News Articles
Badge & Bar: Gainesville attorney honored with defense award
Gainesville Times
A local stalwart of indigent legal defense was honored Saturday at the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Dan Summer received the 2014 Indigent Defense Award presented by the association to honor Georgia lawyers who make strides in the field.“ He has always been vocally supportive of the formation of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council and has always stood up for the rights of indigent people to have good legal representation,” said Hall County public defender Nicki Vaughan. Read more....
Charges against Katt Williams co-defendants reduced, dismissed
Gainesville Times
One of Katt Williams’ co-defendants had the charges dismissed against her, while the second agreed to a negotiated plea on lesser charges. Tatiana Shaquaese Smith and Lena Christine Smith were charged along with the comedian Williams in a March indictment alleging a bodyguard was assaulted with a bat. Northeastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lee Darragh dismissed the charges against Lena Smith because of her co-defendant’s pleas and that her “culpability was considerably less.” Read more...
Messages probed, request renewed for mistrial as Webster Daniel trial continues
Gainesville Times
An investigator testified Wednesday, Oct. 20, on the text and Snapchat messages discovered in the second day of trial evidence for a former Chestatee High basketball coach. Webster Daniel has been charged with sexual battery and other offenses involving a 16-year-old student. Daniel was the basketball coach at Chestatee High and was employed as an in-school-suspension teacher for the middle school, Chestatee Academy. Daniel “engaged in unwanted sexual contact with a juvenile female enrolled as a student” at the high school on Nov. 16, 2017, according to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office. Read more...
Last of five charged in aftermath of Deputy Dixon’s murder takes plea deal
Gainesville Times
The last of five men accused of obstruction or hindering the arrests of the teens accused in the 2019 fatal shooting of Hall County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Blane Dixon has been sentenced, according to court documents. Dixon was killed July 7, 2019, after trying to pull over a car with four people inside. Investigators believed the car was connected to a series of burglaries at pawn shops and other businesses, including 27 firearms taken July 6, 2019 from Double Deuce Pawn & Gun in Gainesville. Four 17-year-olds — Hector Garcia-Solis, London Clements, Brayan Cruz and Eric Velazquez — were captured and originally charged with felony murder. Garcia-Solis, Clements and Velazquez went to trial and were convicted. Read more...
Main Street 'visionary' Dan Summer remembered, honored with plaque on Gainesville square
Gainesville Times
Before Dan Summer made his mark in Gainesville, the downtown square resembled a ghost town. Summer died in January at 55, after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The prominent Gainesville attorney and former Main Street Gainesville advisory board chairman was remembered Tuesday afternoon by friends and family on the downtown square. Main Street Gainesville chose to commemorate Summer and his legacy in Gainesville with a small, permanent plaque fixed in an island on the corner of Bradford and Washington streets. Read more...
Cleveland chain saw sculptor immortalizes beloved Gainesville attorney with wooden statue
Gainesville Times
Small chips of wood flew through the air as the buzz of a chain saw could be heard on a cool fall morning in Cumming. Handling the chain saw like a painter with his brush, sculptor John Robinson added details to his latest wooden carvings. Emerging from the statuesque logs were an 8-foot-tall bear and a 9-foot-tall bigfoot. The large grizzly bear with an arm extended will situate himself on a vacation property in Blairsville. Read more....
Letter: Summer was a community stalwart, will be greatly missed
Gainesville Times
It was with tremendous sadness that I received the news regarding the passing of Dan Summer, as he was quite simply, one of the finest men I have ever met. Dan had a unique ability to make anyone around him feel comfortable, no matter their age, race, religion, social or financial status. Everyone who met Dan walked away feeling they had just gained a new friend, and that in itself is a wonderful feeling. Dan was able to take this inherent attribute and parlay it into an outstanding personal and professional life. Additionally, Dan had a zest for life that most individuals fail to ever enjoy. Not only was he genuinely happy, Dan appeared to have a joy and enchantment that transcended what most of us could ever begin to imagine. He had a great sense of humor and an infectious smile that just made anyone around want to be close to him. Read more...
What business owners think of new Main Street Gainesville boundaries
Gainesville Times
Joseph Summer manages Grove Street Station, a midtown event venue on Grove Street owned by his mother Chandelle. He said the downtown he sees now is an improvement on the one from his childhood. New people, and their businesses, are bringing fresh ideas, and he hopes to see that trend continue, he said. “I’m really pleased with the influx of new people. … I think that that is necessary for a vibrant city, and I think that Gainesville has become a vibrant city and can become even more vibrant,” Summer said. “It could really be a metropolis of North Georgia. Hopefully, midtown is an extension of that.” Read more...
Indictment: Katt Williams, 2 others charged with aggravated assault
Gainesville Times
Comedian Katt Williams and two others were indicted today by a grand jury for aggravated assault, among other charges, connected to a previous incident. The indictment claims that Corey Dixon, a bodyguard, was assaulted with a wooden bat Feb. 28 in Hall County. Lena Christine Smith and Tatiana Shaquaese Smith face charges as well, which include false imprisonment and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Read more...
Chestatee coach’s affair with student’s mother played role in accusations, defense attorney argues in first day of trial
Gainesville Times
The defense attorney for a former Chestatee basketball coach said Tuesday that an extramarital affair the coach had with a student’s mother led the victim to falsely accuse the coach of a sex crime. The trial for Webster Daniel began Oct. 19 in Hall County State Court with opening statements from attorneys and testimony from the alleged victim. Judge Larry Baldwin II is presiding. “In this case, you’re going to hear one damning piece of evidence about my client,” defense attorney Joseph Summer told the jury. “And that is that my client and (the girl’s) mother … were having an extramarital affair six weeks prior to the allegations that she made on Nov. 16, 2017. We expect the evidence to show that (the girl) figured out about this affair, became angry with her mother and became very angry at Webster. And when she became angry at Webster, that anger turned into a lie.” Read more...
Closing arguments set for Friday in Webster Daniel trial
Gainesville Times
Attorneys will offer closing arguments Friday, Oct. 22, in the Webster Daniel sexual battery trial, and the jury will likely enter deliberations after that. Daniel, the former Chestatee High School girls’ basketball coach, was charged with simple battery, simple assault, reckless conduct and sexual battery involving a 16-year-old student in November 2017. Read more...
Prominent Gainesville attorney Dan Summer dies at 55
Gainesville Times
Chandelle and Dan Summer shared a birthday before they ever thought about sharing a life together. “He used the line on me that he thought there was a bond between us,” she said. “I fell for it.” Two Hall County assistant district attorneys became fast friends and married a few years later. The two opened Summer and Summer, Attorneys at Law, in 1990. Read more...
Man sentenced to six years for grabbing children in Kroger, Chick-fil-A
Gainesville Times
A Gainesville man was sentenced to six years behind bars in a child molestation case involving two boys, while one of the boy’s mothers described feeling “helpless and a failure” in a victim impact statement. James Jackson Hall, 56, was accused of grabbing two 15-year-old boys in separate instances at the Chick-fil-A and Kroger in the New Holland area in 2018. Gainesville Police Investigator Brad Raper testified Tuesday, Oct. 15, at the hearing before Superior Court Judge Kathlene Gosselin while standing next to a television showing surveillance footage of the Limestone Parkway Chick-fil-A. Read more...
A longtime Gainesville family made their mark in yellow brick
Gainesville Times
n 1920, Harmon Lee Edmondson paid $2,500 for a piece of property just outside the old Gainesville city limits. It sat on a hill on a dirt road called Green Street Circle, not far from the new Thompson Bridge Road. It was on this property that Edmondson, who earned his money in the textile industry, built a stately yellow-brick home with three bedrooms on the second floor, a carport and a deep front porch. He and his wife - known to friends and family as "Big Papa" and "Big Mama" - would sit on the porch in the evenings, like most folks in the neighborhood, and watch their four kids grow up. Built in 1921, the home has seen fewer than a half dozen owners in its lifetime, and today owners Dan and Chandelle Summer said they love the house so much, they can't see selling it anytime soon, even though they live a few miles away on Riverside Drive. Read more...
Old railroad warehouse gets a face-lift for its next job as an entertainment venue
Gainesville Times
Back in the 1930s Grove Street Station was used as a railroad warehouse. But today, Dan and Chandelle Summer are getting the space ready for events and entertaining. The Summers bought the building, located at 610 Grove St. in Gainesville, in 1998 and have since been doing demolition and renovations to get the facility back to its original look. "Originally it was probably built in the 1930s or '40s," Dan said. "This was a railroad warehouse and there used to be railroad tracks right behind it. They (the city of Gainesville) have torn up the railroad tracks because the city has bought this from CSX, and this is going to be part of the greenway that's going to connect downtown, midtown, train station, park and lake." Read more...
Area lost its share of giants in 2016
Gainesville Times
Dan Summer, 55, died Jan. 14 after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The prominent Gainesville attorney and former Main Street Gainesville advisory board chairman was remembered for his historic preservation efforts with a plaque on the downtown square that calls Summer “a true visionary and preservationist for Gainesville.” Read more...
Letter: Georgias legal community mourns loss of attorney Summer
Gainesville Times
On behalf of the State Bar of Georgia, I would like to express condolences to the family, colleagues and many friends of longtime Gainesville attorney Daniel A. Summer on his recent and very untimely passing. Mr. Summer’s distinguished career of three decades in the legal profession included service in the Hall County District Attorney’s office before entering private law practice in a firm with his wife and partner, Chandelle Summer, for more than 25 years. As a respected criminal defense attorney, he was responsible for introducing a number of positive changes to our justice system. A leader among his peers, Mr. Summer served on the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission, which has the duty of interviewing and recommending nominated candidates for the governor’s consideration when judicial positions in our court system become vacant. As a devoted member of the Gainesville community, he spearheaded the restoration and renovation of many local landmarks. Read more...
9th District House debate hits on abortion, taxes
Gainesville Times
Collins, a Republican, and Cooley, a Democrat, who will face each other in the Nov. 6 general election, kept the 90-minute debate at the Gainesville Civic Center lively but mostly civil, fielding questions from three panelists, the audience and, briefly, each other. One of the highlights was a discussion of abortion, spurred by a question by panelist Chandelle Summer about whether the morning-after pill, which can prevent pregnancies if taken within a certain period of time after sex, should be available at no cost to “underprivileged or disadvantaged women.” Read more...
May 24 ballot includes hotly contested races
Gainesville Times
There was little time to enter the race for the House District 29 seat when Rogers announced his retirement after 22 years in office earlier this month. Several prominent names were floated as potential Republican and Democratic candidates to replace Rogers: Gainesville Councilman Sam Couvillon, Gainesville attorney Chandelle Summer, the Rev. Tom Smiley of Lakewood Baptist Church, Gainesville financial adviser Mark Turner and even Allen Nivens, who is married to Rogers’ niece. Read more...
Gainesville officials, businesses remain optimistic on future of Midtown
Gainesville Times
The gleaming white pedestrian bridge spanning Gainesville’s Jesse Jewell Parkway doesn’t seem to fit in with the architectural landscape of 1980s-era brown brick government buildings. When it opened after several delays at the end of August, city officials called the press to capture Gainesville Mayor Danny Dunagan be the first to cross the bridge, holding the hands of two grandchildren, each taking steps that seemed to symbolize the city’s progress toward Midtown’s redevelopment. City officials took even more steps in the months that came before and the weeks that followed. Read more...
Summer honored by state defense lawyers group
AccessWDUN
GAINESVILLE - Gainesville attorney Dan Summer recently received the 2014 Indigent Defense Award from the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (GACDL). The prestigious award, which was announced at the GACDL Winter Seminar, annually recognizes a lawyer in Georgia who has made significant contributions to the furtherance of representation of indigent clients. The award was based upon a career of representing people and causes whose voices society does not hear and whose dignity society will not honor; for bravely challenging racism and inequality in the law and in society; for being a steadfast advocate for indigent defense and the indigent defense delivery system, including local systems, GIDC (Georgia Indigent Defense Council, the precursor to the statewide public defender system, and GPDSC (Georgia Public Defender Standards Council) ; for creatively representing many and varied clients; for being a pro-active community and Bar leader; and, through his warm and friendly personality, for mentoring, encouraging and inspiring young lawyers to do likewise. Read more...
Gainesville attorney weighs in on BSA files
AccessWDUN
GAINESVILLE - The release of the so-called Boy Scouts of America "perversion files" has revived memories of a 1988 Hall County case involving a Boy Scout leader. Larry Calabro was convicted in 1988 of the sexual molestation of seven young boys under his leadership; he was sentenced to 105 years in prison. One of the members of Calabro's court-appointed defense team was Chandelle Summer, a Gainesville attorney. Summer said it was one of her first cases as a young lawyer and it made an impact on her not just professionally, but also personally. "It made an impression in me, and I didn't want my children to join the Boy Scouts," said Summer. "Whenever people would ask me why I wouldn't [let my children join], I would cite this case and say 'I've had an experience where I saw first-hand somone who was in a position of trust and children were in his custody and he abused them.'" Read more...
Scouts’ ‘perversion files’ include Georgia cases
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Chandelle Summer was the court-appointed attorney of Larry Calabro, a Scout leader who molested seven boys during outings in Hall County. He was convicted in 1988 and sentenced to 105 years in prison. “He was well thought-of in the Boy Scout community,” she recalled. But she stressed that Scouting leaders did not try to protect Calabro. “They wanted to make an example of him,” Summer said. In 1997, one of the boys Calabro molested, then age 19, pleaded guilty to molesting five children himself. Read more...
Attorney for child molesting scout master not surprised at Boy Scout files
11Alive
ATLANTA - "I think the fact that they kept files is astounding," Gainesville attorney Chandelle Summer told 11Alive News on Friday. That was her reaction to a judge in an Oregon child molestation case releasing thousands of pages of Boy Scouts of America internal files. They show thousands of cases of potential pedophiles in the Boy Scout ranks, including nearly one-hundred here in Georgia from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. Read more...
Georgia's slow wheels of justice in Trump case
Fox 5 Washington DC
Prosecutors in Atlanta want to get moving on the 19 cases related to alleged election interference against former President Trump and associates, but it won't all be smooth sailing. Former Fulton County public defender Chandelle Summer provide some insight on "The Final 5" with Jim Lokay. Read more...
Donald Trump set to testify in New York fraud trial
CourtTV
Chandelle Summer, a former Fulton County public defender in Georgia, told Scripps News that the case appears to be a political prosecution because Trump is running for re-election. “This trial, that is basically a victimless crime, is not harming anyone by his actions. In fact, he’s making millions of dollars for the banks and the insurance companies. But the New York attorney general has sought a controversial statute to say that he lied on his financial statements,” said Summer. Read more...
Chandelle Summer to Newsmax: Changing Georgia Case Venue to Feds 'Game Changer'
Newsmax
Former Georgia assistant district attorney and public defender Chandelle Summer told Newsmax Monday that changing the Georgia case against former President Donald Trump and his then Chief of Staff Mark Meadows from state court to federal court would be “a game changer.” “This is a game changer for the case,” Summer said during “Wake Up America” Monday. “Mark Meadows is asking that his state court action that's in Fulton County be removed to federal court under the federal court’s removal jurisdiction.” She said that federal law allows federal courts to take on state cases involving federal employees carrying out their normal job duties. Read more...
Will Donald Trump ever see the inside of a Fulton County courtroom?
Atlanta News First
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The chances of the nation’s 45th president ever formally standing trial in Fulton County is about 50-50, according to a former metro Atlanta public defender and assistant district attorney. “They’ve got an indictment; he can be summoned to court and he can be put on trial, but a lot of de-conflictions have to happen,” said Chandelle Summer, a former Fulton County public defender and assistant Hall County district attorney who now practices privately in Gainesville, Georgia. “You have so many duplicitous indictments such as the ones in Washington, D.C., as well as in Fulton County; you have a presidential election coming up. “There are so many things that could derail this process, but at the same time, they seem to be moving full steam ahead.” Former president Donald Trump and 18 others are charged with participating in an alleged criminal conspiracy designed to overturn Georgia’s lawful 2020 presidential election results. The massive, racketeering-related indictment was announced last month by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Read more...
Obituaries: Daniel Aaron Summer
AccessWDUN
On Thursday January 14, 2016 Daniel Aaron Summer died in his home after a long and courageous battle with ALS at the age of 55. He was with his family and his loyal dog, Shiner. Dan is survived by his beloved wife Chandelle, and his children, who he adored, Joey, Jack, Jake, Jeffrey and Georgia Summer as well as his father Dr. Mory Summer and his sister Jenny. Dan was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 29, 1960 to his parents Mory and Ghita Summer. The family moved to Dayton Ohio a year later where Dan lived until he graduated from The Miami Valley School in 1978. Dan attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Economics with honors in three years. Dan moved to Atlanta Georgia where he attended Emory University Law School graduating in 1985. Dan spent his first five years in practice with the Hall County District Attorney’s office where he distinguished himself as a tremendously successful trial lawyer. Read more...
Deputy fired following dog-shooting incident
AccessWDUN
A Gwinnett County sheriff's deputy was fired this week after allegedly killing a Hall County man's coonhound. Sgt. Michael Mustachio, of Clermont, was fired Monday because of conduct unbecoming an officer, according to a termination letter. He faces a felony animal cruelty charge, and the dog's owner, hunter Stanley Barnes, filed suit against the officer Thursday, asking for $50,000 and an unspecified amount in punitive damages. Barnes' attorney, E. Janes Boswell, said the dog cost $2,500. Mustachio told White County deputies he merely was trying to scare the dog, named Kate, which was baying along with another dog as if they'd cornered a raccoon. The termination letter suggests Mustachio tried to cover up the shooting. "The reckless disregard for an animal's life and the attempt to conceal your actions in a matter being investigated by law enforcement reflects discredit," Gwinnett County Chief Deputy Mike Boyd wrote. "Your credibility and effectiveness as a deputy is permanently impaired."</p><p>The letter states Mustachio fired a pistol and rifle several times, but Mustachio never said he felt threatened by the canine.</p><p>Mustachio's attorney, Dan Summer, said he was disappointed that the department fired his client before his day in court. Mustachio "should be entitled to the presumption of innocence," Summer said. The hound posed a threat to the Mustachio family's pets, and should not have been on the Mustachios' property, he said. The shooting occurred on Christmas Eve. Mustachio was placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation. He had worked for the sheriff's office since 1996. Read more...
Well-known Gainesville attorney Daniel Summer dies at 55
AccessWDUN
A Gainesville attorney who served as lead counsel on several high-profile cases that garnered national media attention has died. Dan Summer passed away on Thursday. Summer died in his home after a long battle with ALS. He was 55. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Summer served as an Assistant District Attorney for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit from 1985 to 1989. In 1989, he and his wife opened the Summer & Summer law firm in Gainesville, where he specialized in criminal defense cases. Summer served as President of the Northeastern Bar Association in 2001-2002. He served on the boards of a number of organizations, including the Georgia Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. Read more...
Local law firm dedicates tree carving to late attorney Dan Summer
AccessWDUN
A Gainesville law firm has dedicated a tree carving of the late Dan Summer, a Gainesville attorney who passed away in January at the age of 55 following a battle with ALS. The carving, which depicts Summer waving at the passing traffic along Green Street, sits near the Corso Law Center, about seven feet high. The tree that ultimately become the carving had apparently become a problem with the nearby power lines, frequently requiring branches to be trimmed, eventually killing the top portion of the tree, posing a hazard of falling over. When the owners of the Corso Law Center found out that the lower portion of the trunk was in good shape, the idea spawned to honor Summer with a carving. Read more...
Summer: Downtown something to crow about
AccessWDUN
GAINESVILLE - Declaring downtown Gainesville is something to crow about, Main Street Gainesville Chairman Dan Summer kicked off Main Street's annual meeting Thursday night, at which more than a dozen individuals were singled out for special honors. Summer said downtown is a place for all citizens to enjoy anytime of the day or night, seven days a week, and any week of the year. He noted it is now home to more than twenty restaurants offering just about any dining experience, menu variety and range of prices - with or without live entertainment. Read more...
1991 murder case part of TLC documentary
AccessWDUN
GAINESVILLE - The case of a man scheduled to be executed next week for a Hall County murder was one topic in a documentary that aired Monday night The Learning Channel. The show was called How to Build a Human: Predictor, and featured video about Stephen Anthony Mobley, who is accused of murdering an Oakwood Pizza Store manager in 1991. We raised a genetic defect defense in the death penalty case, and they were very intrigued by that and wanted to know more, so they came out, I believe, in the middle of last year, and we actually filmed in and around Gainesville, Gainesville lawyer Dan Summer said. Read more...
Robert E. Andrews Law Library dedicated
AccessWDUN
GAINESVILLE - The Robert E. Andrews Law Library was dedicated Wednesday afternoon on Gainesville's historic square. Gainesville and Hall County now has a law library named for the man who helped set up law libraries across Georgia. Andrews, as a state legislator, sponsored a bill which created and funded law libraries statewide. Andrews practiced law for over 50 years in Gainesville before retiring. He recalled that he learned Arkansas funded its libraries with fees attached to criminal fines. The judge in Arkansas said "We add 25 cents to every criminal fine and I thought we don't have a law library in Gainesville," Andrews said. Read more...
Bear-y cool: Chainsaw carvings turn stumps into still lifes
AccessWDUN
If you've driven down Green Street within the past two weeks, you've likely seen a stump slowly morphing into a waving man. Maybe you saw a man and his chainsaw doing the work, or maybe you just saw the stump turn into the likeness of the late Dan Summer. The sculpture was commissioned by Corso Law Center to commemorate local attorney Dan Summer, who passed away earlier this year. The man behind the chainsaw is local artist John Robinson. Robinson owns Blue Ridge Bear Sculptures out of Cleveland, and this isn't his first rodeo. Read more...
LeCroy convicted of Gilmer County murder
AccessWDUN
GAINESVILLE - After two hours of deliberations Monday a federal jury in Gainesville convicted William LeCroy junior of the murder of Joann Tiesler. The jury deliberated for two hours Monday. LeCroy faces a possible death penalty for the October 2001 rape/murder of Joann Tiesler of Gilmer County as a result of taking her Ford Explorer in making his getaway. Prosecutors maintain LeCroy killed her to get her car and that violates federal law. In his closing arguments Monday, defense attorney Dan Summer said the case did not belong in federal court, but in Gilmer County Superior Court. Read more...
Ten years of Main Street Gainesville
AccessWDUN
GAINESVILLE - Main Street Gainesville celebrated its 10th anniversary with its annual meeting and awards banquet Wednesday night - and a man who has been a leader of the downtown business community for years says he wishes the Main Street affiliation has happened sooner. Lorrie Schrage, the owner of Saul's department store, has watched downtown evolve from the time it was the only retail center in Hall County to a period when merchants were fleeing to suburban shopping centers to the revitalization of the area - the downtown Gainesville we see today. A second generation downtown businessman, Schrage says his father would be proud of the way downtown has bounced back in recent years to once again become a vibrant part of the local economy. Schrage says downtown was never dead but it was probably dying; however, now, business is good and he sees a bright future for downtown. Read more...
Trial underway in Wheeler case
AccessWDUN
GAINESVILLE - A 49 year old man is on trial in Hall County Superior Court this week in a case from last year involving a 15-year-old girl. According to Hall County District Attorney Lee Darragh, a jury in the case of Weyman Edward Wheeler was seated Monday. Wheeler is on trial facing counts of aggravated child molestation, child molestation, statutory rape and enticing a child for indecent purposes. Hall County deputies arrested Wheeler a year ago in May. At the time, authorities said Wheeler had been involved in a consensual sexual relationship with the 15 year old. Judge Kathleen Gosselin is presiding over the case. Wheeler is represented by attorney Dan Summer. Assistant DA Juliet Aldridge is handling prosecution. Read more...
Read the allegations of misconduct against Fulton County DA Fani Willis
Atlanta News First
“Normally, this type of information would be idle courthouse gossip but this is the Trump case, and Nathan Wade has been paid over $1,000,000 for his work on the case,” said metro Atlanta defense attorney Chandelle Summer. “Some of those funds he earned, the motion alleges, have been used to pay for lavish vacations for himself and DA Willis.” The court filing claims Willis and Wade took lavish vacations together and that Wade used part of his salary from the district attorney’s office to travel with Willis. Roman’s attorney claims to have discovered “outside of court filings” that Willis and Wade went on trips together. The court document goes on to claim the relationship began before Wade was appointed to the case. Roman and his attorney claim Willis also failed to get county approval to appoint Wade as special prosecutor. Read more...
Gainesville attorney creates downtown memorial to Israeli hostages
AccessWDUN
A local attorney has created a memorial on his firm's property in downtown Gainesville to the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023. The memorial, created by Joseph Summer, is located on Bradford Street just north of the downtown Gainesville square. It consists of several traffic cones covered with posters of the hostages taken during the October attacks. Summer said he put the memorial up on Sunday after months of planning. "I've been following this story since it happened on October 7, and more and more every day I've been involving myself in understanding the issues and following the atrocities," Summer said. "I felt somewhat compelled to print out these pictures of these hostages and put them out in the parking lot, right downtown for everybody to see." Read more...
Ethics complaints? Targeting law license? Troubles lie in wait for Georgia DA Fani Willis
USAToday
Chandelle Summer, a Georgia lawyer who has worked as both a prosecutor and public defender in the state, told USA TODAY she expects bar complaints against Willis will be coming in light of the case's high profile. "It's such a politically charged case, I don't think they're going to leave any stone unturned," Summer said. Read more...