FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 23, 2020

Media contact: Ana Maria Rosato [email protected]

ATLANTA –Earlier today the Atlanta Journal-Constitution posted an article titled “Efforts to pause evictions sow confusion in era of coronavirus” that began with this heart-breaking story.

Jazmine White was in a crowded eviction hearing in Cobb County the day before Georgia’s chief justice declared a judicial emergency and directed lower courts to cease nonessential operations.

That day, the 29-year-old mother of two said she was given seven days to move out of her apartment. She had recently lost her income as a bartender due to the coronavirus shutdown, and both her children were out of school.

Further down, the AJC reported that

The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office refused to answer a direct question about whether it was still carrying out evictions.

“We are following the guidelines set forth in the statewide Declaration of Judicial Emergency,” spokesman Glenn Daniel wrote in a statement.

“When Georgia’s chief justice declared a judicial emergency this past Saturday, he specified that all nonessential proceedings were to stop,” said Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia. “It is outrageous that Cobb County Sheriff Warren – or any sheriff in the state – would fail to commit to refrain from evicting people from their homes during this pandemic that is already taking its horrendous toll on the health and economic well-being of our families and communities.”

Media contact: Ana Maria Rosato, [email protected]

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