Poor Speaker Ralston, now he’s the victim of the media!

This is unreal. Real victims of assault and battery, sexual molestation, statutory rape, vehicular homicide and enticing a child for indecent purposes have waited 4, 6, 8 and as long as 10 years to have their day in court only to be repeatedly delayed by tactics of  defense attorney and Georgia Speaker of the House David Ralston.  Now, after collecting huge $20k retainers and using his power as Speaker of the House to delay cases indefinitely, his political acolytes are claiming that he’s a victim of the media.

As reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution and other outlets, Georgia House Speaker David Ralston has utilized his position as the speaker to repeatedly delay criminal court cases.  Of course, this was known at some level four years ago, but research since then has uncovered even more cases.  It has been legal under Georgia law since 1905 for members of the legislature to request extension of court cases while the General Assembly is in session.  Back in 2006, Ralston had a hand in the legislation to extend this privilege even when the General Assembly is not in session.   As a defense attorney, he has the responsibility to defend his client to the best of his ability under the law.  However, repeatedly extending cases for 4, 6, 8 and 10 years is certainly unethical and an abuse of power.

This is not the only time Speaker Ralston has faced ethics related concerns. He has a history of wielding dictatorial procedures to prevent bills from being heard from the floor, funding and encouraging other legislators to fund political campaigns against representatives who challenge or vote against his dictates and restricting assignment to choice committees.  This is a conflict of interest which essentially consolidates his power to the detriment of the people who’ve elected these representatives that are willing to stand on principle or vote for their constituents interest.

If this troubles you, it’s time to get engaged.  Stand with the principled Georgia lawmakers that are calling for Ralston to resign as speaker.  You can find out who your representative is by going to My Voter Page and entering your first initial, last name, county, and DOB. This will return information on your Georgia House District and other election information. Or, find your Georgia House members with contact information here.  

 

Links to articles reporting on Ralston’s abuse of power:

Alleged victims say powerful Georgia lawmaker repeatedly delays cases
More Georgia lawmakers call for Ralston to resign as House speaker
Ralston helped write the law allowing him to delay criminal cases
Ralston seeks changes to law letting lawmakers delay criminal cases
Georgia Scandal Jeopardizes Perdue and Trump Victories in 2020
David Ralston is the Right Man to be Speaker of the Georgia House
HR To Remove Speaker Of Ga Drops- Minions Stand Strong, Pope Convenes Over Sex Abuse Cases- God Has A Possible Solution, HB418 Child Victims Act- Where’s The GOP?- WSB