Sunday, November 3, 2013

APS cheating scandal: The prosecution of educators was a... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

APS cheating scandal: The prosecution of educators was a... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

APS cheating scandal: The prosecution of educators was a mistake that ought to be reversed 

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PHIL SKINNER / AJC
NOT GUILTY--SEPTEMBER 6, 2013-ATLANTA: Tamara Cotman (center) talks to the media after being found not guilty in the trial against her in Fulton County Court on Friday September 6th, 2013. The first defendant in the Atlanta Public Schools test cheating scandal was found not guilty Friday, dealing a major blow to prosecutors' efforts to hold those involved criminally responsible. PHIL SKINNER / PSKINNER@AJC.COM

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By Maureen Downey
When the Fulton County District Attorney indicted 35 Atlanta educators in March, including former APS Superintendent Beverly Hall, several attorneys warned the charges would be a tough sell in court. (They also cautioned the trials would be costly to taxpayers.)
Today, attorney E. Wycliffe (Wyc) Orr explains why.
Orr's Gainesville law firm represented some APS educators involved in the investigation, but none prosecuted criminally or affected by the Fulton DA's decision to prosecute. Orr, a former state legislator, has been a trial lawyer for 40 years.
 By Wyc Orr
It’s time to admit it. In fact, way past time. It was a really bad idea to criminally prosecute educators accused of falsifying Criterion Referenced Competency Test results in the Atlanta Public Schools.
This all began with a loud, pontificating, and politically-inspired investigation – launched in 2010 via then-Governor Sonny Perdue’s appointment of special investigators outside norma
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