See You In Court

Sometimes a courtroom becomes part of the story itself.

J. Tom Morgan recalls the remarkable circumstances surrounding the Sidney Dorsey trial. After the case was unexpectedly moved to Dougherty County, the guilty verdict came back in the very courtroom where Morgan had been sworn in as a lawyer years earlier.

That same courtroom also carried another significant piece of history, one that Morgan referenced in his closing argument.

In this clip from See You In Court, Morgan reflects on the unlikely and deeply personal conclusion to one of the most important cases of his career.

Watch the full conversation with J. Tom Morgan:
https://youtu.be/0B9xWq_t6K8

Listen to the complete episode:
https://seeyouincourt.podbean.com/e/in-conversation-with-j-tom-morgan/

Former DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan spent years carrying the story of one of the most extraordinary cases of his career.

After the prosecution of former DeKalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey for the murder of Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown, Morgan kept the transcripts, notes and files from the case. Eventually, he packed everything into a box and put it away.

Then COVID changed his routine.

Living alone in the North Carolina mountains, Morgan found himself with time to revisit the story. He began writing by hand, page after page, and months later had a manuscript of more than 250 typed pages.

That manuscript eventually became A Rainy Night in Georgia: A Lawman’s Brutal Murder, a Rogue Southern Sheriff, and a Prosecutor’s Quest for Justice.

In this clip from See You In Court, Morgan explains what finally pushed him to put the story on paper.

Watch the complete episode on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/0B9xWq_t6K8

Listen to the full episode on Podbean:
https://seeyouincourt.podbean.com/e/in-conversation-with-j-tom-morgan/

Former DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan reflects on one of the central themes of the Sidney Dorsey prosecution: the danger of unchecked power.

Morgan explains why the prosecution focused on power, corruption, and the importance of checks and balances, themes that also run throughout his new book, A Rainy Night in Georgia.

Listen to the full conversation with J. Tom Morgan:

https://seeyouincourt.podbean.com/e/in-conversation-with-j-tom-morgan/

Watch the full episode on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/0B9xWq_t6K8

Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Ken Hodges discusses the strength of the rule of law and why he believes Georgia’s nonpartisan judicial system performs better than many others.

While political pressure and accusations can arise when courts decide controversial cases, Judge Hodges says Georgia has largely succeeded in keeping politics outside the judiciary.

The broader Episode 54 discussion also addresses judicial security, political pressure and protecting the integrity of Georgia’s courts.

Listen to the full episode:
https://seeyouincourt.podbean.com/e/episode-54-hon-kenneth-hodges-georgia-court-of-appeals/

Former DeKalb County District Attorney, attorney, professor, and author J. Tom Morgan joins Robin Frazer Clark and Lester Tate for a powerful conversation about the murder of Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown, the prosecution of former Sheriff Sidney Dorsey, and the true story behind Morgan’s new book, A Rainy Night in Georgia.

Morgan takes listeners inside the investigation, the allegations of corruption surrounding the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, the prosecution strategy that ultimately led to Dorsey’s conviction, and the chilling discovery that Morgan himself had also been targeted.

The conversation also explores the broader lessons that still resonate more than 25 years later, including unchecked power, government accountability, investigative journalism, public service, checks and balances, and the importance of equal justice under the rule of law.

Morgan also reflects on the challenges of turning a complex legal case into a compelling book, the role of attorneys including Ken Hodges, Shawn Ellen LaGrua, John Floyd, Brian Steel, and Don Samuel, and why professionalism within the adversarial system still matters.

As always, Robin and Lester close the conversation by asking their guest a central question: How do you define justice?

Learn more about J. Tom Morgan:
https://jtommorganlaw.com/

Learn more about A Rainy Night in Georgia:
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Rainy-Night-in-Georgia/J-Tom-Morgan/9781493094844

Watch See You In Court on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@seeyouincourtpodcast

Learn more about the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation:
https://fairplay.org/