Sarrio v. Gwinnett County

Trial court should have determined whether a charitable organization was is in imminent danger of losing some valuable and irrecoverable property right because the county told the organization to cease its annual charity turkey shoots or face prosecution under a county ordinance.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Appellant American Legion has conducted an annual turkey shoot on property it owns in unincorporated Gwinnett County for over 45 years to generate funds to donate to various charitable entities. Upon complaint from a resident of a subdivision adjacent to the property, the Gwinnett County Police Department began an investigation into the legality of the turkey shoots. Section 74-6 of the Gwinnett County Code of Ordinances prohibits the discharge of a weapon within 500 feet of a residence in the unincorporated area of Gwinnett County without obtaining a permit. After finding no permit or zoning variance had been granted, Lieutenant Greg Fowler informed representatives of the American Legion that it was a violation to conduct the shoots and told them to cease immediately or prosecution would commence. Both the police and appellants agreed that the best way to seek judicial review of the matter was to have one person fire a round, have a police officer issue a citation, and have the dispute taken to court.

Thereafter, on October 23, 1999, Lieutenant Fowler issued a citation to appellant Sarrio for violating § 74-6. Sarrio entered a plea of not guilty and filed a motion to strike and quash the citation because the underlying ordinance was unconstitutional. Sarrio and the American Legion then filed a separate civil action against the county in superior court seeking a declaratory judgment that the ordinance was invalid and injunctive relief against the criminal prosecution of and any further prosecutions under the ordinance.

Sarrio v. Gwinnett County

Trial court should have determined whether a charitable organization was is in imminent danger of losing some valuable and irrecoverable property right because the county told the organization to cease its annual charity turkey shoots or face prosecution under a county ordinance.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report