TO THE EDITOR

I can not explain the pride I felt for my family, my community, and myself a number of years ago when I was honored with an appointment as the first African American citizen to become a Magistrate Judge for Lincoln County.

In addition, I have enjoyed an untarnished reputation as a professional educator in the public schools of both Richmond and Lincoln County. I am sure that many of you have had an opportunity to know me as your or your child's teacher, and I hope that my dedication and integrity have been apparent to you. I realize that as Magistrate Judge and as an educator confidentiality and character are important traits that I must uphold.

That is why the pride I had earlier felt was equaled with sadness when my husband and I were reportedly accused by a ranking officer of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office of divulging sensitive information regarding a search warrant I executed involving an alleged sale of untaxed/ illegal alcohol.

Soon after being notified that we had been falsely accused, my husband and I visited Sheriff Gerald Lawson to try to get some understanding about what had been alleged. We approached our visit with the hope that Mr. Lawson, knowing our reputations, would assure us that he believed the allegations to be unfounded and satisfy us with an apology on behalf of his department. On the contrary, he reacted in a different manner leading us to believe that he also considered some merit to the allegations made by his officer.

Immediately I contact Chief Magistrate Judge Lee D. Moss and Chief Superior Court Judge Roger W. Dunaway, Jr. and requested that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) be called to investigate this matter fairly and impartially.

My husband, the officer involved, other witnesses, and myself were interviewed and a report was submitted to the office of the District Attorney by the GBI. After a review of the GBI file, the district attorney's office issued a letter stating that no criminal activity had taken place. This resulted in my husband and me being totally cleared in this matter.

While I appreciate the report of The Lincoln Journal reporting the results of the investigation, I wanted to set the record clear as to the facts in this matter and why the investigation was initiated. I also want to thank Chief Judges Moss and Dunaway and the GBI for their interest and the fairness in which they conducted this inquiry.

Hopefully I can now put this matter behind me and continue to serve the people of this community with honesty and dignity.
LEVERTA ELAM,
MAGISTRATE JUDGE