DA Fachini’s Conviction Overturned, Police Chief Smith Freed

Smith is waiting on the results of his Georgia Supreme Court appeals hearing from November 2009 to get the conviction reversed. District Attorney Denise Fachini of the Crisp County Circuit filed the appeal because the lower court ruled against her prosecution of the Unadilla Police Chief.

In a recent interview with the Americus-Sumter Observer, Smith talked about his anger at being convicted, the trials and tribulations of being imprisoned, the joys of being released and the optimism that the Supreme Court will reverse his conviction.
 

Former Unadilla Police Chief Leonard Smith

District Attorney Denise Fachini

He said despite being a law enforcement officer for 28 years, he at times was mixed in with the general prison population. He said he sometimes came in contact with some of the same people his department had arrested.
"That's a very dangerous situation," he said. "There was a concern for my safety."
He added it was a shock, being on the other side of the bars.
"It was hard to sleep sometimes, being caged like an animal," he said.
Smith added he was frequently changed to other prisons, once the warden and prison officials discovered that he was ex-law enforcement.

Unfortunately, because he now has a felony on his record, he is unable to go back to the field of law enforcement.
"It was a career that I took very seriously," he said. "But I can't go back as a felon."
He hopes that the reversal on the conviction will allow him to have more options of what to do.
Smith, who was released in November, was able to spend the Thanksgiving holidays with his family.
"It's a great feeling being free," he said.

He said right now, he's skeptical of making any moves that could hurt his case. There were many friends who he said abandoned him during his legal troubles. That limited his trust in many people.

Right now, he just waits for the appeal process to play out.

"I'm afraid to do anything now, but stay in the presence and safety of my family."

According to Macon.com, in March of this year, the state appellate court found that the state was required to notify Smith when a grand jury in Dooly County considered indictments against him.

Stephen N. Hollomon, a Warner Robins attorney representing Smith, successfully argued that police officers accused of a crime have the right to make a sworn statement to a grand jury when his or her case is presented.

However, Smith was not afforded the opportunity to know when the case was presented, Hollomon said.

Denise Fachini, Cordele Judicial Circuit District Attorney, and assistant district attorney Cheri Nichols appealed the case to the Georgia Supreme Court.
The state argued in court briefs that grand jury terms are set by law and publicized, that Smith was given the proposed indictments in advance and that it was his responsibility to afford himself protections under the law, according to a case summary provided by the Office of Public Information for the Georgia Supreme Court.

The state's position is that the law does not compel the state to provide the date; time and place a grand jury will consider an indictment, according to the case summary.
But Hollomon argued in court briefs, according to the case summary, that "if the peace officer does not know when the grand jury will be considering his case, he cannot exercise the opportunity to assert the rights he has been granted." The Appellate Court agreed with Smith's attorney.

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