DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — The Superior Court of Douglas County has set aside a misdemeanor conviction against Godfrey Wade, a U.S. Army veteran who was deported to Jamaica in February following immigration proceedings linked to the charge.
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The court granted Wade’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, returning his criminal case to the position it was in before his plea nearly two decades ago. The conviction originated from a returned check written to renew his vehicle registration in Douglas County.
Wade arrived in the United States from Jamaica as a child in the 1970s and became a lawful permanent resident. He later enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving four years of active duty with approximately three years stationed overseas during the Cold War. Before his deportation, he lived in the country for more than 50 years and raised his family in Georgia.
The criminal case began nearly two decades ago when Wade wrote a check to the Douglas County tag office that was returned for insufficient funds. To resolve the matter, Wade entered a misdemeanor plea and paid the amount owed. Years later, federal authorities initiated immigration proceedings based on that conviction. However, government records showed that mail notifying Wade of the hearing was returned as undeliverable and the Notice to Appear mistakenly listed his address as the immigration court itself. Wade was subsequently ordered removed in absentia after missing a hearing he stated he never received notice of.
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Tony Kozycki, Wade’s attorney and a U.S. Navy combat veteran, criticized the lack of notice in the original immigration proceedings. “Enforcing our immigration laws does not require us to abandon due process or the rule of law,” Kozycki said. “Godfrey never asked for special treatment. He asked for the most basic protection our legal system provides: notice that there was a case against him and the opportunity to stand before an immigration judge and defend himself.”
In September 2025, Wade was taken into immigration custody following a traffic stop for an alleged turn-signal violation. After initial legal challenges by previous attorneys were denied, Kozycki and his wife, immigration attorney Nicole Kozycki, took over the defense as the appeal deadline approached. Although an appeal was filed with the Board of Immigration Appeals, Wade was deported to Jamaica in February while that effort remained ongoing.
During the deportation process, Kozycki reached out to U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, asking the congressman to intervene for a fellow veteran, but McCormick’s office declined to assist. The response led Kozycki to run for public office, becoming the Democratic nominee challenging McCormick for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District seat.
“Godfrey fought to defend this country. When he was facing deportation, I begged my congressman to help a fellow veteran get his day in court. That help never came,” Kozycki said. “The least this country can do is give Godfrey one single day in court to fight for himself. That is all we are asking for: the chance for him to stand before an immigration judge for the first time and defend his right to remain in the country he has called home for more than 50 years.”
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