REHIRING ASSISTANT D.A. IS A MISTAKE

Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Mike Crawford announced last
week that he will re-hire an assistant D.A. arrested recently for
possession of marijuana. The D.A.'s decision is a mistake.

Assistant D.A. Bob Cullifer resigned shortly after he and his wife Carol
were arrested outside a convenience store Dec. 23 by Grantville Police.
Both originally were charged with felony possession of marijuana and
possession of drug paraphernalia, however, those charges later were lowered
to a misdemeanor after the marijuana was found to be a fraction less than
an ounce.

At a Coweta County Court hearing Jan. 6, Bob Cullifer's charges were
dismissed when Carol Cullifer accepted responsibility for the drugs at the
hearing. She was charged with misdemeanor possession, fined $1,300 and
received 12 months probation to be dismissed upon payment of the fine.

Now, despite an earlier statement from Mr. Crawford that Mr. Cullifer would
not have his job back, the D.A. has announced Mr. Cullifer can return to
work Jan. 31. After learning more about the situation, Mr. Crawford said he
felt Mr. Cullifer made a "mistake" but deserves a second chance and will be
employed with the conditions that he consent to counseling, random drug
screenings, searches and that he will not prosecute drug cases.

We disagree with Mr. Crawford's decision. While all charges have been
dismissed against the assistant D.A., he is still guilty of incredibly poor
judgment.

This much is clear: Mr. Cullifer and his wife were driving a car while in
possession of almost an ounce of marijuana and a marijuana pipe. Whoever
assumed responsibility for the drugs is irrelevant. It's highly unlikely
that Mr. Cullifer was completely unaware the drugs were in his car under
the driver seat. In the Grantville police incident report, one of the
arresting officers said he could smell a strong odor in the vehicle, and
Mr. Cullifer was the one who produced the drugs and pipe from under the
seat after the police asked to search the car.

This arrest embarrassed the Mountain Judicial Circuit and jeopardized its
integrity. For an office charged with prosecuting citizens' "mistakes" in a
court of law, it is essential that the office remain absolutely clear of
any charges for which it seeks to put other citizens behind bars.

Mr. Cullifer and other members of the judicial system are, and should be,
held to a higher standard than the average citizen. Mr. Cullifer must have
known he had embarrassed himself and the department when he resigned his
position following the arrest. That resignation should have stood.