Fulton County Commissioner Marvin S. Arrington, Jr. is accused of using his political influence with the courts to schedule a bond hearing for his client on a day when the courthouse was closed during the Coronavirus outbreak in Atlanta.
Atlanta attorney Precious Anderson only found out about her ex-husband Kashka Scott’s bond hearing when she searched the court database for hearings so she wouldn’t get any surprises.
She was stunned to learn Scott’s hearing was taking place on a day when the courthouse was officially closed during the virus outbreak. Anderson received no official notice of the hearing.
Scott (pictured right) spent 6 days in jail on a charge of strangling another woman, according to Fox5 Atlanta News. Anderson was in the courtroom to watch her ex-husband’s bond hearing unfold earlier this week.
Anderson wanted to be in attendance at the hearing because she is dealing with Mr. Scott on a variety of domestic and legal issues.
Child Protective Services opened 2 investigations into Scott in the last three weeks after receiving two separate complaints of child abuse from mandatory reporters.
Anderson couldn’t understand why — with the courthouse shut down and no bond motion filed — Scott was transported from jail and brought into court.
Anderson told Fox5 I-Team reporter Dale Russell why she believes Scott received preferential treatment over the other jailed detainees who don’t have high profile attorneys.
“For him to have a hearing here today is just unbelievable, except for the fact of who represents him,” she said, referring to Fulton County Commissioner Arrington.
Arrington admitted he filed an “emergency bond motion” to get a hearing for Scott a half hour after the hearing was scheduled to begin.
Russell searched the court dockets and couldn’t find a motion for an emergency bond hearing for Scott. Russell asked Arrington directly if he reached out to the judge personally to request a bond hearing.
Surprisingly, Arrington admitted that he did indeed reach out to the judge in her chambers.
“Uh, yes. I mean, that is something typical that attorneys will do,” Arrington told Russell.
Arrington said Scott was concerned that he was locked up in a jail that wasn’t adequately screening inmates for the virus.
Assistant District Attorney Adam Abbate told the judge he felt “blindsided” by the bond hearing. He argued that he received no advanced notice of a bond hearing and he had “no time” to review Scott’s criminal history or prepare for the hearing.
So Abbate asked for a sky high bond of $150,000 for Scott based on his history of allegedly beating women and children.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause admitted the surprise bond hearing was a “strange procedure” during an unusual time.
She said she cancelled an earlier hearing because of fears of a “packed courthouse” during the Coronavirus outbreak in Atlanta.
Judge Krause said Scott was eligible for a $20,000 bond despite the domestic charges against him. She ordered Scott to make no contact with the woman he strangled or his three children by Anderson. “When I say no contact, I mean no contact,” she told Scott.
Anderson, who owns The Anderson Firm, a boutique law firm in Atlanta, says she wished she had more time to prepare for the hearing.
“I’m a member of the bar. I believe in justice, and this is not [justice],” she told Russell.
“This is made for TV. It is made for TV,” Anderson said.
