Macon attorney Veronica Brinson ordered to jail

A judge ordered a Macon attorney to jail Thursday after he found her in contempt of court for failing to obey an order issued in a civil case.

The attorney, Veronica Brinson, is no stranger to controversy.

A judge ordered her to pay a $750 fine after finding her guilty of contempt in another case in 2014 after she filed court documents while representing Frank Reeves in a Macon murder case, in violation of a Bibb County Superior Court judge’s order. Brinson had been removed from the case for alleged “ineffective” representation.

In 2015, she was charged with reckless conduct stemming from an alleged 2014 dog attack. She’s been sued in connection with the incident and another similar one earlier that year.

Brinson, who represented herself in Thursday’s hearing, sued another Macon lawyer, Andrew Foster, in 2011, alleging harassment. She lost the case and was ordered to pay Foster’s attorney’s fees, according to court records.

Foster’s lawyer, Sam Alderman, filed a boilerplate request for information regarding Brinson’s finances.

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 the 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.

In her defense, Brinson said two lawyers who 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 never handled a case involving a post-judgment request such as the one she received.

Brinson must report to the jail by May 13 at noon or post a $20,000 bond.

Her jail sentence will end when she provides the information Alderman requested, according to the judge’s order.

He also ordered her to pay the $6,922 Foster owes his attorney from the legal fight for the information.

Speaking after the 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.”

During the hearing, Brinson said she plans to appeal the judge’s decision. Her 2014 contempt case has an appeal pending in the Georgia Supreme Court.

In his closing statement, Alderman said he’s never sought to have another person sent to jail, but he and Foster are “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 5, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Macon attorney Veronica Brinson ordered to jail."