KATE BRUMBACK

Reporter

Brumback covers courts, immigration, elections and breaking news. She is based in Atlanta.
Federal law enforcement wait in a parking garage to take people into custody outside immigration court, May 21, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
Immigration officers intensify arrests in courthouse hallways on a fast track to deportation
Large-scale arrests outside immigration courts have unleashed fear among asylum-seekers and immigrants who are accustomed to remaining free while judges grind through a backlog of 3.6 million cases.
 
This undated photo released by Maria David shows her sister, Carmen Gayheart, smiling for the camera. (Maria David via AP)
Florida executes man convicted of raping and killing a woman 3 decades ago
A man convicted of raping and killing a woman three decades ago after kidnapping her from a supermarket parking lot has been executed in Florida.
 
Judge Shukura Ingram listens during a hearing at Fulton County Court in Atlanta on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)
COVID-related agreement continues to shield some on Georgia’s death row from execution
The fact that the COVID-19 vaccine is not available for newborn babies is shielding a group of prisoners on Georgia’s death row from execution.
 
Former DeKalb Police Officer Robert Olsen stands during his arraignment in Decatur, Ga. on June 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Branden Camp, File)
Former Georgia officer who fatally shot naked man pleads guilty to aggravated assault
A former Georgia police officer who shot and killed an unarmed, naked man pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault and won’t serve any additional time behind bars.
 
The Nathan Deal Judicial Center, home of Georgia's Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, is seen on May, 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File)
State can’t use medication evidence to counter insanity defense in fatal crash, Georgia court says
Georgia’s highest court has ruled that the state cannot use certain evidence in the prosecution of a Georgia woman who caused a fatal car crash while suffering a psychotic break.
 
Emory University Hospital Midtown is seen on Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Case of brain-dead pregnant woman kept on life support in Georgia raises tricky questions
The case of a pregnant woman in Georgia who was declared brain dead and has been on life support for three months has given rise to complicated questions about abortion law and whether a fetus is a person.
 
Georgia's State Election Board members discuss proposals for election rule changes at the state capitol, Sept. 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, file)
Georgia State Election Board creates committee to consider new rules
Georgia’s State Election Board has voted to create a committee to weigh proposed election rules before the board takes them under consideration.
 
Students march at Arizona State University in protest of ASU's chapter of College Republicans United-led event encouraging students to report "their criminal classmates to ICE for deportations", Jan. 31, 2025, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
ICE is reversing the termination of legal status for international students around the US
Federal officials say the government is reversing the termination of legal status for international students after many filed court challenges around the U.S.
 
In this image taken from video, immigration lawyer Charles Kuck speaks to reporters outside a federal courthouse in Atlanta, on April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback)
International students stripped of legal status in the US are piling up wins in court
Some international students in the U.S. who have had their legal status terminated in recent weeks have found a measure of success in court, with federal judges around the country issuing orders to restore students’ status at least temporarily.
 
An aerial view of the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Facility in Jena, La., Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
US seeks to turn deportations into an efficient business ‘like Amazon’
The world’s largest immigration detention system is on the cusp of explosive growth as President Donald Trump pursues his signature campaign promise of mass deportations.
 
Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is seen at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the Columbia University campus in New York, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, immigration judge rules
A Louisiana immigration judge has ruled that the U.S. can deport Mahmoud Khalil based on the federal government’s argument that he poses a national security risk. His lawyers are expected to appeal, and a federal judge has temporarily barred Khalil’s removal from the country.
 
Young Thug performs at the Lollapalooza Music Festival in Chicago on Aug. 1, 2021. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)
Judge declines to send Young Thug to prison over a viral post that sparked backlash
A judge in Atlanta declined prosecutors’ request to send the rapper Young Thug to prison. Prosecutors say the Grammy-winning artist violated his probation with a viral post that sparked an online backlash against the district attorney’s office.
 
Voting machines fill the floor for early voting at State Farm Arena, Oct. 12, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
Judge in long-running lawsuit declines to block the use of Georgia’s voting system
A federal judge has declined to block the use of Georgia’s electronic voting system. The ruling Monday came in a long-running lawsuit that alleged the system is vulnerable to attack and has operational issues that could deprive voters of their constitutional rights.
 
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
Justice Department instructed to dismiss legal challenge to Georgia election law
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has instructed the Justice Department to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a sweeping 2021 election law in Georgia.
 
Georgia's State Election Board members discuss proposals for election rule changes at the state capitol, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
Georgia Supreme Court considers whether judge was right to block new election rules
Just before last year’s general election, a judge in Georgia blocked seven new rules passed by the State Election Board and said the board didn’t have the authority to pass them.
 
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis looks on during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case, Friday, March, 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Slitz, Pool, File)
Judge says Fani Willis violated open records law, orders her to pay $54K in attorneys’ fees
A judge has ordered Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to pay more than $54,000 in attorneys’ fees and to turn over documents after finding that her office violated Georgia’s Open Records Act.
 
An election staffer works at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
The 2024 election in Georgia’s Fulton County was ‘organized and orderly,’ independent monitors say
A team of independent monitors says Georgia’s Fulton County conducted an “organized and orderly” election last year.
 
Robert Aaron Long looks on during his arraignment in Fulton County Superior Court, Sept. 28, 2021, in Atlanta. (Elijah Nouvelage/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)
Statements man charged in Atlanta spa killings made post-arrest can be used at trial, judge rules
Attorneys for a man accused of killing four women at Atlanta massage businesses asked a judge not to let a jury hear statements he made after his arrest.
 
Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, is detained by Georgia State Patrol as Moore attempted to enter the state House of Representatives for the state of the state address at the Georgia Capitol, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP,File)
Judge denies Georgia state senator’s request for criminal charges against state House staffer
A judge on has declined a Georgia state senator’s request for an arrest warrant against a state House staffer following a confrontation between the two earlier this year.
 
Voting machines fill the floor for early voting at State Farm Arena, Oct. 12, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
Georgia election board drops suit after group fails to produce ballot-stuffing evidence
The Georgia State Election Board has voted to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to enforce a subpoena against a conservative group that had alleged ballot stuffing in the state after the group was unable to produce evidence to support its claims.
 
Vehicles are parked outside the Fulton County Jail, April 11, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File)
Judge appoints monitor to oversee agreement to reform Georgia’s Fulton County Jail
A federal judge has appointed a lead monitor with three decades of experience in corrections to oversee a consent decree meant to address dangerous and unhealthy jail conditions in Georgia’s most populous county.
 
Judge Shukura Ingram listens during a hearing at Fulton County Court in Atlanta on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Lawyers spar over COVID-related agreement that shields some on Georgia’s death row from execution
Lawyers are sparring over a COVID-19-related agreement that has shielded some people on Georgia’s death row from execution.
 
The Butts County Coroner van pulls into the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, April 12, 2016, in Jackson, Ga., ahead of a scheduled execution. (Ben Gray/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)
Judge says lethal injection doesn’t violate rights of man on death row, avoids firing squad question
A federal judge has ruled against a man on Georgia’s death row who argued that lethal injection could cause him excruciating pain and suggested a firing squad as an alternative.
 
After waiting in a cue, people are led into a downtown Chicago building where an immigration court presides Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
Justice Department restores funding for programs that provide guidance in immigration courts
Two days after nonprofit groups sued the federal government over a stop-work order targeting programs that provide information and guidance to people facing deportation, the U.S.
 
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Appeals court upholds dismissal of some charges against Trump, others in Georgia election case
A Georgia appeals court has upheld the dismissal of some of the charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in the Georgia 2020 election interference case.
 
CORRECTS SPELLING TO THEISEN, NOT THIESEN - Sadie Theisen, 9, sleds down in the snow with her father Brian Theisen Friday, Jan 10, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Winter storm lets Southern states enjoy a rare snow day
Millions of residents across the Southern U.S. woke up to a rare chance to bust out the mittens and snow pants thanks to a cold snap that dumped snow in their backyards.
 
Downtown skyline is reflected on Cumberland River, as the snow falls Friday, Jan 10, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Powerful winter storm dumps heavy snow, causing flight delays, slick roads and school closings
A powerful winter storm that dumped heavy snow and glazed roads with ice across much of Texas and Oklahoma has lumbered eastward into the Deep South and elsewhere.
 
Fani Willis, District Attorney of Fulton County speaks during an interview on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
Fani Willis seeks to overturn her disqualification from Trump Georgia election case
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has asked Georgia’s highest court to review a lower appeals court’s ruling that removed her from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others.
 
King Center CEO Bernice King, daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., speaks during a news conference at the King Center in Atlanta on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback)
As MLK holiday nears, Bernice King urges people to really focus on his teachings
As the holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. approaches, his daughter is urging people to really focus on his work throughout the next year, rather than just paying him tribute for a day.
 
Vehicles are parked outside the Fulton County Jail, April 11, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File)
Justice Department enters consent decree with Fulton County over jail conditions
The U.S. Justice Department announced that it has entered into a court-enforceable agreement with Georgia’s most populous county after finding that violence and filthy conditions in county lockups violated the constitutional rights of people held in jail.
 
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