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WATCH: Attorney BJ Bernstein Details Eddie Long Sex Abuse

Here is the video clip of attorney BJ Bernstein announcing the civil action against Bishop Eddie Long, who presides over New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, GA and its 25,000+ members. Bernstein says church members actively covered up the sexual and financial impropriety, too. "Church members lied and protected Eddie Long and would do anything to protect the name of one of the largest and most powerful churches in the southeast."

The former prosecutor is best known for winning justice for Genarlow Wilson, the Georgia man who had been serving a 10-year sentence for having consensual oral sex with another teenager when he was 17-years-old. Bernstein says she has emails, text messages and photos proving Long was sexually involved with the two young men. Watch AFTER THE JUMP ....

SCOTUS: Georgia Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears "Strong" on Gay Rights

In the earlier post on the retirement of Supreme Court Justice David Souter, one of the names we mentioned as a potential successor is Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears. ABC News, The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and many others now report Sears is on the President's "short list" of possible nominees. Sears is a "strong" advocate on gay rights issues, Southern Voice reports:

Sears, who will also step down in June, has served on the state’s highest court since 1992. The first woman and youngest justice in the court’s history, she was also its first African-American female chief justice. Sears has kept her plans for her retirement private, although she has hinted at wanting a larger public role.

"I also believe in ‘get married, stay married,’ which a lot of right-wing people have co-opted that as their issue," she said. "But it’s not their issue, I thought it was my issue too. Political games are played with all kinds of issues and I don’t think issues belong to any one group."

Sears’ legal opinions on gay-related issues, including voting with the majority to overturn Georgia’s sodomy law, drew efforts from conservatives to unseat her. In 2004, Gov. Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Christian Coalition backed Grant Brantley in the race; Sears won easily.

Sears also opposed the legislature's ultimately successful attempt to place an anti same-sex marriage amendment on the ballot, writing in the dissent the process "would change the Constitution in more ways than one and thus 'amend the state Constitution by stealth.' "

The chief justice also wrote the majority opinion and the ended the imprisonment of  21-year-old Genarlow Wilson, who had been serving a 10-year sentence for having consensual oral sex with another teenager when he was 17-years-old. Sears said the harsh sentence was "grossly disproportionate" to the crime, which "did not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children."

Genarlow Wilson Update: High Court to Hear Arguments

Several updates in the case of Genarlow Wilson.

Georgia's Supreme Court will hear the state's arguments for keeping in prison the 21 year-old man who had consensual sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17. The former honors student appeared this morning on NBC's Today, expressing optimism and hoping his case can "help others learn from [his] mistakes." Meanwhile, Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker will not oppose setting Wilson free on bond pending his appeal. Baker—roundly criticized for insisting upon the draconian, ten year old prison sentence—says Wilson's release could open the floodgates for hundreds of incarcerated child molesters looking for a way out:

"As attorney general, I took an oath to uphold the laws of this state," Baker said during news conference he called to explain why he is appealing a judge's order to free Wilson. "And in taking that oath I don't have the luxury of taking the law into my own hands, or picking which cases to defend."

The bond hearing is July 5. Wilson has been imprisoned for two years for the encounter, now classified as a misdemeanor. Wilson and the girl are black; so is Attorney General Baker, who is the state's highest black elected official.

Baker Defends Wilson Appeal [AJC]
GA High Court to Hear Teen Sex Case [Hou Chron]
Genarlow Wilson: 'I Made a Mistake' [Today]

Some Reading ...

Georgia AG Appeals Decision in Wilson Case [R20]

Georgia Attorney General Appeals Decision in Genarlow Wilson Case

A disappointing reversal of fortune in the case of Genarlow Wilson, the Georgia man sentenced to 10 years in prison for a consensual (and videotaped) sexual encounter when he was a teenager. Wilson will remain behind bars until at least July 23rd, the date of a scheduled bond hearing.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Wilson learned Monday that his more than two years in prison were apparently coming to an end with the order by Monroe County Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Wilson. Within hours, however, state Attorney General Thurbert Baker filed notice that he would appeal the ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court, arguing the judge had overstepped his authority."

Wilson, 21, was convicted of aggravated child molestation for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17-years-old. CNN's legal analyst notes state law was later changed to make such cases a misdemeanor, "but that change wasn't made retroactive, so it did not affect Wilson."

"Normally an appeal takes months," says defense attorney B.J. Bernstein. "Even at an expedited level it is still going to take a while."

An unfortunate reminder of historical biases against black male defendants in the South, but, more is at issue than race. AG Thurbert Baker, in office since 1997, is Georgia's highest elected black official "and received more votes and a higher percentage than any other Democrat running statewide in 2006." Baker is a possible contender for the governor's office.

Atlanta blogger C. Baptiste Williams draws an interesting comparison to a similar case with a celebrity defendant: "It was five years ago today that a Cook County grand jury indicted R&B superstar R. Kelly on 21 counts of child pornography for allegedly videotaping himself engaging in sex acts with an underage girl. The girl [was] 14 years old when the tape of her and Kelly was made."

Wilson's Battle May Take Months [AJC]
Last Minute Appeal in Teen Sex Case [CNN]
Why R. Kelly Needs to Go to Court... [HisStory]