Attorney arrested for letting client use phone in county jail pleads not guilty

A local attorney who was arrested for allowing a client to use a cell phone while in the Laurens County Jail entered a not guilty plea Thursday morning.

Courtney Morgan, of Dublin, had a crowd of supporters in the courtroom at the Laurens County Courthouse to watch her sign the plea in front of Superior Court Judge Jud Green. Morgan had been charged with obtaining, procuring or giving an inmate a prohibited item without authorization. The incident happened at the jail on June 19. 

Morgan, who operates Morgan Law Firm LLC in Dublin, is being represented by Catherine Bernard, who said they are concerned with the case.

“Mrs. Morgan was violating no policy or no law whatsoever and was conducting attorney-client business out at the jail,” Bernard said after the hearing. 

She contends that a Laurens County Jail employee violated attorney-client privilege “by spying on that meeting and then claims that a phone conversation, that took place during the meeting, constitutes furnishing a cell phone to an inmate. It does not.” 

“There was never any relinquishing of control or relinquishing of custody. It is absolutely your right to conduct business with your client while you are having an attorney-client meeting.” 

Bernard said there has never been a policy requiring cell phones at the Laurens County Jail for attorneys. She said all of the attorneys in the Dublin Judicial Circuit are aware of that.

“So, we are going forward with a very aggressive defense because she has done nothing wrong,” Bernard said. 

Bernard compared the arrest of Morgan to that of an attorney she says was charged with aggravated sodomy in Johnson County and was allowed to turn himself in and have his mug shot taken in his suit.  

“With Courtney, the day after they got this warrant, they snatched her up at the courthouse as she walked in the front door,” Bernard said. “It was an attack on providing the assistance of counsel to individuals who have been charged with crimes. She is a lawyer being accused of something like this that is not against any policy is disturbing from start to finish. Courtney is of the highest moral character, an excellent lawyer, and she accomplishes tremendous things for her clients. We have been baffled and, frankly, heartbroken that the sheriff’s office would behave in such an unethical fashion. We are very disturbed by the unconstitutional behavior. Defending her on these wrongful criminal charges is the priority.” 

According to Bernard, a strip search and cavity search was done on her client. In June, Sheriff Larry Dean reacted to the response to this case, saying the sheriff’s office did not intend to surprise or embarrass Morgan when they arrested her. He said deputies approached her at the courthouse and asked her to walk to the basement, where the charges were explained. 

“The deputies handled the situation respectfully, and Ms. Morgan cooperated without issues,” Dean said. “Following the booking process and court appearance, she was granted bond and released from custody.” 

The sheriff said the charges against her “are not fabricated and are not motivated by retaliation or personal grievances. She is presumed innocent until proven guilty and has the right to defend herself in court.” 

Bernard did not know when the case would go to trial but said they have a number of motions to file.

“I’m proud to represent her,” Bernard said. “She is a rule-follower. If Sheriff Dean had issued a policy about attorney’s cell phones, she would have followed it. But he never did.”