HORGAN APPEALS ETHICS RULING ON POT POSSESSION

Fayette County Commissioner Robert Horgan is asking a superior court
judge to overturn a panel's ruling that he violated the county's
ethics rules when he was arrested May 23 by a Fayette sheriff's deputy
for possession of marijuana and driving with an expired truck tag.

A group of three county attorneys ruled Oct. 14 that Horgan violated
Fayette's ethics ordinance by not following Georgia law and also that
his conduct was unbecoming of a public official.

In his legal challenge, Horgan insists that he should not be held
accountable to the ethics ordinance because the arrest was not
"related in any manner to his official duties as a Fayette County
Commissioner."

The arrest took place on a late Saturday afternoon as Horgan was
coming home from a trip to the Lowe's home improvement store in
Fayetteville, according to a deputy sheriff's incident report.

The suit clarifies that when Horgan was arrested he was "in his
personal car, on his personal time and on a public street."

The suit was filed last week in Fayette County Superior Court against
the authors of the ethics complaint: Patrick J. Hinchey and David
Cree, and also Fayette County and the ethics panel which rendered the
decision.

Horgan is represented in the case by Peachtree City attorney Rick
Lindsey. On Oct. 22, he pled no contest to the misdemeanor marijuana
and expired tag charges. He was sentenced to an $800 fine, 12 months
probation and 40 hours of community service by Fayette County State
Court Judge Fletcher Sams.

Sams also ordered Horgan to avoid any drug or alcohol use for which he
will be tested during the probation period. He must also submit to a
drug and alcohol evaluation and follow any recommended course of
treatment, if any, along with attending a session of the county's new
drug court.

Per county ordinance, a three-member panel of county attorneys from
nearby counties was convened to hear the ethics complaint in a public
hearing. The three attorneys included Jim Fortune of Spalding County,
Robert Morton of Pike County and Tyron Elliot of Meriwether County.

Should the ethics panel's ruling be upheld in court, Horgan's fellow
members on the county commission will have to determine whether to
fine him up to $1,000 and whether to publicly censure him.

Horgan has already survived an attempt by a group of citizens to
recall him from office. He has steadfastly refused to resign his post
despite continual pressure at commission meetings from several people
including former county commission Chairman Harold Bost and Hinchey.