Court Opinion

ID: 9598367
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 01:08:16.771929+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:46:17.602802
License: Public Domain

Bell, Judge,
dissenting as to division 2 of the opinion. For the reasons indicated in divisions 1 and 3 of this opinion, I feel the conviction upon count 2 should also be affirmed. In my opinion the “Open Letter to the Grand Jury,” which formed the basis of count 2 of the citation for contempt was properly found by the court below to interfere with or obstruct the grand jury in its deliberations. The sum total of this letter reveals an attempt to divert the grand jury from consideration of the charges given to it by the judge and an attempt to aim the attention of the jury at alleged violations of law by the Bibb County Democratic Executive Committee and away from the matters which the judge had charged the grand jury to investigate. In *328this respect it is certainly the proper function of the judge to charge the grand jury, and not the prerogative of the sheriff either to charge the jury or to interfere with the judge’s charge to it.

Judge Frankum agrees with these views and has directed that he be recorded as concurring with this dissent to division 2 of the opinion.