The Evil Eyebrow

Category: Georgia

  • Jailbreak?

    Is it a jailbreak if—through inaction—you are released before your time is up?

    Apparently a woman was released from prison a year early due to a paperwork snafu. If she knew that she still had time left and was complicit in the early release by doing nothing to correct the issue, is she liable for the time-honored punishments for jailbreaking prisoners?

    Or, conversely, is the County liable for violating the constitution by subjecting the woman to cruel and unsusual punishment in the form of an early release followed by a return to prison?

    So many thick juicy questions!

  • Georgia Legislative Session 2011

    I’ve been paying more and more attention to Georgia politics over the last few years. Partly because it directly affects my job, but also because it’s interesting in an OH MY GOD kind of way. I expect that is the case no matter what level of politics you’re paying attention to (or where), but in my own ego-centric world, I feel that Georgia is special in its ability to deliver crazy people and their crazy ideas into the state legislature.

    This year, I plan to keep a close watch on the goings on as the legislative session proceeds. The session, if you’re not aware, began on January 10th, despite the snowpocalypse. Members of both chambers either arrived on Sunday and stayed at hotels to beat out the storm or were shuttled to the Capitol by state police on Monday morning1. Since then, we’ve had the inauguration of Governor Deal, the State of the State address, and the Governor’s proposed budget plan. Don’t forget about all the bills and resolutions that have already been filed in both the House and the Senate. My best buddy Bob Franklin (R-Cobb County)—total sarcasm intended here—has been prolific with his bills so far, mandating no driver’s licensing, no firearms laws (at all), and reverting back to a gold/silver currency for conducting all state business2. I’d link you to these bills, however the Georgia Assembly’s website is down at the moment.

    You can look for me to be sporadically keeping tabs on the various goings on in the Assembly, and sharing them with you.

    1: The state constitution mandates that the legislative session begin on the second Monday of January. No provisions for weather are made, although the constitution does say “The General Assembly shall meet in regular session on the second Monday in January of each year, or otherwise as provided by law…[emphasis added]”. I am not aware of any laws addressing this issue. Georgia Constitution, 2007 (PDF)
    2: Bob Franklin is going to get picked on a lot by me for several reasons. One, his bills are batshit insane and I don’t understand what he thinks he can accomplish with them. Two, he literally represents my backyard (but not me!) because the district boundary line is my property line. Hopefully that won’t change with this year’s redistricting.