Criminal Justice & the Rule of Law Democracy & Elections

Graham Seeks Relief from Supreme Court on Fulton County Special Grand Jury Decision

Hyemin Han
Friday, October 21, 2022, 6:05 PM

The application from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) calls for an emergency stay pending appeal of the Eleventh Circuit's Oct. 20 decision. 

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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is seeking an emergency stay pending appeal from the Supreme Court of the Eleventh Circuit's Oct. 20 decision on the Fulton County Special Grand Jury proceedings. That decision allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to compel his testimony in the ongoing Fulton County Special Grand Jury investigation into 2020 election interference in Georgia. Graham's application to the Supreme Court described the call to testify as an unconstitutional attempt "by a local Georgia prosecutor and her ad hoc investigative body" to question a senator about protected speech surrounding "legislative activity and official acts"—speech protected under the Speech and Debate Clause, according to Graham.

Graham seeks a stay of the district court’s order pending appeal and, "if necessary," an enjoinment of state-court proceedings as to Graham until the federal appeal is resolved.

You can read the application here or below: 


Hyemin Han is an associate editor of Lawfare and is based in Washington, D.C. Previously, she worked in eviction defense and has interned on Capitol Hill and with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. She holds a BA in government from Dartmouth College, where she was editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth independent daily.

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