Good news out of Georgia today

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund reports that four out of seven counts against Georgia retailer Gordon Lee were dismissed before Judge F. Larry Salmon at a pretrial hearing in Rome, Georgia today.

Prosecutors dismissed both felony counts (1 & 2) of Distribution of Material Containing Nudity or Sexual Conduct (OCGA §16-12-81), as well as the two misdemeanor counts (6 & 7) of Distribution of Harmful to Minors Material (OCGA §16-12-103) to alleged John Does. Three misdemeanor counts (3, 4, & 5) of Distribution of Harmful to Minors Material to the alleged victim were the subject of arguments not yet ruled upon.

Lead counsel Alan Begner says, "I'm delighted that the felony counts are now thrown out. They should never have been brought and the District Attorney waited until the last minute to dismiss them, but [co-counsel] Paul [Cadle] and I were confident all along that they could not stand. Now they do not stand."


A decision on today's arguments is expected by the end of the month. To date the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has spent roughly $40,000 on Lee's defense, and is currently fundraising aggressively to shore up money for a trial on the remaining counts.

CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein says, "We join our counsel in welcoming today's encouraging developments in Gordon's case. We never held doubt of his innocence, and the dismissal of the majority of the counts against him vindicates our position. We were able to get this far because of the commitment and generosity of the comics community who have recognized Gordon's case as a clear and present
danger to our art form and our livelihoods. We still have a long, expensive road to travel before we get to trial, but with the continued generosity of the comics world, we hope to be unbeatable."