Second Lawsuit Alleges Talbot Sheriff’s Office Violated Georgia Open Records Act

Another lawsuit has landed on the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office—this time targeting long-term employee Beverly Miller. The complaint centers on alleged violations of Georgia’s Open Records Act and marks the second lawsuit of this kind in just two months.

According to the filing, Robert Royce, a citizen journalist, submitted multiple open records requests to the Sheriff’s Office but has yet to receive the documents. Among the requests were records concerning Bobby Gates Sr., the father of Sheriff Bobby Gates Jr., who reportedly works part-time performing various tasks around the office.

Royce’s lawsuit alleges that on July 3, 2025, he personally delivered a written request for records including employee logs, payroll records, and Gates Sr.’s work product. Under state law, the Sheriff’s Office had three business days to either produce the records, cite a legal exemption, or provide a timetable. Instead, the office was delayed. On July 16, Miller claimed certain time sheets were “non-existent.” Yet Royce later confirmed—through a recorded phone call with staff and discussions with county officials—those employees, including Gates Sr., do in fact maintain daily handwritten time logs. Some of those logs were even signed by both Gates Sr. and Sheriff Gates Jr., directly contradicting Miller’s statement.

The complaint further accuses Miller of knowingly and willfully frustrating public access, failing to provide lawful responses, and ignoring an intent-to-sue notice. Royce is now seeking declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation, and a court order requiring the Sheriff’s Office to designate and properly train an open records officer.

This case follows on the heels of a separate lawsuit filed earlier this month by Russell Pickron (GT), who also sued Miller over public records violations (link to prior coverage).

Adding to the controversy, a recorded phone call captures Miller stating she would “have to ask the Sheriff” whether the first fifteen minutes of record retrieval time would be free, while noting the office charges $30 per hour for records searches. That raises an obvious question: if the Sheriff’s Office is basing its fees on that figure, are even its lowest-paid employees really earning $30 an hour?

Taken together, two lawsuits in two months paint a troubling picture: instead of following Georgia’s transparency laws, the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office seems more interested in stonewalling the public—and it may now have to answer those questions in court.