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Judge gets tickets for wreck
By Blake Spurney Editor
Superior Court Judge James Cornwell has been cited for three misdemeanor traffic violations related to his Sept. 11 wreck in north Habersham County.
Special prosecutor C.R. Chisholm announced Nov. 1 that Cornwell faced charges of failure to report an accident, failure to maintain lane and driving too fast for conditions.
Chisholm initially said warrants would be taken out against Cornwell, but Chief Judge Ernest "Bucky" Woods and Habersham County's two magistrates, Jim Butterworth and Joe Smelcer, all refused to sign the warrants.
Chisholm had said the Georgia State Patrol would be bringing charges against Cornwell, 56. After troopers couldn't get a judge to sign the warrants, the state patrol issued three citations Monday afternoon against Cornwell.
Attempts to get an explanation from GSP, both from the Toccoa post and spokesmen in Atlanta, were unsuccessful.
Chisholm said Tuesday that he hadn't heard back from troopers about the status of the charges or if tickets had been issued.
"Whatever their decision is ... (it) is not going to affect how I prosecute the case," he said.
Gus McDonald, one of Cornwell's lawyers, said he expected a resolution shortly and declined further comment.
Who will preside over Cornwell's case remains unknown. Habersham State Court Judge Linton Crawford already has recused himself from hearing it. Therefore, Woods likely will appoint another state court judge to preside over it. Cornwell has a court date set for Dec. 6-7.
Had warrants been taken out against Cornwell, he would have been booked into the Habersham County Detention Center. The charges are not fingerprintable offenses.
Punishment upon conviction of any of the three offenses carries a maximum fine of $1,000, up to a year in jail or both. Chisholm said the evidence supported "proving these charges beyond a reasonable doubt."
Cornwell was driving home about 1 a.m. when his 2004 Chevy Trailblazer left Old Highway 441 in the Panther Creek area. His vehicle struck some trees, overturned and caught fire, which spread to the nearby woods. He suffered facial and hand injuries.
Habersham County authorities were notified about the wreck at 3:18 a.m. GSP, which investigates nearly all wrecks in unincorporated Habersham, was not notified until 4:02 a.m.
Cornwell told The Northeast Georgian he had swerved to miss a deer. He had been at Rhapsody in Rabun during the previous evening. He then was part of a group that went to Bon Appetit afterward. A trooper "detected a strong odor of alcohol" on him hours later, Sgt. 1st Class Tommy Waldrop previously indicated.
Under Georgia law, a blood sample cannot be used against someone if it is taken more than three hours after one operates a vehicle.
Special prosecutor C.R. Chisholm announced Nov. 1 that Cornwell faced charges of failure to report an accident, failure to maintain lane and driving too fast for conditions.
Chisholm initially said warrants would be taken out against Cornwell, but Chief Judge Ernest "Bucky" Woods and Habersham County's two magistrates, Jim Butterworth and Joe Smelcer, all refused to sign the warrants.
Chisholm had said the Georgia State Patrol would be bringing charges against Cornwell, 56. After troopers couldn't get a judge to sign the warrants, the state patrol issued three citations Monday afternoon against Cornwell.
Attempts to get an explanation from GSP, both from the Toccoa post and spokesmen in Atlanta, were unsuccessful.
Chisholm said Tuesday that he hadn't heard back from troopers about the status of the charges or if tickets had been issued.
"Whatever their decision is ... (it) is not going to affect how I prosecute the case," he said.
Gus McDonald, one of Cornwell's lawyers, said he expected a resolution shortly and declined further comment.
Who will preside over Cornwell's case remains unknown. Habersham State Court Judge Linton Crawford already has recused himself from hearing it. Therefore, Woods likely will appoint another state court judge to preside over it. Cornwell has a court date set for Dec. 6-7.
Had warrants been taken out against Cornwell, he would have been booked into the Habersham County Detention Center. The charges are not fingerprintable offenses.
Punishment upon conviction of any of the three offenses carries a maximum fine of $1,000, up to a year in jail or both. Chisholm said the evidence supported "proving these charges beyond a reasonable doubt."
Cornwell was driving home about 1 a.m. when his 2004 Chevy Trailblazer left Old Highway 441 in the Panther Creek area. His vehicle struck some trees, overturned and caught fire, which spread to the nearby woods. He suffered facial and hand injuries.
Habersham County authorities were notified about the wreck at 3:18 a.m. GSP, which investigates nearly all wrecks in unincorporated Habersham, was not notified until 4:02 a.m.
Cornwell told The Northeast Georgian he had swerved to miss a deer. He had been at Rhapsody in Rabun during the previous evening. He then was part of a group that went to Bon Appetit afterward. A trooper "detected a strong odor of alcohol" on him hours later, Sgt. 1st Class Tommy Waldrop previously indicated.
Under Georgia law, a blood sample cannot be used against someone if it is taken more than three hours after one operates a vehicle.
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