The Brian Nichols case will forever be one of Georgia’s most infamous cases.  Its total effect, however, will not be limited to the four lives taken and the impact on the family and friends of those victims.  Already, the collateral effect of the Nichols case is being felt throughout the criminal justice system.             

NON-UNAMIMOUS VERDICTS

Almost immediately after the Nichols verdict, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard began to push for a change in Georgia law that will allow for non-unanimous verdicts in death penalty cases.  Howard complained that the state did not get a fair trial, citing reports that the jurors who voted against the death penalty did not participate in the deliberations.  Georgia law allows the judge to ask whether all jurors are deliberating and to replace nonparticipating jurors.  OCGA § 15-12-172; Alford v. State, 244 Ga. App. 234 (2000).Changing the law to allow for non-unaminous verdicts would make it easier for prosecutors to get a death sentence.  The law as it stands requires that a jury be unanimous in its decision not only that a defendant is guilty, but also, that death is the appropriate punishment.  Republican State Representative Tim Bearden (Villa Rica) introduced legislation (House Bill 32) that would allow a death sentence if 10 of 12 jurors vote for death.  Ironically, the proposed legislation would not have led to a different result in the Nichols case, where the jury was split 9-3 in favor of the death penalty.

LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE

Another consequence of the Nichols case is the likely passage of Senate Bill 13, which would allow a prosecutor to seek a life without parole sentence in a murder case, without seeking the death penalty.  Howard was criticized by some for not accepting an offer by the Nichols defense to plead guilty for a life without parole sentence.  Howard has said that the Nichols case was one which he would have sought the death penalty regardless. 

ELIMINATION OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER STANDARDS COUNCIL

Senate Bill 42, which will remove the decision making power of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council (GPDSC) and replace it with an advisory board, has passed the Georgia Senate and is being considered by the Georgia House of Representatives.  GPDSC, which oversees the state’s indigent defense system, has been in financial crisis since its inception in 2005.   The Council has been at odds with the legislature over funding.  At the heart of these disputes is the Nichols case which is expected to be the most expensive prosecution in Georgia history.  GPDSC is also involved in other funding related disputes.  A defendant in Pike County facing the death penalty sued GPDSC when he was without a lawyer for eight months because his lawyers were released when GPDSC ran out of money.    The Georgia Supreme Court recently ordered GPDSC to pay the attorneys who handled a 2005 Burke County death case.