John Floyd Challenges Dorsey Appeal

ATLANTA (AP) -- Lawyers for convicted sheriff killer Sidney Dorsey are appealing his racketeering convictions to the state Supreme Court, claiming the basis for those charges was unfounded and it wrongly influenced the jury that found him guilty of murder. In oral arguments Monday, defense attorney Don Samuel said the prosecution relied on non-criminal acts as prerequisites for Dorsey's racketeering prosecution.

Dorsey was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2002 for murder, violations of Georgia's Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, violation of oath of office and eight felony counts of theft by taking. Dorsey, the former sheriff, allegedly arranged the December 2000 assassination of Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown after Brown had ousted him in an election.

The defense claimed that the theft charges against Dorsey -- some of which helped form the basis for the racketeering charges against the former sheriff -- were "based on that flawed theory of criminality," Samuel said.

Many of the theft charges involved Dorsey asking his deputies to run personal errands, like picking up his children from school or asking deputies to work at his private security company. Though Samuel conceded that Dorsey's behavior may have been unreasonable for a sheriff, "it's not theft of services," he said.

However, prosecutor John Floyd said the favors did constitute theft, especially for a sheriff. Claiming Dorsey "viewed his badge as a license to murder," Floyd said the state has an absolute ban on sheriffs receiving any sorts of kickbacks from their positions.

Even if there was no ban, Floyd said, Dorsey's behavior while in office was clearly illegal. Floyd painted Dorsey as a man who had sex with subordinates on the clock, made high-ranking deputies take his family to Disney World and fired or demoted anyone who questioned his decisions.

Samuel told the justices that if they agreed with Floyd's assertion, then a judge asking a law clerk to pick up lunch or laundry during office hours could be construed as theft. But if they agreed that asking someone to run an errand could not be considered theft, then "it taints the murder conviction as well," Samuel said.

But Floyd contended that Dorsey's favors involved the use of gas, police cars and deputies paid for by county taxpayers.

Justice Robert Benham was among the justices expressing concern that overly aggressive prosecutors could use this definition of theft to bring charges against state employees who ask a subordinate to do something as simple as pick up stamps.

"If 100 gallons amounts to a violation, then one drop of gas amounts to a violation," Benham said. Floyd argued that grand juries and prosecutors have the discretion to ensure that kind of thing doesn't happen, but Justice Leah Ward Sears shot back, "If someone is disfavored, the prosecution makes it happen."

After the hearing, Brown's daughter, Brandy Brown-Rhodes, said she was appalled and shocked the High Court is hearing the case. She also said she was disappointed that prosecutors never mentioned that one of the favors Dorsey allegedly requested was that Patrick Cuffy "stake out my parents' home" before the murder.

Cuffy was charged as a co-conspirator in the murder, but testified against Dorsey and received immunity in a plea deal. A Georgia Supreme Court spokesman said the court could take between one and five months to decide the appeal, but the deadline for a decision is December.

(Copyright © 2005 by The Associated Press)