FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT
Nicole Henderson
(404) 939-1594
Judge Michael Muldrew Removed from Marc Wilson Case
South Georgia Case Highlights Racial Disparity in Stand Your Ground Cases
Statesboro, GA - Senior Judge Michael L. Karpf issued a written order today recusing Bulloch County Superior Court Judge Michael T. Muldrew from further consideration in the State vs. Marc Wilson case, a criminal prosecution stemming from the June 2020 shooting death of Haley Hutchinson. Judge Karp’s found Judge Muldrew’s actions in the September 2021 immunity hearing presented an “appearance” of “prejudice and bias” that has “loomed large over” in the “racially charged atmosphere permeating the trial proceedings.” The case will be reassigned to a new judge in the coming days.
A recusal or removal of a judge is rare but Judge Karpf, who previously served as Chief Judge of the Eastern Circuit in Savannah before stepping down and taking Senior Status, determined that the Defense Team met the high burden. Under Georgia law, recusal of a judge is required where bias or prejudice exists or there is an appearance of bias or prejudice; ex parte contact; or any proceeding in which impartiality might reasonably be questioned. “Judge Karpf’s order reiterates why judicial and prosecutorial accountability is urgently needed now more than ever,” says Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project.
Judge Karpf’s order gives multiple facts supporting removal including:
Judge Muldrew’s disparate treatment of prosecution and defense witnesses;
Judge Muldrew’s mishandling of the threatening spector seated directly behind the defense table included a rejection of the deputy sheriff’s suggestion to move the individual;
Judge Muldrew’s failure to promptly disclose receipt of the notebook to all parties;
Judge Muldrew’s commentary from the bench “the Court has done nothing wrong”;
Judge Muldrew’s violation of rules prohibiting ex parte with a party when he ordered defense counsel to his chambers and outlined he intended to proceed with the hearing without Lead Defense Counsel;
Judge Muldrew’s exclusion of lead defense counsel conveyed the appearance of personal animus against Francys Johnson;
Judge Muldrew’s receiving extra-judicial communication in the form of opinions from lawyers unconnected with the case regarding the trial counsel’s performance suggesting prejudice against trial counsel; and
District Attorney Daphne Totten’s filing of motions and presentation of arguments on behalf of Judge Muldrew gave the impermissible appearance that the District Attorney and Judge were aligned with each other.
Wilson, now 23, faces a charge of felony murder and charges of aggravated assault for the June 14, 2020, shooting that took the life Haley Hutcheson, 17, while both were in moving vehicles on Veterans Memorial Parkway in Statesboro.
“Marc has sat in pre-trial detention for more than 600 days since his arrest and the question of his being immune from prosecution under Georgia’s Stand Your Ground law, that was before Judge Muldrew’s Court when the proceedings came to a halt, needs to be heard,” said James Woodall, Policy Associate with the Southern Center for Human Rights. The racial disparity in the application of Stand Your Ground is an important justice issue. In Stand Your Ground states, homicides were ruled justified in 45% of cases involving a white shooter and Black victim, but just 11% of cases involving a Black shooter and white victim.
That immunity hearing stalled after the defense team discovered potential ex-parte communication between the Judge and prosecutors. Further, Judge Muldrew ordered Lead Defense Counsel Francys Johnson arrested after he refused to surrender a notebook containing evidence of previously undisclosed emails between Marc Wilson and his family that had been given to the Court by the District Attorney.
At that time, more than 100 lawyers stood in support of Johnson and condemned the actions of Judge Muldrew. “The behaviors that have been displayed, directed against the legal team of Mr. Wilson should cause all lawyers and citizens of this state much concern about the type of justice that is available in Bulloch County,” said Miguel A. Dominguez, a civil rights attorney in Atlanta.
Marc Wilson continues to passionately maintain his innocence and his legal defense team are encouraged by this ruling. The JUSTGeorgia Coalition, alongside the Marc Wilson Solidarity committee led by his family and other community and legal advocates, will continue to advocate for Marc Wilson to come home.
JUSTGeorgia Press Conference on Recusal of Judge Muldrew
DATE: Monday, February 7th, 2022
TIME: 11:00 a.m. EST
LOCATION: Zoom
RSVP: nicole@selsienterprises.com
To support Marc’s Legal Defense click here.
The legal team for Marc Wilson includes:
Francys Johnson, Esq. and Mawuli Davis, Esq., Davis Bozeman Johnson Law
Martha Hall, Esq., Hall and Navarro PC
R. Gary Spencer , Esq., R. Gary SpencerPC
Nefertara Clark, Esq., Clark & Clark Law Group, LLC
Reference:
1 USCR 25 and Section 2 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, as well as in the opinions of the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
2 US Commission on Civil Rights, “Examining the Race Effects of Stand Your Ground Laws and Related Issues,” Statement of Commissioner Michael Yaki, February 2020, 17 (citing John K. Roman, Ph.D., “Race, Justifiable Homicide, and Stand Your Ground Laws: Analysis of FBI Supplementary Homicide Report Data,” The Urban Institute, (2013): 9).
JustGeorgia
JustGeorgia a collective of Georgia organizations, activists, faith leaders, attorneys and justice-seeking community members that was founded after the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Led by NAACP Georgia and the Southern Center for Human rights, the JustGeorgia Coalition formed as a mechanism to move local and statewide demands, direct national organizations, and strengthen social movements in Southeast Georgia and throughout the state. The goal of the coalition is to have its’ contributions better equip Georgians to respond to the multiple systemic ills inflicting violence on our communities on a daily basis.