after midnight on Jan. 1, 2024. He argued that the Court failed to satisfy the requirements of a speedy trial under Georgia law, which sets a time limit by which a trial must commence. Adams denied the motion. The issue then went to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which affirmed Adams’ ruling, stating that empanelling a jury constitutes the commencement of a trial.

However, the Court of Appeals remittitur—a document transferring a case back to the trial court—also stated that Adams had “erred in closing the courtroom to the public and media” during the jury selection process. Because jury selection was closed, the Court of Appeals said the trial court should declare a mistrial and reconduct jury selection in an open courtroom.

In the intervening months, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin M. Farmer replaced Adams as the presiding judge over all the Cop City RICO trials after Adams was moved to a different court.

Chadha Jimenez said he filed a motion ahead of Monday’s hearing in order to retain the already sworn-in jury so that the speedy trial could go forward this week.

“I want an open, public trial,” Chadha Jimenez said, “but I want this jury more than that—these jurors that we spent three days picking. Those were our jurors.”

Judge Farmer said he would follow the instructions of the Court of Appeals and denied that motion. He then informed the jury that he had declared a mistrial and dismissed them.

This prompted Chadha Jimenez to move for acquittal. He said jeopardy attaches when the jury is empaneled, and to empanel a new jury would constitute double jeopardy.

There are exceptions to the double jeopardy clause, said Deputy Georgia Attorney General John Fowler, the lead prosecutor in the trial. “The Constitutional provision that precludes double jeopardy carves out an exception in the event of a mistrial.”

The Court of Appeals must now rule on the issue. The earliest that the trial would recommence is September or October, two years after the indictment against King and their codefendants.

If the defense is successful in its appeal, it will result in King’s acquittal.

Judge Farmer said he would move on to trials for the codefendants while the appeal is still pending.

Over the past several months, four other defendants—Jamie Marsicano, Spencer Liberto, Francis Carroll and Alex Papali—filed motions for speedy trials. One or some combination of those defendants will be the next to be tried, according to an order of trials submitted by the prosecution.

The next trial is not yet scheduled, as of the time of publishing.