An editorial in today’s Rome, Ga., News-Tribune takes the Floyd County district attorney to task for her three-year prosecution of retailer Gordon Lee.
Lee originally was charged with six counts stemming from a Halloween 2004 giveaway during which one of his employees mistakenly handed a copy of the Alternative Comics #2 Free Comic Book Day sampler to a boy. The issue depicts a naked Pablo Picasso. After a mistrial and numerous delays, the case finally was dismissed on April 19, with Lee writing a letter of apology to the family of the boy.
“In the end,” the News-Tribune editorial states, “the only thing Leigh Patterson, the Floyd County district attorney, could do to Gordon Lee after more than three years of trying was turn him into a comic-book hero.”
The newspaper goes on to say the case gave Rome “a new black eye.”
This case never should have gone as far as it did. My guess is that if Gordon Lee didn’t already have a criminal conviction for distributing obscene materials, he never would have been charged in the first place.
Comment by Rick Rottman — May 2, 2008 @ 10:27 am
We could stop a lot of needless prosecution by mandating consequences (i.e. jail time) for any district attorney that litigates a case that is ultimately dismissed.
Comment by ArmStrong — May 2, 2008 @ 12:37 pm
All I know is that this is the only thing I know Rome, GA for, and the only thing I care to know it for. Were I ever to be driving through Georgia, I would stop at Rome for one reason only - to buy books from Gordon’s store.
From day one, this has smacked of an attempt for a DA to make a prosecutorial name for themselves. Well, mission accomplished. Here’s hoping this debacle follows Ms. Patterson through the rest of her career.
Free Comic Book Day (the even that caused the hoohah in the first place) is this weekend. Will Ms. Patterson be there to check all the comics distributed?
Comment by Vinnie Bartilucci — May 2, 2008 @ 12:55 pm
ArmStrong, I’m all for tighter controls on needless prosecution, but that’s way over the top. Cases get dismissed for all kinds of reasons that do not indicate or imply prosecutorial misconduct.
Comment by kalorama — May 2, 2008 @ 2:22 pm
The prosecutor is a beyotch, and it’s great someone is calling her on it.
Comment by BatPimp — May 2, 2008 @ 2:47 pm
I’m with Kalorama on this one… but what I don’t know what other controls could have been put in place, the (ultimately stupid) obscenity laws being what they are in places like GA or mine own home of Montana.
I hope Lee’s managed to recover from this (to my shame, I’ve not been keeping up on the story)…
Comment by Mercer — May 3, 2008 @ 11:51 am
ArmStrong, if we mandate consequences for prosecutors who bring cases that are ultimately dismissed, they’re just going to fight a hell of a lot harder to keep them from being dismissed.
Comment by Bill Bickel — May 3, 2008 @ 11:52 pm
I live in the Rome, GA area, and I’m personally very glad to see this finally coming to an end. Its been a long period, and we’ve all felt for a while now that it was going to end with the store shutting down.
Near as I can tell, the shop is still doing well. Its never really packed because of the town size, but its never really empty either.
Comment by J. Christopher Baggett — May 5, 2008 @ 6:52 am
I live near Rome and have heard from fellow shop owners in Georgia and surrounding states about Gordon. This information is what was passed on to me. I have done business with these dealers for years and trust that they are telling me the true facts. None of them thought Gordon was a bad guy. They did not have any ax to grind with him. However, they all question his judgement.
In all fairness must point out a few things. First, Gordon was already on probation for selling adult books to a minor (or some such foolishness). Second, Gordon started to get into a very personal rivalry with another hobby shop in the area. It just so happens the other shop was run by a retired police officer. So you have Gordon on probation and he has ticked off a former cop that is running a hobby store. What could go wrong?
This is not some landmark free speech case. It is small town Politics. Any business owner should know the laws and ordinances of their town. That is not to say that you agree with them, just know what is going to get you in trouble. Next, don’t go poking you finger in the eye of a retired police officer’s business. Finally, if you have already been in trouble for selling to minors, don’t leave a total nimrod in charge of free comic book day. The reason they are Adult Titles is they are for Adults. Forgot the “it is Art” agrument, Gordon had made enenmies and this was their chance to settle the score.
Comment by Rocky_F — May 5, 2008 @ 9:02 pm