Back in January of this year, a civil action
complaint against Tift County Commissioner Melissa Hughes Chevers, Tift County
School Superintendent Patrick Atwater
The main argument of Ms. Tucker’s complaint stems
from the way the defendants reportedly took actions against her after she made
comments in a Facebook post back in December of 2014 which “occurred during
Plaintiffs personal time, from her personal residence and was conducted on
Plaintiff’s part from her own personal computer. “ Ms.
Tucker’s complaint alleges “By punishing Plaintiff for her Facebook posting,
the Defendants willfully and knowingly violated Plaintiff’s clearly established
constitutional right of freedom of speech.”
According to the complaint, Ms. Tucker’s punishment included five days
suspension without pay and she was required to participate in a race diversity
training course as a condition of her continued employment.
Local attorney, Ross Henry Pittman III, along with A.J. (Buddy) Welch, Jr. of Smith, Welch, Webb, and White, “the largest law firm
on the south side of Atlanta
On March 11, 2016 an order of voluntary
recusal of the Superior Court Judges of the Tifton Judicial Circuit was filed. Senior
Judge Loring Gray was appointed to handle Civil Action No. 2016-CV-016. That
appointment was made by Administrative Judge Harry Jay Altman, II.
Tiftarea News has learned that an interlocutory decision may have been made regarding
this matter on or before Friday June 3,2016 and Judge Gray has reportedly ruled
in the Ms. Tucker’s favor.
A request was made to Stacey Beckham, the Tift
County Board of Education Communications Director, for information about this
civil action and how much it is costing the tax payers of Tift County
“Representatives of Tift County Schools are currently involved in civil litigation filed by Kelly Tucker. The system’s attorneys are vigorously defending the claim. To date this has cost $9,887.40 ($8,309.50 in legal fees, $1,565.25 in court reporter fees and $12.65 in postage).”
Attorneys representing the Tift County Board of Education in this matter are listed as being from the firms of Reinhardt, Whitley, Summerlin & Pittman from Tifton along with Smith, Welch, Webb, & White, who have several offices in locations south of Atlanta. Costs for defending this case may rise significantly if an appeal is made. In fact, it is currently unknown as to whether or not the above noted expenses reflect up to date billing from the aforementioned firms.
Tiftarea News plans to post the findings as soon as a Final Judgement has been filed by the court.
