David Justin Freeman of Clarkesville had his speeding and hands free violation citations dropped this week after his demand for a speedy trial went unheeded.
The tickets were issued in February 2022 on Georgia Highway 15, and per the Sixth Amendment, Freeman asked for a speedy trial by jury two months later, which needed to be completed in the next two terms of court.
After some initial continuances and haggling, Freeman’s charges were nolle prossed, or dropped from prosecution.
"It is unfortunate that our prosecutors are of such ethical quality as to intentionally attempt to bully innocent people into entering false guilty pleas for weeks or months after knowing that they have no case and will ultimately have to drop obviously false charges,” Freeman said. “Neither the wrongly accused nor the taxpayers should not be burdened to waste time and resources playing an elaborate game of chicken with their public servants, and that will only end when prosecutors lose absolute immunity and face real accountability.”
Freeman also referenced Deuteronomy 19:18-19, which he believed was applicable to describe his situation.
Freeman said in March that he filed a motion for discovery and was told there was no evidence in his case.
“It is highly unusual that a police officer could issue a traffic citation from a patrol car without creating audio and video recordings,” Freeman said in his motion.
Freeman also has pending citations from February of this year for failure to maintain lane and driving too fast for road conditions.