"Guilty."

In a case that "sends a signal to public officials across Georgia that they can be held criminally liable for blocking access to the people's records," on December 19 a jury returned a guilty verdict in the criminal trial of Jenna Garland, press secretary to former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, for violations of the Georgia open records law.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr charged Garland with two misdemeanor counts of violating the state's open records law.

The law requires officials to release records in a timely manner and to respond within three business days.

Garland was tried in Fulton County State Court. Her trial began Monday and ended Thursday.

Expressing hope that Garland's conviction will bring other open records violations to light, Attorney General Carr stated, "If there are other instances out there and the facts take us to where they took us in this trial then we are willing to stand up again for the people of Georgia."

In early 2017, Garland sent text messages directing a subordinate to "be as unhelpful as possible" in responding to a news station's request for the mayor's delinquent water bills and to "drag this out as long as possible," deliberately frustrating access to public records.

The charges were based on a 2012 amendment to the Georgia open records law making it a misdemeanor "to knowingly and willingly frustrat[e] or attempt[ ] to frustrate access to records by intentionally making records difficult to obtain or review."

Garland was the first Georgia official charged under the 2012 amendment.

The judge ordered Garland to pay $1,500 of a possible $2,000 fine, but she received no jail time. Her attorney indicated that Garland will appeal.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution, which recently received the 2019 Brechner Freedom of Information Award for its series "How Atlanta trampled the public's right to know," quoted Georgia State University communications professor Greg Lisby:

"The concept of open government requires constant vigilance. It should never be taken for granted. And it should never be trusted to bureaucratic minions who don't believe in it, who don't understand it, or who try to ignore its requirements by treating them like a joke."

The Georgia First Amendment Foundation concisely tweeted: "The law has teeth."

For more on the AJC's receipt of the Brechner Freedom of Information Award, see:

https://www.jou.ufl.edu/2019/04/01/the-atlanta-journal-constitution-win…

To access the AJC's series " How Atlanta trampled the public's right to know," go to:

https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/former-reed-official-char…