The panel that will help decide if Burrell Ellis can remain DeKalb County’s CEO as he fights 14 felony counts could make their recommendation as early as hours after the Monday morning hearing.
The hearing before Rockdale CEO Richard Oden, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens and Clayton Commission Chairman Jeffrey Turner is expected to be over by afternoon, a spokeswoman in Olens’ office said.
The three would then deliberate whether the charges of theft, extortion and conspiracy against Ellis interfere with his ability to run daily operations in Georgia’s third-largest county.
“They usually make recommendations to the governor fairly quickly,” AG spokeswoman Lauren Kane said of similar review panels. “Then it’s in the governor’s hands.”
Gov. Nathan Deal had not decided Friday on how quickly he would release the recommendations or act if the panel calls for suspension, a spokesman said. The panel’s recommendations would remain sealed until he discloses them. Deal would decide on suspension only if the panel recommends removal. A recommendation against suspension ends the process.
Legal watchers have said they expect the panel to recommend suspension because the accusations directly relate to his office. However, a muscular defense and Deal’s stated reluctance to get involved in local matters – and now a tighter time frame – add emphasis to what unfolds at the hearing.
via Recommendation on Ellis could come sooner than expected | www.myajc.com.
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