Richmond County Superior Court Judge Carl Brown refused Friday to overturn a May 29 vote by the Coliseum Authority not to rehire former facilities director Julie A. Huggins.

Mrs. Huggins' attorney, Robert Mullins, had petitioned the court to cancel authority member Willie Law's vote against rehiring Mrs. Huggins and that authority Chairman Richard Isdell be allowed to vote instead.

Mr. Mullins said Mr. Law should not have been allowed to vote on the rehiring because of a conflict of interest created by Mrs. Huggins' pending slander lawsuit against Mr. Law.

The vote not to rehire Mrs. Huggins passed 6-5.

Authority Attorney Ed Enoch argued that Mr. Mullins cited law and ethics ordinances that don't apply to the authority, and the judge agreed, saying Mrs. Huggins' complaint could be resolved in the pending lawsuit.

Afterward, Mr. Mullins said he expected Mrs. Huggins would file suit against the authority based on the vote and "the back-door politics" that allowed the vote to be taken, even though the issue was not on the agenda.

Mrs. Huggins was fired because some members said the job title on her rÃsumà was not her official title.