Attorney argues removal of Chickamauga mayor was unconstitutional
The interior of the Walker County Courthouse during a hearing regarding the removal of Chickamauga mayor Trey Deck.
LaFAYETTE, Ga. (WDEF)- On Monday evening, the Chickamauga City Council voted to remove Mayor James “Trey” Deck by a vote of four to one.
This was over alleged incidents of sexual harassment and a recording where the city’s counsel claims he used racial slurs.
On Friday, an emergency hearing requested by Deck’s attorney, Jeremy Penland, was held at the Walker County Courthouse in front of Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Court Judge Chris Arnt
There were two issues primarily at play over whether or not the removal of Chickamauga Mayor James Trey deck was done constitutionally.
The first one was whether or not his due process right were violated, and the second was whether or not the charter of the city of Chickamauga itself is constitutional.
Penland described the situation to the judge as, “I hate to be informal in my argument your honor, but it was like they were throwing pasta, threw it to a wall and see if it stuck.”
He argued that Mayor Deck’s constitutional right to due process in the removal hearing was done improperly, as he argued he was not granted enough notice of the hearing itself Monday, or time to argue against evidence presented at that hearing.
This included an audio recording that the city’s attorney, Mitchell Snyder, says that shows Deck saying a racial slur multiple times and recorded videos of witnesses to alleged sexual harassment.
Snyder attempted to play that recording again on Friday for Judge Arnt, but Penland objected to doing so because he argued the recording was illegally obtained.
Penland said, “It took place in the privacy of his own home. It violates the law. The mayor has never given consent for this to be played.”
The judge sided with Penland on that issue, as Snyder maintained the city followed the law in the hearings conducted in this case.
Snyder said, “We don’t have a trained attorney or judge to preside over a city council meeting and so the due process you get in a city council meeting is different, and that is okay. The law allows that.”
The decision over the due process will soon be overtaken over the issue on the charter of Chickamauga itself, the governing document of the city.
Penland argued that the charter is unconstitutional because in his view, it doesn’t have a clear removal procedure.
Snyder argued that the charter follows state law in that manner, with the appellate hearing in LaFayette being proof of that.
If a judge rules that it’s unconstitutional, it would undo the removal of the mayor.
Snyder said, “So I hope that everyone’s main focus is that the city government get back to doing the work of the people, I know that it is the council’s focus that we really want to do that. At the same time the council has a duty and obligation to defend and protect its employees who are at issue here.”
Judge Arnt will make a ruling on the due process issue next week following Penland writing a response briefing to Snyder on that issue.
The issue of the charter will be discussed at a March hearing where city employees involved in the situation are expected to testify.
