Chatham County District Attorney appeals federal judge's sanctions in discrimination case

Attorneys for Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones filed a notice of appeal in federal court Nov. 22, requesting the court set aside a federal magistrate judge’s order in a gender discrimination lawsuit by a former assistant district attorney in her office. In the notice of appeal, Jones requested that the federal judge “set aside” past orders that denied her emergency motions to reschedule her deposition.

In the notice of appeal, Jones' attorney, Mark Tate of Tate Law Group, called the judge's order “clearly erroneous.”

In the civil lawsuit filed in 2022, former ADA Skye Musson claims she was passed over for the lead attorney position that went to a less qualified male attorney.

On Oct. 26 of this year, U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker of the Southern District of Georgia sanctioned Jones, issuing an order that called her attempts to evade an April deposition in the case “utter nonsense built on fabrications.” Baker ruled Jones in default in the case.

Jones has said that her obligations as Chatham DA outweighed her obligations to attend the civil hearing. Her attorney has also said that the Superior Court judge refused to reschedule the criminal hearing, and that the federal judge’s sanctions were politically motivated.

“The fact is that Shalena Cook Jones beat a Republican and there's a lot of people in the state of Georgia who don't like Democratic district attorneys running Republican district attorneys out of office. In this instance, Shalena Cook Jones was doing what the majority of Chatham County voters wanted her to do. And that is try a rape case," Tate said in a phone call.

Allegations: Lawsuit alleges ‘bro culture,’ sexism and conflict of interest in Chatham DA’s office

Lawsuit: Former ADA claims discrimination, retaliation by Chatham County District Attorney

More: Federal judge sanctions Chatham district attorney for ‘utter nonsense’

Jones’ attorney: judge’s motion was unnecessary

In a phone call, Tate said he believes the court should “review the facts upon which the order was based, and the underlying circumstances of it."

“We think that there are elements that are included in that ruling that struck her answer that unnecessarily lay burdens on Miss Cook Jones," said Tate.

Those elements are outlined in the eight-page motion, filed on Nov. 22 in federal court. Jones argues that she had a scheduling conflict due to another case, a rape trial, in which she was unexpectedly serving as lead counsel.

In the case, State of Georgia v. Tyrone Glover, the defendant was charged with rape for an offense that occurred on Feb. 21, 2020, and another offense that occurred on July 13, 2018. The case was placed on a dead docket, according to a Nov. 6 court filing.

Jones initially took over as lead counsel in the Glover case because Chatham County’s incoming sexual assault prosecutor would not begin her employment until after the case was expected to conclude. As such, Jones expected that she could attend the federal deposition. The case, however, lasted longer than anticipated and she could not appear for the deposition without abandoning the trial, according to the notice of appeal.

“Defendant Cook Jones could not be in two places at once, and she was in a position where the only possible outcome was a violation of a court order," her attorney explained in the filing. "Under these circumstances, Judge Ray’s Orders were unduly punitive, unreasonable and clearly erroneous.”

Jones argued that she had made an effort to resolve the scheduling conflict, but Musson’s counsel “refused to reschedule Defendant Cook Jones’s deposition.” Jones also claimed that she emailed Chatham County Superior Court Judge Tammy Stokes “twice on April 10, 2023, asking that the state court grant her a leave of court so that she might attend her deposition.”

Jones' attorneys argued that the judge’s order was “contrary to law,” claiming that the criminal trial took precedence over the deposition in the civil case, a point Jones reiterated in an emailed statement to the Savannah Morning News.:

“While I respect Judge Baker’s office, I disagree with his decision. At the time of the civildeposition, I was in court where I was supposed to be, representing a victim in a four-year-oldrape case. According to Georgia law, rape trials always take precedence over civil matters.Unfortunately, the criminal trial went much longer than expected, which was not within mycontrol.

"I do not presume that a federal judge would be in tune with the judgement calls thatDistrict Attorneys have to make in executing their duties, particularly as it relates to staffing andtrying cases. However, I believe that the victim I was representing, the presiding judge, and thecommunity I was elected to serve would agree I made the right decision. Fortunately, the matterhas now been turned over to my capable legal team so that I can focus on representing thevictims and citizens of this great County.”

A status report in the case is due on Dec. 1.

Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@savannahnow.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Chatham County District Attorney files appeal in discrimination lawsuit