Russ Bynum

Russ Bynum

November 18, 2024 | Daily Report Online

Spencer Lawton, Savannah Prosecutor Who Tried ‘Midnight in the Garden’ Case, Dies at 81

Lawton retired as district attorney at the end of 2008 after 28 years in the position. Two years later, he helped lead an effort to expand crime victims’ rights under state law.

By Russ Bynum

5 minute read

November 06, 2024 | Daily Report Online

Judge Sets Early 2025 Trial for Ex-Prosecutor Charged With Meddling in Ahmaud Arbery Investigation

The judge's scheduling order Tuesday was the first action taken since last November, when legal motions by the former Glynn County DA's lawyers to dismiss the case were denied.

By Russ Bynum | The Associated Press

3 minute read

October 24, 2024 | Daily Report Online

Ga. Men Who Killed Ahmaud Arbery Want a New Trial

Seeking a new trial marks a first step by the three defendants in challenging their murder convictions.

By Russ Bynum | The Associated Press

5 minute read

October 07, 2024 | Daily Report Online

Ga. High Court Restores Near-Ban on Abortions While State Appeals

With no explanation, the court said the state can't enforce a subsection of the law that reads: "Health records shall be available to the district attorney of the judicial circuit in which the act of abortion occurs or the woman upon whom an abortion is performed resides."

By Russ Bynum | The Associated Press

5 minute read

September 26, 2024 | Daily Report Online

Judge Orders Stop to Referendum in Coastal Ga. Slave Descendants' Zoning Battle

The judge sided with McIntosh County's elected commissioners seeking to cancel the election, ruling that Georgia's Constitution doesn't allow citizens to challenge zoning ordinances by referendum.

By Russ Bynum | The Associated Press

5 minute read

September 16, 2024 | Daily Report Online

Arbery's Family Still Waiting for Ex-Prosecutor's Misconduct Trial After 3 Years

District attorneys "have a huge amount of discretion to make decisions about what cases to pursue," criminal defense attorney Don Samuel said. "The notion that we're going to start prosecuting DAs for prosecuting or not prosecuting strikes me as really being on the edge of propriety."

By Russ Bynum | The Associated Press

6 minute read

September 05, 2024 | Daily Report Online

Can the City of Savannah Fine or Jail People for Leaving Guns in Unlocked Cars? A Judge Weighs In

Chatham County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Karpf didn't rule Wednesday on a Jesup man's motion to halt enforcement of a Savannah ordinance while considering his underlying lawsuit that seeks to have it thrown out permanently.

By Russ Bynum | The Associated Press

3 minute read

July 23, 2024 | Daily Report Online

Judge Approves Referendum Sought by Slave Descendants to Challenge Rezoning of Sapelo Island Community

The McIntosh County Probate Court judge said in his written order that local election officials verified that referendum organizers had collected more than 1,800 petition signatures from the registered county voters

By Russ Bynum | The Associated Press

4 minute read

July 18, 2024 | Daily Report Online

Ga. Death Row Inmate Says Prosecutor Hid Plea Deal With Key Witness, Tainting His Trial

Hoping for a new trial, lawyers for the condemned man say they have evidence that the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case made a previously undisclosed deal with the only eyewitness to the crime.

By Russ Bynum | The Associated Press

5 minute read