Georgia Speaker of the House David Ralston is under fire for using the ‘legislative leave’ law to endlessly delay trials and deny countless victims their day in court. In total, he’s accused of 202 postponements, and a new advertisement titled “Stand With the Victims” is making note of that.
In response to the accusations, Ralston released a statement last week, saying that “legislative leave is a long-established provision of Georgia law which recognizes the unique needs of a citizen-legislature and protects the independence of the legislative branch of state government.”
Ralston added that “like other members of the General Assembly, I utilize this provision outside of the legislative session, when necessary, to attend to my legislative duties as both a state representative and speaker of the House.”
One case that’s highlighted involves a man “charged 10 years ago with enticing a child and furnishing obscene material to a minor,” “Ralston requested 34 postponements for calendar calls, plea hearings and jury trials” while the man “has been out of jail on bond.”
Soon after, audio of Ralston is played where he maintains that “no action I have taken has been illegal, wrong, unethical or immoral.
The advertisement goes on to note that other crimes Ralston has requested delayed trials for include rape, statutory rape, aggravated child molestation and vehicular homicide all while audio of him maintaining his innocence is played in the background.
In addition, people directly affected by his requested delays are interviewed, and one person interviewed recounts that Ralston requested a delayed trial to give a speech at a rotary club.
“How many more victims need to suffer?” asks the video, asserting that “common sense, compassion, the safety of our children and the will of the people” are more important than politics.
And, the advertisement urges people to call their representatives “to stand against the Speaker’s abuse.”
The video can be seen below:
https://youtu.be/-PnaHk3C9yI
