CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) – Judges in at least two Georgia counties are refusing to acknowledge a federal order meant to protect most tenants from eviction because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The magistrates in Carroll and Coweta counties are not halting evictions because of the order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which says losing housing may cause the spread of COVID-19.
“The CDC, as far as I know, has no control over Georgia courts,” Carroll County Chief Magistrate Alton Johnson told WABE-FM.
Katie Duren said her family fell behind on rent at a townhome south of Villa Rica after she and her husband lost work during the pandemic and neither was approved for unemployment.
After several months, Duren’s landlord filed for eviction. Her family filled out the CDC form seeking protection, but when they showed up for court, Johnson told Duren that Carroll County doesn’t honor the CDC order.