article_snippet.sent: Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gwendolyn Hogan wrote in an email that the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation.
article_snippet.sent: While similar cases have been brought in other courts, Georgia Department of Corrections officials said this is the first time the agency has gotten involved in one of these cases.
article_snippet.sent: If Georgia disagrees, that sort of holds out the possibility of some future legal conflict between the state and the federal government,' Georgia State University law professor Russell Covey said. '
article_snippet.sent: Southern Poverty Law Center staff attorney Chinyere Ezie said in an emailed statement Friday that the Justice Department brief bolsters their arguments. '
article_snippet.sent: The previous order in a Massachusetts case was overturned last year and is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.