Brennan v. Commissioners of Chatham County
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Brennan v. Commissioners of Chatham County was a case before the Georgia Supreme Court in 1993 concerning the application of open meetings laws to municipalities.
Background
Brennan v. Commissioners of Chatham County, 209 Ga. App. 177 (1993) (Johnson, J.): Affirming determination by trial court (Gadsden, J.) that a vote of the Chatham County commissioners in an executive session to dismiss plaintiff, the appointed county attorney, did not violate Open Meetings Act. The Court of Appeals held that the Act did not require the executive session to be held in public because it was held for the purpose of "discussing or deliberating upon the . . . dismissal . . . of a public officer or employee," and thus exempt pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 50-14-3(6). The court concluded that the 1992 amendment to O.C.G.A. § 50-14-3(6) requiring that any vote affecting the dismissal of a public employee be taken in public was not in effect when the commission vote took place in 1991.[1]
