Georgia's Attorney General has filed a brief in Gwinnett County Superior Court asking that the vote to create the City of Mulberry be allowed to move forward, as an emergency hearing looms Thursday afternoon in a lawsuit that threatens to strike it from the ballot.
The lawsuit, filed by Stephen Hughes on April 26, claims the proposed city's charter is unconstitutional since it would not allow the city to levy taxes. Attorney General Chris Carr, however, believes the lawsuit is improper.
"The Verified Complaint, as currently pled, is barred by sovereign immunity and this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to consider it," Carr's filing said. "It is the Attorney General's position that the SB 333 referendum should proceed as currently scheduled and set forth in the bill, so that the public may be allowed to vote on this important issue.
Judge Miriam Arnold-Johnson will preside over the hearing at 1:30 p.m. at the Gwinnett County Courthouse on Langley Drive in Lawrenceville.
The lawsuit seeks to remove the vote on cityhood from the ballot with just five days until the May 21 election and with only a day remaining in the early voting period.
