A U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday establishing a legal standard for presidential immunity could further slow down Georgia’s 2020 presidential election interference case, several legal experts predict.
The nation’s highest court ruling Monday shields U.S. presidents from criminal prosecution while engaging in “official” conduct related to their “core constitutional” presidential acts and removes immunity if the conduct is unrelated to their “unofficial” responsibilities. The ruling is in response to a federal election interference case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice against Trump, who is accused of allegedly plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
According to the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, Trump’s claim of blanket presidential immunity was rejected and a legal test was established as to what type of presidential conduct is protected under the U.S. Constitution.
Several other pending criminal cases against Trump will be affected by Monday’s ruling, including a case in Fulton County Superior Court where Trump and 14 co-defendants are accused of committing felonies while conspiring to rig the 2020 presidential election.
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The Supreme Court decision is another blow to the already minimal chances of jury selection in the Fulton election interference case beginning prior to the Nov. 5 presidential election. The fight over immunity is expected to draw out the case into 2025, with multiple court motions and appeals taking place, according to Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University.
The Supreme Court ruling doesn’t directly impact Trump’s co-defendants in Georgia, which include several members of Trump’s inner circle, former Trump attorneys, and other Republican allies. Four of his indicted co-defendants pleaded guilty last year reached agreements with prosecutors that will let them avoid jail time if they cooperate as state witnesses.
Legal experts say two of the eight the acts detailed in DOJ indictment could be significantly impacted by the Supreme Court’s decision.
Kreis also said it’s likely that several of the key Trump’s interactions listed in the Fulton indictment, including a post-election phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, will be considered outside the scope of presidential authority.
“The Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity makes state prosecutions of presidents for unlawful acts to subvert a presidential election even more important now because the evidence from state prosecutions will be focused on extra-federal executive conduct,” Kreis wrote on X Monday.
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The way in which the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling is applied in the Justice Department’s Washington D.C. election interference case could serve as a template for the Fulton County case, according to legal experts.
Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee will have to determine whether Trump’s interactions with federal and state officials are protected from criminal prosecution as official presidential duties.
In both the DOJ and Fulton cases, Trump is accused of illegally pressuring Raffensperger in January 2021 to overturn Georgia’s election results and of obstructing the certification of the election by arranging for a false slate of Republican electors to meet in December 2020 to vote for Trump.
Previous federal court rulings in Georgia can give some guidance as U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan holds hearings to determine how immunity will be applied in Trump’s D.OJ. case, according to CNN analyst Norm Eisen, who served as legal counsel in the first impeachment trial of Trump.
Last year, Atlanta-based federal Judge Steve Jones rejected requests from Fulton co-defendants, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, who wanted their case moved to federal court under claims they were acting in their official roles as federal officers.
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Jones ruled Clark and Meadows’ criminal charges weren’t related to their federal jobs, including Meadows’ role in setting up the infamous Trump recorded phone call with Georgia’s election chief several weeks after the 2020 election.
“The issues at play in the Georgia removal proceedings are strikingly similar to the ones Chutkan will be forced to consider with respect to Trump,” Eisen wrote Monday’s opinion column published by CNN. “The Supreme Court has explicitly directed Chutkan to determine whether Trump’s interactions with state officials and private parties were official and left open the door for her to hold hearings over allegations that involved Pence, too.”
”Chutkan can give both parties the opportunity to develop facts supporting their competing positions and then make her ruling on immunity, ensuring that Trump continues to receive due process throughout,“ Eisen said.
The Fulton case is on hold while the Georgia Court of Appeals reviews McAfee’s decision to reject defense attorneys’ arguments that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from the case because her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade constituted prosecutorial misconduct. Willis hired Wade to lead the probe in November 2021 and she contends the relationship started after they started working on the case.
In August, a Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 Georgia presidential election results. President Joe Biden’s win was confirmed by multiple recounts and audits, and all court challenges to the result were unsuccessful.
ATLANTA – The U.S. Census Bureau released new preliminary data Thursday showing how much states spent on public education in the 2024 fiscal year. The early results from the Annual Survey of School System Finances reveal wide differences in per pupil spending across the country and offer the first national comparison of school revenue and expenses for the year.
Georgia spending rises to nearly $27B
What we know:
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Georgia falls in the middle range of states for per student spending, ranking 18th nationally based on the preliminary numbers now available. The state spent $15,833 per student, placing it above most of the Deep South but below the national leaders.
Georgia reported $31.7 billion in total revenue and $31.0 billion in total expenditures for fiscal year 2024. Current operating spending reached $27.0 billion, while $3.7 billion went to capital projects. Another $252 million represented costs outside the major reporting categories.
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The state received $3.8 billion from federal programs, $12.4 billion from state sources and $15.4 billion from local governments. The preliminary data lists Georgia’s fall enrollment at about 1.7 million students.
Inside the classroom, instruction was Georgia’s largest cost at $16.08 billion. Student support services totaled $1.74 billion, and instructional staff support added $1.55 billion. School administration cost $1.50 billion, general administration accounted for $397 million, and operation and maintenance of facilities totaled $2.15 billion. Student transportation added $1.25 billion, and food services cost $1.29 billion.
Georgia’s 2025 education spending
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Local perspective:
Instruction: $16,080,616,000
Student support services: $1,744,349,000
Instructional staff support: $1,551,739,000
General administration: $397,567,000
School administration: $1,504,906,000
Operation and maintenance: $2,149,194,000
Student transportation: $1,250,714,000
Other support services: $933,598,000
Food services: $1,290,049,000
Per pupil spending: $15,833
Fall enrollment: 1,705,143
Total revenue: $31,703,886,000
Total expenditures: $31,054,456,000
Current spending: $27,001,844,000
Capital outlay: $3,701,014,000
Georgia compared with the Southeast and Deep South
Dig deeper:
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Georgia outpaces most of its neighbors in per pupil spending. The state’s $15,833 figure is higher than:
Florida at $12,689
Alabama at $13,598
Arkansas at $13,873
The Census also shows Georgia ahead of several nearby states in the broader region, including Tennessee, Mississippi and South Carolina, although full spending values for those states were not shown in the preliminary dataset. Among large Southeastern systems, only North Carolina and Virginia tend to spend more per student in recent surveys, though their full 2024 numbers were not part of the file provided.
Georgia remains well below the national leaders. California spent $20,233 per student, and Delaware and Hawaii both topped $22,000. Northeastern states, many of which appear later in the full table, generally occupy the top tier.
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Where Georgia stands nationally
By the numbers:
Georgia ranks 18th in per pupil current spending among states included in the preliminary dataset. The state sits just below Colorado and just above Kentucky and Iowa.
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Georgia also ranks third in the Southeast among the states visible in the data and first among the Deep South states included.
Nationally, instruction spending places Georgia in the upper third. The state spent $16.08 billion on instruction, trailing only the largest states such as California, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania.
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The following states do not appear in the preliminary dataset: Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Per pupil current spending
(highest to lowest among reporting states)
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Vermont, $28,818
Hawaii, $23,878
New Hampshire, $22,978
Delaware, $22,201
Rhode Island, $22,110
Pennsylvania, $21,091
Wyoming, $20,521
California, $20,233
Maryland, $20,208
Maine, $19,962
Washington, $18,564
Michigan, $18,314
New Mexico, $17,844
Ohio, $17,257
Virginia, $17,104
North Dakota, $17,102
Wisconsin, $16,968
Nebraska, $16,147
Minnesota, $17,098
Colorado, $15,897
Georgia, $15,833
South Carolina, $15,060
Kentucky, $14,596
Iowa, $14,369
Missouri, $14,241
Arkansas, $13,873
Montana, $13,656
Indiana, $13,622
Alabama, $13,598
North Carolina, $12,995
South Dakota, $12,828
Florida, $12,689
Texas, $12,444
Oklahoma, $12,162
Arizona, $12,003
Utah, $11,342
Idaho, $11,056
Total instruction spending
(highest to lowest among reporting states in this table, rounded to one decimal place)
California, $60.7 billion
Texas, $36.4 billion
Pennsylvania, $22.5 billion
Florida, $21.5 billion
Georgia, $16.0 billion
Ohio, $15.4 billion
Virginia, $12.6 billion
Michigan, $12.2 billion
Washington, $11.7 billion
North Carolina, $11.2 billion
Maryland, $11.1 billion
Minnesota, $8.6 billion
Indiana, $7.4 billion
Wisconsin, $7.4 billion
Colorado, $7.2 billion
Missouri, $6.8 billion
South Carolina, $6.4 billion
Alabama, $5.5 billion
Arizona, $5.6 billion
Kentucky, $5.5 billion
Iowa, $4.2 billion
Oklahoma, $4.2 billion
Arkansas, $3.5 billion
Nebraska, $3.3 billion
New Mexico, $2.9 billion
Hawaii, $2.3 billion
New Hampshire, $2.2 billion
Maine, $2.0 billion
Idaho, $1.9 billion
Rhode Island, $1.7 billion
Delaware, $1.5 billion
Vermont, $1.4 billion
Montana, $1.2 billion
North Dakota, $1.2 billion
Wyoming, $1.1 billion
South Dakota, $1.1 billion
Note: Fiscal years vary from one school system to another, and the survey does not adjust the data to align them to a single calendar.
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What’s next:
The Census Bureau said the figures provide an initial overview and may change when the final dataset is released in 2026.
The Source: The Census Bureau released the preliminary data used in this article.
Bulldogs score three touchdowns in final stanza, will move up in CFP rankings
Georgia dominated the fourth quarter in a top-10 matchup with Texas en route to a 35-10 win and a huge addition to its College Football Playoff resume. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
ATHENS — Georgia football shined bright under the lights, dominating Texas in the fourth quarter en route to the 35-10 win.
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The Bulldogs (9-1, 7-1 SEC) figure to move up from No. 5 in the College Football Playoff ranking on Tuesday night.
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Mike is in his eighth season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 30 years of collegiate sports multimedia experience, 25 of them in the SEC including beat writer stops at Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia. Mike was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
Mike is in his eighth season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 30 years of collegiate sports multimedia experience, 25 of them in the SEC including beat writer stops at Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia. Mike was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
A Georgia player has won an estimated $980 million Mega Millions jackpot on Friday, the eighth-largest prize in the game’s history, according to the lottery.
The winning ticket matched all six winning numbers: 1, 8, 11, 12, 57, and Mega Ball 7.
The win ends a 40-drawing streak without a jackpot winner, making it the first time since June that the top prize has been claimed. In that previous drawing, a Virginia ticket won $348 million.
The winner can choose to receive the $980 million in annual payments over 30 years, or a lump-sum cash payout of $452.2 million, all before taxes.
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The winning ticket was sold at a Publix supermarket in Newnan, a city roughly 40 miles southwest of Atlanta, according to the lottery. The store will receive a $50,000 retailer bonus from the Georgia Lottery for selling the jackpot ticket, the lottery said.
“We are thrilled to congratulate the largest winner in our state’s history,” Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin said in the news release.
This is the largest Mega Millions prize since the game’s overhaul in April, which raised ticket prices to $5 and increased the starting jackpot to $50 million. Under the new system, the odds of winning the jackpot are now 1 in 290 million, according to the lottery.
In the latest drawing, a ticket sold in Michigan won $3 million by matching all five white balls and the 3X multiplier, the lottery said. Another 22 tickets matched four white balls and the Mega Ball, winning $20,000.
The Mega Millions’ record jackpot stands at $1.6 billion, claimed by a single ticket sold in Florida in August 2023.
