North Gwinnett News

Gwinnett County Solicitor General Brian Whiteside, who recently put the brakes on in-person court services amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, could face contempt charges.  

A Gwinnett County judge filed the petition last week, according to Fox 5, that maintains Whiteside and four members of his staff were in contempt. He allegedly violated official state regulations by shuttering the office until mid-January even after a judge told him he didn’t have the authority to make that call, and his staff was needed for arraignments, and with Jan. 3 being what one attorney described to the station as a wasted day. 

“Court reporters were present,” attorney Walt Britt, with Chandler, Britt & Jay LLC, told Fox 5. “Everybody was in place except the solicitor general’s office.”

According to Fox 5, Britt said he is representing Judge Ronda Colvin-Leary, also named in the petition. 

In an online post on Gwinnettcounty.com, it noted that the office would be temporarily closed by what Whiteside said was “an increased COVID-19 infection rate.” According to the post on the website, the surge in infections in the region had impacted the office, resulting in staff shortages. The posted also noted that state court would be suspended through Jan. 29, though the Recorder’s Court and Jail Court would remain in operation, and it noted the office would continue to provide services during the closure. 

In the wake of that closure, the station reported that a court petition contends that Whiteside did not have the authority to suspend in-person services, which included canceling the Spanish interpreter. Britt also told the station that they posted a note about the closure, then didn’t conduct any business virtually.

Fox 5 noted that the charge facing Whiteside and his staff, criminal contempt, is typically used to admonish actions that stall the workings of the court. The station noted that the petition contends they “jointly and severally” violated state codes by closing the office.