Columbus attorney Stacey Jackson, removed from representing Michael Jason Registe in a Sept. 25 order, wants the Georgia Supreme Court to review a local judge’s decision.
Jackson intends to send the request to the high court on Friday. He filed a certificate of immediate review Oct. 2, asking Muscogee County Superior Court Judge Doug Pullen to give him permission to appeal to the high court, which Pullen granted that day, Jackson said.
Registe is charged in the July 20, 2007, execution-style slayings of Randy Newton Jr., 21, and Bryan Kilgore, 20. Registe, who was indicted Aug. 26, 2008, was detained the next day on the island of St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles. He was returned to Columbus on July 23.
Jackson appeared as Registe’s defense counsel on Aug. 4. A special prosecutor said Jackson had a conflict of interest, having served as an assistant district attorney from August 2000 through July 2008, after which he went into private practice with the Columbus firm of Hagler, Henderson, Jackson & Walters.
Pullen determined Registe’s right to choose Jackson as his defense counsel is “outweighed by countervailing considerations,” including a conflict of interest, “the appearance of impropriety” and “public confidence in the court system.”
The case is on hold until the high court makes a decision, Jackson said.
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