# Black Women Deliver Justice - South Fulton Ga Judicial System



## Transformer (Oct 29, 2018)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/po...r-justice-southern-city-their-own-way-n924116


SOUTH FULTON, Ga.— Inside the municipal courtroom here in this Atlanta suburb, a black man in his early 20s is begging the judge for a second chance.

He's facing his third shoplifting conviction and, under Georgia state law, must serve a jail sentence.

Defendants plead for a second (or third) chance in courtrooms across the country on a daily basis, but here in this majority African-American town, where the population is just over 100,000, the criminal justice system is unique: Black women are in charge, and they say they run things differently.

LaDawn Blackett Jones is the city's solicitor, or prosecutor, Viveca Powell serves as public defender and Tiffany Carter Sellers is the chief judge. The court clerks and staff are also black women.

"As people from around the country are looking at what is going on here, we are trying to set the example for the way true law and justice should work," Blackett Jones said.


 the only town of its size with black women overwhelmingly running the criminal justice system. Bill Edwards, the mayor, is black, as are Keith Meadows, the police chief, and the seven city council members — and five of them are women.

Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of political science at Emory University in Atlanta, said that having black women lead the town's court system is significant in two ways.


"African-American women usually play critical roles, and they haven't always been acknowledged," Gillespie said. "What's unique about his moment is that black women are getting that recognition."


Gillespie added that having African-Americans in top government roles in a majority African-American city "can legitimize institutions in the mind of citizens."

Blackett Jones, a native of the unincorporated area of South Fulton, said the city has torn down barriers not only for African-Americans, but for women as well.

"Think about how many cities in America that are predominantly any one group, but are still run at all the top levels by heterosexual white Christian males," she said. "This is an American story. This is not just a black story, this is a woman's story. We have broken the mold for women as much as we have broken the mold for African-Americans."


Powell, the public defender, said having black women at the wheel is helpful because "it eliminates the cultural gap" when dealing with African-American defendants.

"I look at people as people and I expect fairness from everybody," said Powell, who has served as a criminal defense lawyer for 35 years. "But we clearly understand the dynamic of what goes on in the community —nobody has to explain it to us."


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## nysister (Oct 29, 2018)

This was posted a while back but I don't know where the link is.


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## Transformer (Oct 29, 2018)

nysister said:


> This was posted a while back but I don't know where the link is.



Well if you find it, I will gladly delete this thread or merge it.  I just saw it today in NBCNEWS.


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## Reinventing21 (Oct 29, 2018)

This is a different article about the same women/town.  I am wondering how they ruled in this case.


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## nysister (Oct 29, 2018)

Transformer said:


> Well if you find it, I will gladly delete this thread or merge it.  I just saw it today in NBCNEWS.



The one you posted seems like an update. Id recognized the photo. Here the other thread.

https://longhaircareforum.com/threads/law-and-order-black-excellence-style.835887/#post-24802069


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## RossBoss (Oct 30, 2018)

Reinventing21 said:


> This is a different article about the same women/town.  I am wondering how they ruled in this case.



You're probably thinking the same thing I'm thinking. There is always the possibility that these are the "work with a brotha" kind of Black women which will do nothing to decrease the crime rate and just encourage more Stephon Clarks.  Then again, maybe they're tough on crime which is what everyone should want. The citizens will find out soon enough.


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## mensa (Oct 30, 2018)

I'd also like to know how they ruled.


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## TrueBeliever (Oct 30, 2018)

If you click the article, it says how they ruled in the shoplifting case.

Basically, she had to follow the law and give 30 days but didn't want to.

She advised him to turn himself in immediately or get 60 days for a no show and if there's a warrant, he would get even more time.

If not for the law, she would probably let him so so can go shoplifting or something.


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