Submitted PhotoValdosta attorney Sam Dennis trains Republic of Georgia defense attorneys in the art of jury trials.

VALDOSTA — South Georgia attorney Sam Dennis made a motion that his client be released from the cage in the courtroom and be allowed to join his defense attorneys.

The motion caused the gathered Eastern Europeans to gasp. Though spectators for the mock trial, Dennis’ motion was so shocking, the attorneys stopped the proceedings.

Dennis was one of eight attorneys from the state of Georgia who traveled to the Eastern European Republic of Georgia.

The former Soviet republic is moving from an inquisitorial court system, where the judge is involved in investigating the facts of a case before rendering a decision, to a jury trial system.

Through a state department initiative, American prosecutors and judges had already trained Republic of Georgia prosecutors and judges. The state department realized defense attorneys also required training, Dennis said. So the group of eight state of Georgia defense attorneys trained a group of about 40 Republic of Georgia defense attorneys in July.

Georgians helping Georgians, Dennis said.

And for this particular exercise, he pushed the Republic of Georgia defense attorneys to overturn the practice of defendants sitting inside of a cage in the courtroom.

Working through translators, Dennis said the cage makes the defendant appear dangerous or guilty to a jury.

“But having the defendant sit at the defense table also demonstrates to the court and to the jury that the defense attorney is just as important as the prosecutor,” Dennis said, recounting his experience recently in his Valdosta law office.

The Republic of Georgia attorneys said the motion would be overruled. No judge would remove a defendant from the cage.

“I told them then they should make the motion anyway,” Dennis said. “It may not happen but make the motion anyway. And at the next trial make the motion again then again. … One day, one judge will grant the motion and the defendant will come out of the cage. And that will be the start.”

Transitioning to a jury trial system will take a change in mindsets and infrastructure, Dennis said.

He estimated fewer than five courthouses in the Republic of Georgia even have jury boxes.

“But they are building courtrooms with jury boxes,” he said. “They are committed to it.”

The Republic of Georgia had only allowed juries for murder trials until recently, Dennis said. Nineteen additional crimes can now be decided by juries.

Dennis said it is a powerful thing to be a part of a country creating a more equitable judicial system. To experience a nation and a system newly saying “you have a constitutional right to have a defense attorney,” he said. “To have a defense attorney stand up for you.

“It’s amazing to see a country stand up and getting rights for jury trials,” Dennis said. “It’s jury trials that set us apart.”

The Valdosta attorney is openly moved while discussing the trip and admits he is still in the process of understanding the experience.

He shared the encounter with one of the Republic of Georgia attorneys who said “American criminal defense attorneys were like heroes in her mind,” Dennis said.

“She said, ‘In the past, being a criminal defense attorney here was liking putting flowers on a dead man,’” Dennis said, “but after the end of our training, she said she felt like things had changed.”