Deal signs bill to fight human trafficking: Governor modernizes Georgia legal code, including updated Rules of Evidence

Gov. Nathan Deal today signed three bills pertaining to legal issues at the State Bar of Georgia and signed two bills advocated by the Women’s Caucus at My Sister’s House, an Atlanta facility that offers overnight shelter and residential discipleship programs for homeless women and women with children.

Bill signing at State Bar:

HB 24 modernizes the Rules of Evidence
Current Rules of Evidence are nearly 150 years old
Brings OCGA in line with Federal Rules of Evidence pertaining to hearsay
Georgia becomes the 45th state to modernize

HB 238 revamps the Georgia Public Defenders Standards Council
Agency has been plagued with issues
Gives more autonomy to Director
Reconstitutes the Council

HB 415 provides for a statewide jury pool
Since the 1960s, Georgia has used forced balancing to ensure demographic groups within counties are proportionally represented in the jury pool.
Ends forced balancing and implements a series of procedures and rules to compile a statewide, inclusive juror source list. It calls for the Council of Superior Court Clerks to establish and maintain a statewide master jury list and requires the Department of Driver Services and the Secretary of State to provide certain information to the Council of Superior Court Clerks.
The council will screen driver license records, vital records and voter registration records to create a more inclusive source list of eligible jurors. The database will be cleaned of duplicates, bad addresses and the names of felons and deceased people. Then the Council of Superior Court Clerks will certify and distribute an inclusive list to each individual county’s Board of Jury Commissioners.

Bill Signing at My Sister’s House:

“Human trafficking is a repugnant crime that is growing like a cancer in our society,” Deal said. “Signing this bill into law, I join my fellow Georgians in declaring moral outrage and vowing to fight human trafficking here in our state. These criminals rob their victims of freedom and human dignity, and they destroy lives. With this bill now a law, we will find these criminals and we will punish them harshly.”

HB 200 addresses human trafficking
Strengthens the punishment against traffickers by increasing the minimum imprisonment for any person who commits the offense of trafficking a person for labor or sexual servitude and subjects the convicted to a fine.
Increases the punishment for any person who commits the offense of trafficking a person for labor or sexual servitude against a person who is under the age of 18 years
Protects those that fall victim to predators whom act on their state of desperation by providing that a person shall NOT be guilty of a sexual crime if the conduct upon which the alleged criminal liability is based was committed under coercion or deception while the accused was being trafficked for sexual servitude

HB 503 provides for the Georgia Crime Victims Emergency Fund to cover the costs of medical exams of alleged victims of rape
Ensures that victims will have these exams paid for and that the responsibility will not fall on local law enforcement that have budget constraints

-----

Community News You Can Use
Click to read MORE news:
www.GeorgiaFrontPage.com
Twitter: @gafrontpage & @TheGATable @HookedonHistory
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
Twitter: @artsacrossga, @softnblue, @RimbomboAAG @FayetteFP

Several Members of the “South Side Myfas” Street Gang Indicted for Cocaine Trafficking

RICARDO LARIOS-TRUJILLO, a/k/a “Rico,” 33, of Lawrenceville, Georgia; RIGOBERTO DELGADO-OROZCO, a/k/a “Chapparo,” 30, of Buford, Georgia; RAMON CORTEZ, a/k/a “Toro,” 20, of Lawrenceville, Georgia; HOMER LARIOS, a/k/a “Hummer,” 34, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, and ALEXANDER I. ACHER, 29, of Southborough, Massachusetts, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute, more than five kilograms of cocaine. Their initial court appearances have not yet been scheduled, but are expected within a week before a United States Magistrate Judge.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of today’s indictment, “Metro Atlanta unfortunately continues to be a major drug distribution center for gangs in the Southeast and beyond. The South Side Myfas street gang, which originated near Bakersfield, California, and has organized drug distribution organizations in various parts of the country, is a sub-set of the notorious Surenos gang – one of the oldest, largest, and most violent of the Mexican-American street gangs active in the United States. Today’s indictment is a warning to all South Side Myfas and other gang members in our community that we will fight to eliminate their presence.”

“ICE is committed to partnering with other law enforcement agencies to target the transnational street gangs that terrorize our community through their involvement with drugs and violence,” said Kenneth A. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Atlanta. “By combining our resources and enforcement authorities, we can impact these gang and drug cells on multiple levels by seeking both criminal prosecution and removal from the country after their debt to society has been paid.”

According to United States Attorney Nahmias, and other information presented in court: Between 2007 and 2008, LARIOS-TRUJILLO, DELGADO-OROZCO, CORTEZ and LARIOS, members of an Hispanic street gang called “South Side Myfas,” along with ACHER, allegedly utilized “Monster Car Audio,” a audio installation business belonging to LARIOS-TRUJILLO and located at 134 South Clayton Street in Lawrenceville, Georgia, to store and distribute cocaine. After a lengthy investigation, on November 3, 2008, FBI and ICE agents conducted a joint undercover operation at the “Monster Car Audio” business, during which the defendants allegedly purchased more than five kilograms of cocaine from an undercover FBI agent. On November 3, 2008, at the times of the arrests, FBI agents also seized $130,000 in cash from the defendants.

LARIOS-TRUJILLO, DELGADO-OROZCO, CORTEZ, LARIOS and ACHER are charged in a two-count indictment with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute in excess of five kilograms of cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute in excess of five kilograms of cocaine. The indictment also includes a forfeiture count in which the United States seeks the forfeiture of all proceeds from the alleged criminal scheme. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $8,000,000.

This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the FBI and ICE.

Assistant United States Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. is prosecuting the case.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.com.

-----
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page