Fulton County Superior Court

Dat:Che Alexander,
2024144PAClerk
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF FULTON COUNTY
STATE OF GEORGIA

STATE OF GEORGIA, Case No. 23SC188947

v.
ROBERT DAVID CHEELEY, ET AL.,

Defendants.

DEFENDANT ROBERT DAVID CHEELEY’S'

RESPONSE TO THE STATE'S
POST-HEARING SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF

Defendant Robert David Cheeley files this response to the States post-hearing
supplemental brief.
L INTRODUCTION

Black’s Law Dictionary helpfully definesa conflict of interest as “[a] real or

seeming incompatibility between one’s private interests and one’s public or fiduciary
duties.” BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY, Conflictof Interest (11th ed. 2019); see also USS. v.
Dominguez, 997 F.3d 1121, 1124 n. 1 (11th Cir. 2021) (“Black’s Law Dictionary is an

authoritative source™).
“The Fulton County District Attorney has improperly financially benefitted from the
contracts, investigation, and prosecution of this case that the District Attorney awarded to
her romantic partner—Special Assistant District Attorney (“SADA”) Nathan Wade—
under cover
ofnight. Robin Yeartie testified that the District Attorney and SADA Wade
began a romantic relationship in 2019. This is confirmed by the many text messages from
SADA Wade’s friend and law partner Terrence Bradley, the incontrovertible cellular

telephone records, as well as the proffered testimony of Cobb ADA Cindi Yeager.

Two years later, in November 2021, the District Attorney hired SADA Wade. At no

time then or since (until forced by the current motions) did the District Attorney or SADA

Wade disclose their relationship—instead, they conducted themselves in secret as SADA

Wade lavished the District Attorney with financial benefits derived from Fulton County

and Georgia taxpayers. SADA Wade has since received hundreds of thousands of dollars

from three different contracts with Fulton County that are directly related to this

prosecution.1 See Salinski Summary Chart filed by Defendant Shafer. The District

Attorney, in turn, has benefited to the tune of at least $17,000.00 in the form of vacations

paid for by SADA Wade plus an unknown additional amount for numerous dinners and

day trips. See id. So it appears that funds derived from Fulton County and Georgia

taxpayers found their way to various hotels, airlines, and restaurants for the District

Attorney’s improper financial benefit. The technical term for that scenario is an actual

conflict of interest.

Compounding the conflict of interest, neither the District Attorney nor SADA Wade

disclosed their relationship or the related financial benefits. In fact, they did everything

possible to conceal those problematic details until Defendants’ disqualification motions

forced them to respond. And, even then, the District Attorney and SADA Wade only

cryptically acknowledged that their “personal relationship” began at an undefined point in


1
This amount does not reflect any income SADA Wade received from contracts held
by his partners, which he admitted to benefiting from after splitting profits with them.

2
2022 and boldly maintained that the District Attorney “received no funds or personal

financial gain from” SADA Wade. See State’s Initial Response to Disqualification

Motions. Furthermore, the District Attorney twice falsely certified that she had received no

gifts or benefits, despite knowing full well that SADA Wade was a “prohibited person”

and that she had in fact received gifts and benefits from him.

Doubling-down on their deceptive filing and the false certifications, the District

Attorney and SADA Wade provided false testimony to cover their tracks. Starting with

SADA Wade, he maintained the veracity of prior sworn filings that conveyed he never

entertained other partners besides his wife. Yet, SADA Wade has been legally married for

decades and admits to paying for the District Attorney to vacation with him on numerous

instances. SADA Wade also insisted that the District Attorney paid him back in cash, or in

kind, to divide expenses “roughly evenly.” He then conveniently explained that he never

deposited any of that cash, so that no records could corroborate any reimbursement.

Finally, SADA Wade again falsely testified—to minimize the impact of their relationship

on this case—that he visited the District Attorney’s condominium no more than 10 times.

Yet, cell-phone records reveal that he visited her dozens of times before that date in just

the first eleven months of 2021. See redacted cell-phone records filed by Defendant Donald

Trump.

As for the District Attorney, she also maintained that her romantic relationship with

SADA Wade began in early 2022, even though the aforementioned cell-phone records

reveal numerous late-night and early-morning rendezvous between she and SADA Wade.

The District Attorney further claimed to have only “repaid” SADA Wade in cash that she

2
stored in her home for years.2 However, the District Attorney claimed at times she only

had $500 to $1,000 in her cash stash—far less than the few thousand that she claimed to

have repaid SAADA Wade and even farther less than half the more than $17,000 SADA

Wade contributed towards the clandestine relationship, not even including the many

dinners and daytrips. Moreover, the District Attorney failed to present any documentary

evidence supporting these fantastical claims, other than a single receipt for a plane ticket.

The only “explanation” the District Attorney gave for the source of this cash was at times

getting $50 cash back when making purchases at the grocery store. But again, the District

Attorney provided ZERO credit card statements, debit card statements, or any other

documentary support for this specious claim.

Dissatisfied with merely perjuring themselves, the District Attorney and SADA

Wade engaged in a coordinated campaign to tamper with a witness and encourage the

witness to present false testimony. Specifically, Cindi Lee Yeager, a Co-Chief Deputy

District Attorney for the Cobb County, Georgia, District Attorney’s Office told counsel for

Cheeley that the District Attorney called Terrance Bradley in September 2023 and said

“They are coming after us. You don’t need to talk to them about anything about us.” See

Yeager Proffer filed by Defendant David Shafer. Mr. Bradley also testified that another

attorney, Gabe Banks (a friend and former Fulton County ADA with Fani Willis, and

whose wife currently works at the District Attorney’s Office), called him in advance of his


2
Note that some federal courts suggest the possible existence of “a rebuttable
presumption that the possession of large amounts of cash is per se evidence of illegal
activity.” U.S. v. $37, 780 In U.S. Currency, 920 F.2d 159, 162 (2nd Cir. 1990).

3
testimony. Mr. Bradley then took the stand and disclaimed any personal knowledge of the

relationship between the District Attorney and SADA Wade, even though he had

previously conveyed such knowledge to counsel for Roman and to Cobb ADA Ms. Yeager.

See id.

When faced with a mountain of evidence revealing obvious conflicts of interest and

receipt of improper benefits, the District Attorney and SADA Wade elected not to produce

any meaningful evidence to the contrary. There are no bank statements indicating even a

single cash deposit by SADA Wade or a withdrawal by the District Attorney even though

each of them controls their respective bank accounts. When, as here, someone has evidence

in their “power and within [their] reach by which he or she may repel a claim or charge

against him or her but omits to produce it” or produce evidence “weaker and inferior

nature,” then a presumption arises that the charge or claim against such party is well

founded[.]” O.C.G.A. § 24-14-22. So any presumption regarding reimbursement must lie

against the District Attorney and SADA Wade.

That brings us to the State’s post-hearing supplemental filing, which boldly

proclaims that (i) Defendants bear the burden of proving their claims by a ‘high standard

of proof, which necessarily must be more than preponderance of the evidence,” and (ii) “an

actual conflict of interest must be shown to disqualify an elected district attorney.” State’s

br. at 3–4, 10–15. Sandwiched between these two dubious propositions are bungled

arguments attempting to analogize post-conviction review of disqualification rulings and

distinguish decisions cited by Defendants. See id. at 4–10.

Regarding the standard of proof, no Georgia court has ever held that anything more

4
than a preponderance of evidence is necessary for disqualification. As explained further

below, the State exploits a single reference to one phrase, “a high standard of proof,” and

transmogrifies it into some high evidentiary bar. But, even if the State is correct, the

movants have nonetheless proved an actual conflict by clear and convincing evidence, even

though the actual burden is simply an appearance of impropriety by a preponderance of the

evidence.

Turning to the legal standard, the State’s insistence that only an actual conflict of

interest requires disqualification is an ineffective appeal to the lowest common

denominator. That standard, the State thinks, provides just enough cover to skate past

disqualification here. Not quite. No Georgia court has ever held that an actual conflict of

interest is required for disqualification.3 That is no surprise because “[i]t is an old and well-

established maxim of law that the appearance of evil is as much to be abhorred as is the

evil itself.” Young v. Champion, 142 Ga. App. 687, 689 (1977) (emphasis added). To be

sure, as Judge McBurney explained in his prior order disqualifying the District Attorney,

“a mere appearance of impropriety is generally not enough to support disqualification,

except … in the rarest of cases.” See McBurney Order at p. 4 n. 6 (quotation omitted). Yet,

“[t]his one of those cases[.]” See id. But, even if the Court disagrees and elects to apply an


3
The State counters that no Georgia court has ever expressly held that an appearance
of conflict or impropriety alone, absent an actual conflict, is enough to justify
disqualification. Many disqualification cases feature actual conflicts. But neither has any
Georgia court held that an apparent conflict alone is not enough to warrant disqualification.
To the contrary, Georgia courts have acknowledged that very possibility. See, e.g., Dalton
v. State, 157 Ga. App. 353, 353 (1981) (“generally the test in cases of attorney conflict of
interests is not the actuality of conflict, but the possibility that conflict might arise”).

5
“actual conflict” standard, this “is also a case where the conflict is actual and palpable, not

speculative and remote.” See id. So, either way, Defendants have satisfied whatever legal

standard the Court applies.

Lastly, the State inaptly relies on post-conviction disqualification decisions and

hypocritically attempts to distinguish dozens of Georgia decisions cited by Defendants. To

start, appellate courts reviewing disqualification rulings post-conviction necessarily do not

apply the same standard as trial courts in the first instance. The State says that any case

involving conflicts attributable to private counsel “do not apply to the disqualification of a

constitutional officer.” See State’s br. at 5–7. Yet, the State itself cites numerous decisions

involving private counsel when it suits. The State also knocks the applicability of

Davenport v. State, 157 Ga. App. 704 (1981) while simultaneously relying on Lee v. State,

2024 Ga. LEXIS 31 (Feb. 6, 2024), which features a strikingly similar disqualification

scenario even though the defendant in Lee failed to produce any evidence and thus the

jury’s verdict was not overturned on appeal. And while the State’s other attempts to

distinguish cases are less hypocritical, they still end up nowhere.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

“[A]dministration of the law should be free from all temptation and suspicion, so

far as human agency is capable of accomplishing that object[.]” Gaulden v. State, 11 Ga.

47, 50 (1852). Courts therefore “have an independent interest in ensuring that criminal

trials are conducted within the ethical standards of the profession and that legal proceedings

appear fair to all who observe them.” Wheat v. U.S., 486 U.S. 153, 160 (1988); see also

Fair v. State, 288 Ga. 244, 260 (2010); Edwards v. Lewis, 283 Ga. 345, 350 n. 21 (2008).

6
And, when assessing potential bias or conflict, “[o]ur system of law has always endeavored

to prevent even the probability of unfairness.” Dept. of Transp. v. Del-Cook Timber Co.,

Inc., 248 Ga. 734, 740 (1982) (quoting In re Murchison, 349 U.S. 133, 136 (1955)

(emphasis added)).

With that in mind, “the issue of attorney disqualification [is] a continuum.”

Blumenfeld v. Borenstein, 247 Ga. 406, 409 (1981). On one end, “disqualification is always

justified and indeed mandated” when “the appearance of impropriety [is] coupled with a

conflict of interest.” See id. Next, “somewhere in the middle of the continuum[,]… the

appearance of impropriety based on conduct on the part of the attorney … generally has

been found insufficient” for disqualification of a private attorney in the civil context. Id.

Thus, it would be paradoxical if disqualification of the District Attorney—who is subject

to “the higher standard of public trust [of] a public prosecutor”—required a higher standard

of proof than disqualification of a private attorney in the civil context. See Matter of

Redding, 269 Ga. 537, 537 (1998) (per curiam); see also Young v. U.S. ex rel. Vuitton et

Fils S.A., 481 U.S. 787, 807 (1987) (plurality) (recognizing fundamental right to “a

disinterested prosecutor”). Finally, for both prosecutors and private counsel, “the

appearance of impropriety based not on conduct but on status alone … is an insufficient

ground for disqualification.” Blumenfeld, 247 Ga. at 409. However, in the present case, the

defense most certainly is NOT seeking disqualification based simply on “status.” Rather,

the disqualification motions target the improper CONDUCT of the District Attorney.

In sum, disqualification based on appearance alone—while rare and often

insufficient in the civil context—is still permissible when a prosecutor is involved. That is

7
because prosecutors are “required to stand aside for the sake of public confidence in the

probity of the administration of justice[,]” while private lawyers are not. Compare Love v.

State, 202 Ga. App. 889, 891 (1992), with Blumenfeld, 247 Ga. at 409. As such, when a

prosecutor’s participation could even “cast doubt on the fairness of the trial,”

disqualification “might be appropriate.” See Neuman v. State, 311 Ga. 83 (2021). No

Georgia court has ever held that an actual conflict is necessary to disqualify a prosecutor.

III. LEGAL ARGUMENT

A. The State incorrectly contends that something beyond a preponderance

of the evidence is required to disqualify a prosecutor.

The State’s opening gambit is to insist that “Defendants bear the burden of proving

their claims by a ‘high standard of proof,’ which necessarily must be more than

preponderance of the evidence.” State’s Br. at 3–4. It makes this claim based on a sentence

in McGlynn v. State, where the Court emphasized “its role both in addressing attorney

misconduct and in holding those who allege such misconduct to a high standard of proof.”

342 Ga. App. 170, 173 (2017). Quick to capitalize on that line, the State cites Terrell v.

Ga. TV Co., which just says that the standard to recover damages for defamation of a public

official—a “clear and convincing showing of actual malice”—is “high standard of proof.”

215 Ga. App. 150, 151–52 (1994). The State then cites three other decisions recognizing

the same thing. See State’s Br. at 3–4. And it proceeds to invoke a host of unpublished

Eleventh Circuit decisions for the unremarkable proposition that preponderance of the

evidence is not a high standard of proof. See id.

McGlynn, however, is not the smoking gun the State thinks it is. McGlynn involved

8
a post-conviction review of a defendant’s bid to disqualify a district attorney’s office. See

342 Ga. App. at 173. And it did not even implicate a conflict of interest whatsoever. Rather,

the defendant argued that a prosecutor’s discussion with a witness “before trial ultimately

resulted in [the witness’s] decision, on the advice of his own counsel, to assert his Fifth

Amendment privilege.” Id. That discussion, according to the Defendant, violated his due

process rights. See id. But there was no suggestion of any conflict of interest. Instead, the

Court held that the “record … d[id] not establish sanctionable conduct on the part of the

ADA.” Nothing about McGlynn sheds light on the present, conflict-based disqualification

argument.

And random decisions invoking a generic phrase like “high standard of proof”

outside the disqualification context are irrelevant. A quick Westlaw search of “high

standard of proof” curates 14 Georgia decisions. Some involve defamation. See Terrell,

342 Ga. App. at 173. Others pertain to proving intellectual disability in the criminal

sentencing context. See Young v. State, 312 Ga. 71, 129 (2021) (Nahmias, P.J., concurring

specially). Still others involve municipal liability. See DeKalb Cty. v. Bailey, 319 Ga. App.

278, 288 (2012). What to make of that? Well, not much at all. “High standard of proof” is

a common phrase employed in all manner of contexts to signify a wide variety of standards.

No Georgia court has ever employed the phrase “high standard of proof” and no

Georgia Court has ever employed the clear and convincing standard when assessing an

alleged conflict of interest. Indeed, no Georgia court has ever suggested than anything more

than a preponderance of the evidence is required for disqualification. If a court had said as

much, the State would surely bring that decision to the Court’s attention. But it hasn’t.

9
Instead, the State cites a post-conviction review of an ersatz disqualification argument

based on alleged prosecutorial misconduct with a witness that resulted in a witness

invoking the Fifth Amendment. See McGlynn, 342 Ga. App. at 173. If that glaringly

inapposite decision is State’s best authority, then that is evidence enough that no Georgia

court has ever disclaimed a preponderance of the evidence standard when assessing a

prosecutors conflict of interest.

B. The State also wrongly insists that appearance of conflict or impropriety

alone can never result in a prosecutor’s disqualification.

Aside from advancing an inflated evidentiary standard into the disqualification

analysis, the State seeks to smuggle in an exaggerated legal standard as well. Specifically,

the State contends that “Multiple Georgia Supreme Court cases clearly establish that

Georgia trial courts are not authorized to disqualify an elected district attorney absent an

actual conflict of interest; an appearance of a conflict of interest is insufficient.” And those

multiple cases include: Lee v. State, 2024 Ga. LEXIS 31 (Feb. 6, 2024), Blumenfeld v.

Borenstein, 247 Ga. 406 (1981), Lyons v. State, 271 Ga. 639, 640 (1999), Lamb v. State,

267 Ga. 41, 42 (1996), and Williams v. State, 258 Ga. 305, 315 (1988). None of these cases

hold what the State now claims.

Lee v. State involves a post-conviction disqualification analysis and a totally

inapposite fact pattern. 2024 Ga. LEXIS 31. There, the defendant argued that a prosecutor

“should have been disqualified because of his previous representation of [the defendant]

‘in several criminal cases’ in which he ‘acquired information and knowledge,’ presenting

a conflict of interest.” Id. at *16–17. The Defendant, however, identified “no evidence in

10
the record showing that the assistant district attorney actually represented him in prior

cases, let alone evidence of the ‘information and knowledge’ that the assistant district

attorney might have acquired during that alleged representation that could have

disadvantaged [the defendant].” Id. at *17. The Court therefore affirmed the denial of

disqualification because the defendant-appellant “b[ore] the burden of proving error by the

appellate record” and failed to satisfy his burden. Id. (quotation omitted). Nowhere in this

opinion does the Court hold that the burden was by clear and convincing evidence. By

contrast, no Movant in the present case has been convicted, Defendants have produced a

mountain of evidence demonstrating a conflict, and no Defendant bears the burden of

proving error by the appellate record. To the extent the Court mentioned the lack of “an

actual conflict of interest,” that language must be understood in the post-conviction context

where the only thing alleged was an actual conflict due to prior representation, and it does

not mean that disqualification for an apparent conflict of interest would have constituted

an abuse of discretion. Id. at *2. As such, Lee v. State is totally inapplicable.

Blumenfeld v. Borenstein describes general disqualification standards but is of

exceedingly limited utility here because the focus was on the “status” of counsel – not on

improper conduct as is the point in the present case. 247 Ga. at 406. That case was a

disputed probate action where the estate’s executrix moved to disqualify the sister's

attorneys because one member of the firm was married to the executrix’s former counsel.

See id. The superior court granted that motion and “marital status was the sole reason for

[the] disqualification.” Id. at 408. The Supreme Court reversed, holding only “that

disqualification based on marital status alone was improper[.]” Id. at 410. And, while

11
surmising that an apparent conflict has “generally has been found insufficient to” warrant

disqualification the Court nonetheless cited Young v. Champion, where the Court of

Appeals held “[t]he test … is not the actuality of conflict, but the possibility that conflict

may arise.” Id. at 409 (citing 142 Ga. App. 687, 690 (1977)). The State is subject to higher

standards than private counsel in a civil action, and no Defendant is advocating a status-

based disqualification. So Blumenfeld is likewise of no use in the present case.

Both Lamb v. State, 267 Ga. 41 (1996) and Lyons v. State, 271 Ga. 639 (1999) are

useless here because they involve convicted defendants who raised ineffective assistance

of counsel claims under the Sixth Amendment. In Lamb, the Defendant argued that his trial

and appellate counsel were ineffective under the Sixth Amendment due to alleged conflicts.

267 Ga. at 41. Specifically, the defendant’s trial attorney and his associate both represented

the defendant’s brother (a co-defendant) in unrelated criminal matters. Id. The defendant’s

appointed appellate counsel then left his position to join the district attorney’s office. Id.

The Court of Appeals held that the defendant “failed to demonstrate an actual conflict on

the part of” trial or appellate counsel. Id. at 42. But where did that actual conflict standard

originate? Well, “"to establish a violation of the Sixth Amendment, a defendant who raised

no objection at trial must demonstrate that an actual conflict of interest adversely affected

his lawyer's performance.” Id. (quoting Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335, 348 (1980)).

Lyons too involved a Sixth Amendment ineffective assistance argument based on an

alleged conflict resulting from two members of his defense team joining the district

attorney’s office. 271 Ga. at 640. And the Court did nothing more than quote Lamb’s

“actual conflict” language. Id. No Defendant has raised Sixth Amendment claims—which

12
would be unripe anyway—so neither Lamb nor Lamb gets the State anywhere. These

decisions are inapplicable to the motions presently pending before the Court.

Finally, Williams v. State merely provides examples of some situations where

disqualification was appropriate. 258 Ga. 305 (1988). In particular, the Court observed that

“[a] conflict of interest has been held to arise where the prosecutor previously has

represented the defendant with respect to the offense charged, or has consulted with the

defendant in a professional capacity with regard thereto; such conflict also has been held

to arise where the prosecutor has acquired a personal interest or stake in the defendant’s

conviction.” Id. at 314. The State, reading the decision like a statute, construes these

examples as exhaustive. Of course the Court did not say as much. Moreover, Defendants

do in fact contend that the District Attorney and SADA Wade have a personal interest or

stake in this prosecution and the District Attorney has improperly personally benefitted

from the investigation and prosecution due to the financial largess bestowed on her by

SADA Wade. Now, the State quibbles that an interest in the case is distinct from an interest

in a conviction. But that is splitting hairs. While the neither the District Attorney nor SADA

Wade will receive a bonus following any convictions, the District Attorney has inarguably

personally benefitted financially from her secret romantic entanglement and the monies

she arranged to be paid to SADA Wade.

C. An apparent conflict is sufficient to warrant a prosecutor’s

disqualification.

The State itself previously has acknowledged in this very case that prosecutors are

held to higher standards than their counterparts in private practice. On September 20, 2023,

13
the District Attorney filed a “Notice of Potential Conflicts of Interest” concerning certain

Defense counsel. That notice observed, in relevant part, that a “prosecutor has the

responsibility of a minister of justice and not simply that of an advocate.” Notice at p.1

(quoting GA. R. & REGS. ST. BAR 3.8, Cmt. 1). The notice then went on to boldly

emphasize that, “[i]n light of the prosecutor’s public responsibilities, broad authority

and discretion, the prosecutor has a heightened duty of candor to the courts and in

fulfilling other professional obligations.” Id. (quoting ABA STAND. CRIM. JUST. REL.

PROS. FUNCT. 3-1.4(a) (emphasis added)). Given these lofty principles—which are

conspicuously absent from the State’s recent briefing—the District Attorney professed

concern regarding “Defendants’ rights to due process and a fundamentally fair trial” if

certain Defense counsel were not disqualified given certain prior representations. See id. at

11. Defendants simply want to hold the State to the standard it touted only a few short

months ago.

In addition to the bevy of citations from prior briefing, the Georgia Supreme Court’s

decision in Neuman v. State illustrates that an actual conflict is not necessary for

disqualification. 311 Ga. at 83. The defendant there moved to disqualify the entire office

of the District Attorney for the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit because some prosecutors

had read his privileged communications with counsel. Id. at 88. The trial court denied that

motion and the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. See id. But the court hastened to explain

that “[d]isqualification of the prosecuting attorneys might be appropriate … where the

privileged information disclosed to the prosecution was so voluminous that it would cast

doubt on the fairness of the trial absent disqualification of the prosecuting attorneys who

14
had reviewed the files.” Id. at 89. In other words, the standard for disqualification was

whether the prosecutors’ participation would “cast doubt on the fairness of the trial.” Id.

(emphasis added). That is totally inconsistent with an “actual conflict” mandate, which

does not appear anywhere in the Court’s discussion. The doubt cast is consistent, however,

with an appearance of impropriety.

D. State invokes a host of inapposite decisions and hypocritically urges the

Court to ignore those invoked by Cheeley.

No discussion of “actual conflict” appears in numerous decisions previously cited

by Cheeley and others. See Edwards v. State, 336 Ga. App. 595 (2016); Registe v. State,

287 Ga. 542 (2010); Brown v. State, 256 Ga. App. 603 (2002); Reeves v. State, 231 Ga.

App. 22 (1998); Love v. State, 202 Ga. App. 889 (1992).

To avoid the obvious doctrinal barriers impeding its preferred standard, the State

hypocritically maintains that the decisions above “are not applicable.” State’s Br. at 5–6.

Why? Well, the State says, these decisions “do not apply to the disqualification of a

constitutional officer whose loyalty lies with seeking justice—not with any individual,

private client.” Id. at 5. That’s a bold proposition considering that the State itself cites

three decisions involving private counsel. Id. at 2–3, 11–12; Lewis v. State, 312 Ga. App.

275 (2011) (prosecution moved to disqualify defense counsel); Lamb, 267 Ga. at 41;

Blumenfeld, 247 Ga. at 406. So it appears that decisions involving private counsel only

become relevant when they benefit the State. That, of course, is nonsense. Given “the

higher standard of public trust to which a public prosecutor is held,” see Matter of Redding,

269 Ga. at 537, it stands to reason that if private attorneys are subject to disqualification,

15
then prosecutors are disqualified as well. But that heightened standard to which prosecutors

are held also means that prosecutors may be disqualified even where private attorneys

remain.

The State also implores the Court to ignore Davenport v. State, 157 Ga. App. 704

(1981) while invoking a decision involving similar circumstances. State’s br. at 9–10.

Davenport held that a defendant charged was denied a fundamentally fair trial where the

district attorney (1) previously represented the victim (the defendant’s husband) in pending

divorce proceedings, (2) was cognizant of information and incidents that occurred between

the victim and the defendant by virtue of his divorce representation, and (3) the district

attorney sat at counsel’s table for the entirety of the trial. 157 Ga. App. at 705–06.

According to the State, “the facts and the legal principles in Davenport are far too remote

from the present case for that case to be applicable here.” State’s br. at 10. That an

interesting sentiment given the State’s repeated invocation of Lee v. State, which is

discussed at length above. 2024 Ga. LEXIS 31. So, once again, the State gets to invoke any

decision that helps its cause while distinguishing away any decisions that cut the other way.

Finally, the State invokes O.C.G.A. § 15-18-5, even though it too does not

demonstrate that an actual conflict is required to disqualify a district attorney. Section 15-

18-5(g) provides that “[a]ny order entered by a court disqualifying a district attorney’s

office from engaging in the prosecution shall specify the legal basis for such order.” If, as

the State contends, § 15-18-5(a) means a “district attorney’s office is disqualified [only

based on] interest or relationship to engage in a prosecution,” then § 15-18-5(g) would be

surplusage because there could be no other legal basis than § 15-18-5(a).

16
 E. The State completely ignores the District Attorney’s obligations as a
public trustee under Georgia law.

The District Attorney has forgotten that she, her office, and the SADAs are “trustees

and servants of the people and are at all times amenable to them.” GA. CONST. Art. I, § II,

¶ I; see also Matter of Redding, 269 Ga. at 537 (emphasizing “the higher standard of public

trust to which a public prosecutor is held”). Indeed, as the Georgia Supreme Court has

emphasized:

A trustee is held to something stricter than the morals of the market place.
Not honesty alone, but the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive, is then
the standard of behavior. As to this there has developed a tradition that it
unbending and inveterate.

Malcom v. Webb, 211 Ga. 449, 457 (1955) (quotation omitted). And the most basic rule is

that “no … public agent or trustee[] shall have the opportunity or be led into the temptation

to make profit out of … others entrusted to [their] care[.]” City of Macon v. Huff, 60 Ga.

221, 228 (1878). While that may be inconvenient for the District Attorney, she “accept[ed]

office—it [was] not forced upon h[er]. [Sh]e cannot, therefore, complain of the disabilities

which are incident to it.” Harrison v. McHenry, 9 Ga. 164, 167 (1850) (emphasis in

original).

Can the District Attorney, her office, and the SADAs—as public trustees—

prosecute this case “disinterestedly? Possibly [they] may; but the law regarding our fallen

nature as all weak … forbids that [any] temptation be laid in the path of any[one], however

exalted [their] office or pure [their] character.” City of Macon, 60 Ga. at 225. Harkening

back to standards articulated at the outset, “[b]oth unfairness and the appearance of

unfairness should be avoided.” In re Grand Jury Subpoenas, 573 F.2d 936, 944 (6th Cir.

17
1978). So, [w]herever there may be reasonable suspicion of unfairness, it is best to

disqualify.” Id. That is the answer here.

IV. CONCLUSION

For the reasons above, along with those articulated in Cheeley’s initial motion and

reply, the Court should disqualify the Fulton County District Attorney, her entire office,

and the SADAs and dismiss the Indictment.

Respectfully submitted, March 8, 2024.

/s/ Christopher S. Anulewicz ____________

Christopher S. Anulewicz
Georgia Bar No. 020914
Jonathan R. DeLuca
Georgia Bar No. 228413
Wayne R. Beckermann
Georgia Bar No. 747995
BRADLEY ARANT BOULT CUMMINGS
LLP
Promenade Tower
1230 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: (404) 868-2030
Facsimile: (404) 868-2010

/s/ Richard A. Rice, Jr.

Richard A. Rice, Jr.
Georgia Bar No. 603203
THE RICE LAW FIRM, LLC
3151 Maple Drive, NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30305
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 404-835-0783
Facsimile: 404-481-3057

Attorneys for Defendant Robert David Cheeley

18
 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF FULTON COUNTY
STATE OF GEORGIA

STATE OF GEORGIA, Case No. 23SC188947

v.

ROBERT DAVID CHEELEY, ET AL.,

Defendants.

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that I have, this 8th day of March 2024, served a true and correct

copy of the within and foregoing DEFENDANT ROBERT DAVID CHEELEY’S

RESPONSE TO THE STATE’S POST-HEARING SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF via

electronic filing.

/s/ Christopher S. Anulewicz ____________

Christopher S. Anulewicz
Georgia Bar No. 020914
BRADLEY ARANT BOULT CUMMINGS
LLP
Promenade Tower
1230 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: (404) 868-2030
Facsimile: (404) 868-2010

Attorney for Defendant Robert David Cheeley