The first of the Stop Cop City RICO trials was scheduled to start with defendant Ayla King on July 7. Instead, an expected mistrial was declared by the new judge assigned to the case. With much confusion circling around, we wanted to break down how exactly we got to this point and what we can expect next.

• October 2023: Ayla King invoked their right to a speedy trial under Georgia statute. Under that statute, if a criminal defendant invokes their right to a speedy trial, their trial must take place during that court term or during the succeeding court term, or the defendant must be acquitted. In this case, that meant Ayla’s trial had to take place before December 31, 2023.
• December 2023: Jury trial began in Ayla King’s case. However, immediately following jury selection, Judge Kimberly Adams, who was presiding over the trial, took a four-week recess, which pushed the remainder of the trial into 2024 and outside of the time period required for speedy trial.
• January 2024: Ayla’s attorney, Surinder Chadha Jimenez, filed a motion to dismiss Ayla’s charges, arguing that the court failed to satisfy the requirements of speedy trial. In the motion to dismiss, he also argued that the court had improperly closed the jury selection process to the public and the media.
• Early 2024: Judge Adams denied this motion and Chadha Jimenez appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals. The trial was therefore further delayed while this motion was considered and then appealed.
• In October 2024, the Court of Appeals issued a decision agreeing with Judge Adams that holding jury selection was sufficient under Georgia statute to comply with speedy trial requirements, despite the long recess. However, the Court of Appeals found that the trial court erred by closing the courtroom to the public during jury selection without issuing a written order justifying the decision. The Court of Appeals therefore ordered that the jury selection must be conducted again.
• Around May 2025, Judge Adams was transferred to a different court and Judge Kevin Farmer took over the case.
• Mid-2025: Ayla’s attorney filed a motion arguing that they should be allowed to retain the original jury if the case was to proceed to trial. This motion was denied.
• On July 7, 2025, Ayla King’s trial was set to begin, 18 months after the jury was first impaneled. However, in court on July 7, Judge Farmer declared a mistrial in response to the Court of Appeals decision and released the jury. This was not surprising and lawyers assumed he would rule that the jurors were released as a result of a mistrial. Only 9 out of 12 jurors (and one alternate) showed up 18 months later, and several who did told the court they were no longer available to preside as jurors.
• When the Court declares a mistrial, the State may re-prosecute the person—there is no dismissal of the charges.
• There is currently no scheduled date for Ayla’s new trial, but it is expected to be scheduled some time in September or October.

What’s next?

• Ayla’s attorney has filed a motion arguing that trying them again amounts to double jeopardy. The Georgia Court of Appeals must now decide on this motion. If successful, this would result in King’s acquittal.
• Judge Farmer has indicated he would like to move forward with the other defendants’ trials while the double jeopardy appeal is pending. Four other Stop Cop City defendants have also recently moved for speedy trials. The next trial is not yet scheduled.