Paige Shepherd appeals liquor-license denial over 2014 marijuana conviction; board moves to executive session

The Brookhaven Alcohol Board of Appeals held a hearing Dec. 2 on an appeal by Paige Shepherd after the city denied renewal of her server/agent alcohol permit following a criminal conviction.

Major Brandon Gurley of the Brookhaven Police Department told the board that an application filed Oct. 19 prompted a Georgia Crime Information Center background check showing "a conviction for a misdemeanor drug charge of marijuana less than an ounce," from October 2014. He said the application was processed Oct. 20 and denied under a local ordinance that disqualifies applicants with certain convictions.

"She did answer yes to that question," Gurley told the board, referring to the application form’s disclosure item on arrests or convictions. City legal counsel framed the denial as based on "section 4-50, sub paragraph f of the city code," which the attorney said bars licensure for anyone convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude within 10 years and specifically lists drug offenses in its examples.

Shepherd, who identified herself in the hearing as the appellant, said the arrest occurred in Marietta and described the incident as a past mistake. "I did mess up. I haven't messed up since," she told the board, and said she has been working at Villa Christina at the Hyatt Hotel for a little over a year and needs the license to support her child and household.

A person identified in the record as Miss Jones spoke in support of Shepherd’s character and persistence, saying Shepherd had changed since the incident. Shepherd told the panel she disclosed the conviction on the current application but did not have the requested list of arrest details to attach.

City staff provided the board with a copy of the denial letter and the court disposition for the conviction. The city attorney advised the board that, as a quasi-adjudicative body, the members have discretion but he could only provide legal interpretation, not a recommended outcome.

After hearing testimony and asking procedural questions, a board member moved and another seconded to enter executive session to deliberate the appeal. The board voted to go into executive session; no final vote or formal decision was announced on the public record during this meeting.

The board also approved the minutes from the prior licensing meeting by voice vote earlier in the session. The minutes as read in the transcript list the prior meeting date as "04/06/2035," an apparent typographical error in the record that appears inconsistent with the 2015 meeting calendar.

The board recessed to executive session and said it would return with a decision for the record after deliberation.