Judge Rejects Trim's Request To Recuse Judge Ellen McElyea

Photo: Robert and Kelly Trim. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff’s Office

A senior judge has denied a motion to recuse Cherokee County Superior Court Judge Ellen McElyea in the appeal process for Kelly and Robert Trim.

Frank C. Mills III, who retired in 2012 as the chief judge for Cherokee County Superior Court, denied the motion on Thursday after listening to nearly three hours of testimony and arguments from the prosecution and the defense.

Brian Steel, attorney for former Cherokee County School Board member Kelly Trim, initially filed a motion for McElyea to recuse herself from the proceedings. Robert Trim’s attorney Michael Dupont later joined the recusal motion, but fellow defendant Barbara Knowles did not.

In his motion, Steel argued McElyea and Cherokee County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo have a relationship through their service on the Reinhardt University’s Board of Trustees and that his client was unaware of their connection.

The Trims, along with Knowles, were all convicted on making false statements to Canton police when they accused Petruzielo of trying to run them over after a June 2013 school board meeting in downtown Canton.

Testimony provided in court on Thursday did shed some light on Petruzielo’s specific relationship with the Waleska-based institution.

Bonnie DeBord, executive assistant to Reinhardt President Dr. J. Thomas Isherwood and assistant secretary to Reinhardt’s Board of Trustees, told the court that Petruzielo is an ex-officio member of the school’s Ambassador Program.

Reinhardt ambassadors work to “spread the word” about the university, DeBord said. However, the superintendent has not attended any ambassador-related meetings since 2004. McElyea was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2012.

Isherwood added ambassadors, unlike members of the school’s Board of Trustees, have “no policy responsibility” or fiduciary role with the Reinhardt. Ambassadors meet three times a year at Reinhardt where they are updated about what the university is doing. They take that information and communicate it to the public at large, the president said.

With regards to Petruzielo’s relationship with Reinhardt, Isherwood said senior Reinhardt staff meet once a year with the superintendent and senior staff from the Cherokee County School District to brief each other on any trends or upcoming issues that will impact their respective institutions.

Reinhardt informs the district what new areas of study they have for the upcoming school year while the district briefs the college about what, if any, new programs or changes they will implement.

Board of Trustee members, he added, do not attend those meetings, and he does not report to the board on what was discussed.

The defense attorneys also inquired about the district’s partnership agreements.

The court also heard testimony from Barbara Jacoby, the school district’s director of public information, communications and partnerships. Both Steel and Dupont asked Jacoby to provide an overview of some of the district’s partnership agreements and Petruzielo’s role in crafting the agreements.

Jacoby informed both attorneys that the superintendent’s staff — not Petruzielo — negotiate and write agreements. The superintendent only sees the agreements when he places them on the school board’s agenda for approval.

Jacoby also touched on two instances of disagreements between Mrs. Trim and Petruzielo and district staff surrounding partnership agreements.

Specifically, Jacoby recalled how Mrs. Trim advocated for the expansion of the district’s partnership with Kennesaw State University. Jacoby said Trim indicated she wanted to work by herself with representatives from Kennesaw State to help improve the agreement, but was told by district staff that was not part of her job duties as a school board member. Additionally, Jacoby recounted Trim’s vocal opposition to the district’s partnership agreement with the March of Dimes.

Earlier this year, Mrs. Trim questioned March of Dimes officials about its position on abortion and its relationship with Planned Parenthood.

Jacoby said March of Dimes representatives told Mrs. Trim the information she had about the organization’s position on abortion and Planned Parenthood was “incorrect,” and that its operations have nothing to do with abortion services or the organization.

That didn’t sway Mrs. Trim, as she voted against the partnership agreement.

To expand upon that Mrs. Trim’s contentious relationship with the superintendent, Dupont called upon his client Robert Trim to testify in the hearing.

Trim, who worked as a political consultant before his felony conviction, said he and his wife have been in a relationship for about 18 months and were married earlier this year.

As a consultant, Trim told the court he routinely advised his then-client about policies before and after she was elected in 2012, something he’s done in the past with other clients.

Trim noted he helped the former school board member with everything except items that fall under topics discussed during executive sessions by the school board: personnel, real estate, litigation and student discipline matters.

The former political consultant, who said the district’s central office staff was often “difficult” when it came to providing access to documents, contracts and agreements, added he helped Mrs. Trim develop her campaign to bring transparency and openness to the school district.

“She had been stonewalled as a parent in the system for years,” he added, alluding to her reason why she ran for the school board.

Additionally, Trim characterized the district staff and Petruzielo as “belligerent,” adding his and Mrs. Trim’s run-ins with the district was the only example during his years of working as a consultant where government employees would tell elected officials what they could and could not do.

“What we had realized in our research is that the school board had become a rubber stamp for a hired superintendent,” he said. “No one ever really examined the contracts and agreements and money was hemorrhaging from the school (system).”

He compared the board’s operation to that of United States senators and representatives who did not understand key details of President Barack Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

“It was kind of like Obamacare,” he said. “They’d read it after they passed it.”

Trim said he advised the former school board member of a possible enhancement of the district’s partnership with Kennesaw State University, which is where he obtained his bachelor’s degree. Trim said he felt Kennesaw’s growth and its wide variety of programs could benefit the district.

Steel argued during closing that McElyea should have disclosed her fiduciary responsibility as a Reinhardt University Board of Trustees member. While he noted the judge was a “wonderful person,” Steel said he “did not know she holds this relationship with the university, who does business with the superintendent.”

Rachelle Carnesale, who prosecuted the case for the state, argued Steel’s allegations “absolutely makes no sense.”

Reinhardt University, she noted, has no interest in the case and did not play a role in the trial. The defense’s argument, she added, revolves around them “hopelessly” trying to string together a relationship.

“This is literally a case of smoke and mirrors,” she added.

Mills rejected the motion, adding the defendant did not produce enough evidence to suggest there was a conflict of interest. Additionally, Mills suggested the defense would have had a better shot of making their argument if they expressed concerns about McElyea’s ties to the city of Canton.

McElyea’s husband, Bobby Dyer, serves as the attorney for the city of Canton. Technically, he added, the Canton Police Department was the victim in the case, as the three defendants were convicted of lying to the agency. That connection would have possibly resulted in a recusal for McElyea.

The judge noted Petruzielo’s previous involvement in Reinhardt’s ambassador program and McElyea’s service on the board was merely a “proximity” thing, adding it’s similar to two people attending the same church or laundromat.

“I don’t know if that results in any kind of disqualification,” he said. “I don’t think the status of being on the board of Reinhardt, unless it involves a transaction for these parties, directly results in a recusal. The proximity issue, I don’t think it’s there based on the evidence.”

McElyea initially rejected a motion to recuse herself in the case, but decided to file the motion ”in an abundance of caution.” That moved the case to fellow Superior Court Judge David Cannon Jr., who last month disclosed his uncle — Billy Hasty Jr. — is a member of the Reinhardt Board of Trustees.

Since Chief Superior Court Judge Jackson Harris recused himself last year, that meant the appeal had no superior court judges in the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit who could hear the case. That dilemma kicked the issue to the Ninth Judicial Administrative District, which had the task of assigning either a sitting or senior judge to hear the motions.

The Trims and Knowles, who are preparing to appeal their convictions, were sentenced to serve 60 days in jail and 10 years on probation, but McElyea in July granted the three defendants an appeal bond, which allows them to remain out of jail pending an appeal.

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