VALDOSTA – Valdosta attorney Sam Dennis was among eight Georgia attorneys to travel to the former Soviet Republic of Georgia this past July to aid in the transition from an old antiquated court system to one equipped with a jury. As a result, 19 additional crimes will be added to the list for jury trials, which originally was only for the crime of murder.

The U.S. State Department took on the initiative to send American prosecutors and judges there to train their Eastern European counterparts, realizing it would be necessary to also train defense attorneys.

One of the first things Dennis tried to change was how the defendants were always placed in the courtroom inside a cage, arguing that this cast them in a negative light. Dennis insisted if the defense attorneys continued to press the issue, eventually one judge would agree to it and change would happen.

Less than five Georgia courthouses there have jury boxes, but as new courthouses are built, modifications for juries are added.