Ga. high court to hear Duke appeal in Grinstead case

ATLANTA, Ga. (WALB) - The Supreme Court of Georgia issued a ruling Friday, saying that the court will hear an appeal from Ryan Duke’s lawyers in the murder case of Ocilla teacher Tara Grinstead.

In the order, the court said that “upon consideration of the application for interlocutory appeal filed in the above-styled case, the application is hereby granted. All the Justices concur.” Interlocutory is a legal term that means something is decided while the case is ongoing.

At issue is whether the state should have to provide money for Duke’s lawyers to hire investigators to probe the case on behalf of Duke since he is being represented by attorneys who are providing their services at no charge to Duke or to the state.

In the order, the Georgia Supreme Court said it is concerned if the “trial court (erred) in holding that an indigent defendant in a criminal case who is represented by private, pro bono counsel does not have a constitutional right or a statutory right under the Indigent Defense Act... to state-funded experts and investigators.”