Trial of 12 set to begin in Atlanta cheating case The former administrators, principals, testing coordinators and teachers face racketeering charges. Individual charges include influencing witnesses and lying to state investigators. Prosecutors said more than 30 educators participated in a conspiracy to cheat on standardized tests dating back to 2005, motivated by pressure to meet federal and APS standards and receive bonuses or keep their jobs. Prosecutors have agreed to plea deals with 21 defendants included in the initial indictment, and several could testify against former colleagues. Prosecutors expect jury selection to take two to four weeks and the trial to last from four to six months. Former district superintendent Beverly Hall will not be among the defendants Monday. Judge Jerry Baxter ruled in July that the trial would continue without Hall, who is battling cancer. Hall has long denied any knowledge of cheating. But the number of defendants involved and the use of a law designed to combat organized crime could lead to a lengthy and complex trial, experts said. Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute, or RICO, can be used when prosecutors want to demonstrate a pattern of activity within either an illegal or legitimate organization, said Caren Morrison, an associate professor of law at Georgia State [...] geogianews/trial-of-12-set-to-begin-in-atlanta-cheating-case-3/
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 08:02:20 +0000
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