Macon attorney Veronica Brinson avoids jail in contempt case

Attorney Veronica Brinson avoided a trip to jail Friday by posting a $20,000 bond for failing to obey an order in a civil case.

Friday morning, Brinson told The Telegraph she plans to appeal the contempt of court order.

The attorney, who is no stranger to controversy, had been given until noon on May 13 to turn over financial documents after attorney Sam Alderman filed a request for information in the 2011 case.

Brinson had sued another Macon lawyer, Andrew Foster, in 2011, alleging harassment. She lost the case and was ordered to pay attorney fees, according to court records.

After the 30-day deadline for the information passed, extensions were granted, but documents — such as bank statements, law firm balance sheets and tax returns — never were provided, Alderman said during a hearing.

In February, Chattahoochee Circuit Superior Court Judge Bemon McBride issued an order compelling Brinson to provide the documentation within 10 days. McBride was selected to hear the initial lawsuit after local judges disqualified themselves.

Brinson sent in partial responses that weren’t sworn to under oath as required and no documentation, Alderman said.

Acting in her own defense, Brinson said two lawyers who had represented her in the case left their post, leaving her without an attorney.

She said she didn’t willfully defy the court’s order, and she said she had never handled a case involving a post-judgment request such as the one she received.

Last week, the judge ordered her to jail until she provided the financial information, unless she posted the bond.

Alderman said Friday, “To date, Ms. Brinson has failed to provide one document as ordered by the court.”

Speaking after last week’s hearing, Brinson said she went to court in 2011 asking for the court to intervene in the alleged harassment against her.

“I’m being punished for asking for help,” she said. “I just want to practice law without harassment and constant documents being filed against me.”

In his closing statement last week, Alderman said he’s never sought to have another person sent to jail, but he and Foster were “at a loss.”

Wanting to bring the case to a conclusion — obtaining the money Brinson owes from the initial lawsuit — he said he needs to know what assets she has.

Further, he said it’s one thing for a layman not to follow the rules and another for a lawyer.

“She has to be made to follow the rules,” Alderman said.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Macon attorney Veronica Brinson avoids jail in contempt case."