Issues
Testimony for molester draws fire
BYLINE: KEVIN DUFFY
DATE: July 12, 2005
PUBLICATION: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA)
EDITION: Home; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SECTION: Metro News PAGE: B3
Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said he just wanted to help a judge make an informed decision. But another DA expressed shock that Ballard, whose office prosecutes molestation cases, testified recently on behalf of a convicted child molester at a probation revocation hearing. Jeffery Allen, who pleaded guilty in 1990 to molesting students when he was a teacher in South Georgia, brawled with Fayetteville police officers earlier this year. He was charged with obstruction, disorderly conduct and giving a false name. Judge A. Wallace Cato revoked Allen's probation last month and sent him to prison for five years, despite testimony from Ballard and others about Allen's character. Joe Mulholland, district attorney for the South Georgia Judicial District, said Ballard acted improperly as a prosecutor when he agreed to be a character witness for Allen, his friend. "I wouldn't testify if my mother or father was in trouble for something," Mulholland said. "If someone breaks the law, you've got to treat people the same. It's just hypocritical." Mulholland's office, in southwest Georgia, prosecuted Allen on the probation violation. On June 14, Ballard traveled more than 200 miles, from Fayetteville to Bainbridge, to comment on Allen's character. He's "a good man fighting issues in his life," said Ballard, who goes to the same church as Allen and had been his defense lawyer in an earlier probation violation case. "I thought I could add information about Jeff that could benefit the court," Ballard said. "I didn't go down there to approve of what he did." Pete Skandalakis, district attorney for the Coweta Circuit and chairman of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, said he could not recall another example of a district attorney being called as a character witness in a criminal case. "I have never been in a position where I've had to testify as a character witness," said Skandalakis, who has been a district attorney for 13 years and a prosecutor since 1984. He wouldn't comment on Ballard's decision, calling it personal. Clark Cunningham, W. Lee Burge professor of law and ethics at Georgia State University, said he saw nothing wrong with Ballard's testifying and said Mulholland's objection indicated a misunderstanding of the prosecutor's role. "The job of a prosecutor is to see that justice is done -- not win cases," Cunningham said. "In criminal matters, character testimony usually is relevant." Before he was elected last year as district attorney for the four-county Griffin Judicial Circuit, Ballard represented Allen in a probation violation case in which Allen was charged with making harassing telephone calls and jailed. Before that, Allen was convicted of his first probation violation, for public indecency. Ballard has known Allen's family since childhood. Allen's mother was Ballard's sixth-grade teacher. Ballard said he became friends with Allen several years ago after joining Inman United Methodist Church in south Fayette County, where Ballard holds a prayer group on Wednesday nights. Allen "was in that group fairly regularly," Ballard said. In Ballard's opinion, the 1990 child molestation case against Allen appeared shaky, judging from the sentence: 40 years probation. Allen was charged with molesting several female middle school students. "It makes you question the strength of the evidence," Ballard said. A special prosecutor will handle the newest case against Allen when he is tried in Fayette County on charges stemming from the fight with Fayetteville police, Ballard said. Because he won't be prosecuting Allen, Ballard said, that freed him to be a character witness. "It would have been a conflict to prosecute," he said, "but not to testify." Allen's lawyer, Robert Harper of Tallahassee, asked Ballard to appear to show that his client is a religious man. "The judge is a religious man," Harper said. "When you start talking with a religious man about religion, you need to back it up." Harper described Ballard's testimony as "pretty flat and pretty objective. It was an awkward situation." Harper said that if Ballard had not willingly appeared, he would have served him with a subpoena. Mulholland said he initially wanted to apologize to Ballard when he learned that Ballard was in Bainbridge to testify at a probation hearing. Mulholland thought one of his attorneys had subpoenaed Ballard. But then Ballard told Mulholland he was there for the defense. "That's when I about hit the floor," Mulholland said. "I was shocked and stunned. I just think he made a mistake." But Ballard said, "I feel good about it. I knew people would misunderstand it. It didn't have anything to do with my zeal to prosecute molestation cases."
BYLINE: KEVIN DUFFY
DATE: July 12, 2005
PUBLICATION: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA)
EDITION: Home; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SECTION: Metro News PAGE: B3
Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said he just wanted to help a judge make an informed decision. But another DA expressed shock that Ballard, whose office prosecutes molestation cases, testified recently on behalf of a convicted child molester at a probation revocation hearing. Jeffery Allen, who pleaded guilty in 1990 to molesting students when he was a teacher in South Georgia, brawled with Fayetteville police officers earlier this year. He was charged with obstruction, disorderly conduct and giving a false name. Judge A. Wallace Cato revoked Allen's probation last month and sent him to prison for five years, despite testimony from Ballard and others about Allen's character. Joe Mulholland, district attorney for the South Georgia Judicial District, said Ballard acted improperly as a prosecutor when he agreed to be a character witness for Allen, his friend. "I wouldn't testify if my mother or father was in trouble for something," Mulholland said. "If someone breaks the law, you've got to treat people the same. It's just hypocritical." Mulholland's office, in southwest Georgia, prosecuted Allen on the probation violation. On June 14, Ballard traveled more than 200 miles, from Fayetteville to Bainbridge, to comment on Allen's character. He's "a good man fighting issues in his life," said Ballard, who goes to the same church as Allen and had been his defense lawyer in an earlier probation violation case. "I thought I could add information about Jeff that could benefit the court," Ballard said. "I didn't go down there to approve of what he did." Pete Skandalakis, district attorney for the Coweta Circuit and chairman of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, said he could not recall another example of a district attorney being called as a character witness in a criminal case. "I have never been in a position where I've had to testify as a character witness," said Skandalakis, who has been a district attorney for 13 years and a prosecutor since 1984. He wouldn't comment on Ballard's decision, calling it personal. Clark Cunningham, W. Lee Burge professor of law and ethics at Georgia State University, said he saw nothing wrong with Ballard's testifying and said Mulholland's objection indicated a misunderstanding of the prosecutor's role. "The job of a prosecutor is to see that justice is done -- not win cases," Cunningham said. "In criminal matters, character testimony usually is relevant." Before he was elected last year as district attorney for the four-county Griffin Judicial Circuit, Ballard represented Allen in a probation violation case in which Allen was charged with making harassing telephone calls and jailed. Before that, Allen was convicted of his first probation violation, for public indecency. Ballard has known Allen's family since childhood. Allen's mother was Ballard's sixth-grade teacher. Ballard said he became friends with Allen several years ago after joining Inman United Methodist Church in south Fayette County, where Ballard holds a prayer group on Wednesday nights. Allen "was in that group fairly regularly," Ballard said. In Ballard's opinion, the 1990 child molestation case against Allen appeared shaky, judging from the sentence: 40 years probation. Allen was charged with molesting several female middle school students. "It makes you question the strength of the evidence," Ballard said. A special prosecutor will handle the newest case against Allen when he is tried in Fayette County on charges stemming from the fight with Fayetteville police, Ballard said. Because he won't be prosecuting Allen, Ballard said, that freed him to be a character witness. "It would have been a conflict to prosecute," he said, "but not to testify." Allen's lawyer, Robert Harper of Tallahassee, asked Ballard to appear to show that his client is a religious man. "The judge is a religious man," Harper said. "When you start talking with a religious man about religion, you need to back it up." Harper described Ballard's testimony as "pretty flat and pretty objective. It was an awkward situation." Harper said that if Ballard had not willingly appeared, he would have served him with a subpoena. Mulholland said he initially wanted to apologize to Ballard when he learned that Ballard was in Bainbridge to testify at a probation hearing. Mulholland thought one of his attorneys had subpoenaed Ballard. But then Ballard told Mulholland he was there for the defense. "That's when I about hit the floor," Mulholland said. "I was shocked and stunned. I just think he made a mistake." But Ballard said, "I feel good about it. I knew people would misunderstand it. It didn't have anything to do with my zeal to prosecute molestation cases."
