Report: Former State Supreme Court Judge To Mediate Between Cumming Mayor, Attorney General, Citizen Journalist – Government – Cumming, GA Patch

Self-described citizen journalist Nydia Tisdale says she and state Attorney General Sam Olens will undergo mediation with the city of Cumming over its alleged violations of state laws governing public meetings.

Mayor H. Ford Gravitt allegedly twice banned Tisdale from video recording a city council meeting in April 2012 and had her forcibly removed from the public gathering by police the same day Gov. Nathan Deal signed an updated version of the Georgia Sunshine Laws, according to Tisdale’s post.

Two lawsuits resulted. Olens’ suit, above, asks that Gravitt, individually and in his capacity as mayor, be fined $1,000 for the April violation and $2,500 for any subsequent violation, and that the court award the Attorney General attorney’s fees and other litigation costs related to the action.

In response to Olens’ lawsuit, Cumming officials challenged the constitutionality of Georgia’s Sunshine Law and claimed Gravitt is protected under the state Constitution’s official immunity doctrine and the city is protected under the sovereign immunity doctrine.

via Report: Former State Supreme Court Judge To Mediate Between Cumming Mayor, Attorney General, Citizen Journalist – Government – Cumming, GA Patch.