Opinion ID: 2777843
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Municipal Court Criminal Proceedings

Text: Plaintiff Mathis was one of six “organizers” of a limited liability corporation called Cheerleaders South Sports Café LLC. The LLC owns a restaurant in the City of Morrow called Cheerleaders Sports Café (“Cheerleaders”). On June 20, 2010, Defendant Officer Turner of the Defendant City of Morrow’s Police Department conducted a business inspection at Cheerleaders. Plaintiff Mathis and Cheerleaders’ manager, Tiffiny Donley, were at the restaurant 2 Case: 14-12038 Date Filed: 02/09/2015 Page: 3 of 20 during Defendant Turner’s inspection. Defendant Turner arrested Mathis and Donley and took them to the police station, where he cited them for 23 cityordinance violations. After spending almost three days in jail, Mathis and Donley were released on June 22, 2010. Arraignment originally was set for August 18, 2010, but was rescheduled multiple times after Mathis and Donley appeared pro se, sought a “formal arraignment,” and made oral motions to dismiss the charges. Eventually, a trial was set for April 18, 2011, but on that date, the municipal court granted the City solicitor’s request to place the case on the dead docket. On November 9, 2012, the criminal case against Mathis and Donley was dismissed. During the protracted municipal court litigation, two municipal court judges recused. Throughout, Mathis and Donley maintained, among other things, that City officials (1) knew Mathis and Donley were not the owners, licensees, or lessees with respect to Cheerleaders and thus were not the proper parties to be charged with the city-ordinance violations; and (2) refused to dismiss or delayed dismissing the case against them in order to thwart a future claim of malicious prosecution.