NASHVILLE — The director of a Georgia-based human rights organization addressed the Nashville City Council Monday with allegations of wrongdoing in the city’s municipal court.

John Cole Vodicka, director of the Americus-based Prison and Jail Project, spoke to the city council and advised the council members of improvements needed in the municipal court. He has also been studying other aspects of the criminal justice system in Berrien County after a local organization called Sista II Sista contacted PJP.

“We have been invited into Nashville by some local citizens,” Cole Vodicka said. “We’re a small civil rights organization based in Americus. We focus most of our efforts on southwest Georgia, on south Georgia’s criminal justice systems. We’re a watchdog agency.”

The director said that he has been visiting Nashville about twice per week for the past three to four months studying the Nashville Municipal Court, the Berrien County Superior and Magistrate courts and the Berrien County Jail. He said that the most obvious injustices were found in the municipal court, which is why he spoke to the city council Monday.

“In Nashville, it’s pretty awful,” he said. “It’s probably as bad as we’ve seen anywhere.”

He said that defendants in municipal court, which presides over misdemeanor crimes and traffic violations within the city limits, are not informed of their constitutional rights by Judge Reese Franklin.

“There’s no verbal reading of what rights are available to a defendant,” Cole Vodicka said. “There’s a whole litany of things that if we’re brought into court we have a right to.”

He said that according to both United States and Georgia law, judges are required to inform defendants of certain rights while standing trial. These rights include the right to remain silent, the right to a jury trial, the right to a lawyer, the right to appeal the court’s decision and the right to cross-examine witnesses. He said that defendants should also be given the opportunity to waive their rights and should be alerted to how risky it can be to fight the case without a lawyer.

“Defendants aren’t legally and legitimately waiving any rights,” Cole Vodicka said. “They don’t waive any rights in a formal way.”

He said that although he does not feel that the judge maliciously convicts defendants, he feels the judge does not give them a chance to defend themselves. He said that in most cases, when a defendant pleads not guilty, the judge calls a police officer to testify, hears the testimony and convicts in almost every case.

“The defendant is essentially assumed guilty instead of innocent,” he said.He said that because of the problems with the court, he felt that many Nashville municipal defendants could win their cases if they appealed the decisions and that the court faces trouble in the future.

“I think their court could be shut down,” Cole Vodicka said.

He said that when he made his suggestions of reforming the court to the city council, the council members listened and were considerate to his remarks. He said they asked questions of both him and City Attorney Mitchell Moore. Cole Vodicka said that Moore seemed to be aware of the problems and the council seemed to charge Moore with correcting them.

“My hope is that they would snap to it quickly,” said Cole Vodicka. “They’re looking to the city attorney to solve this or resolve this.”

Moore could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Although the municipal court problems are the only issues that PJP has taken action on, the organization is looking into a number of other allegations in Berrien County.

Cole Vodicka said that he is investigating complaints that the new public defender’s office is not visiting defendants often enough and that they are encouraging them to plead guilty too often. He also said that he is looking into complaints that the municipal court is setting bonds too high for lesser crimes and allegations that jail inmates are not provided proper medical care.

The organization was already able to help clear up one problem with the superior court, Cole Vodicka said. He said that during one court session, Berrien County Sheriff’s deputies would only allow family members into the courtroom to witness cases. He addressed the issue to Sheriff Jerry Brogden and it was resolved.

“People who want to go into that courtroom will be able to,” Cole Vodicka said. “We’re in the process of just keeping an eye on superior court.”

For more information on the Prison and Jail Project, call (229) 928-2080.



To contact reporter Dusty Vassey, call 382-4321, ext. 208.