"It's another barrier we've overcome in the sense that now the debate will be focused," said Litvack. "If you agree that there needs to be a hate crimes law in Utah, and didn't like the notion of the list, I can say, 'I know where you are coming from, but all other options are out. If we are going to do it, let's do it in the constitutionally sound way.' "

Model legislation from around the country, some of which has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, includes such lists, Litvack noted.

"Every other state but Utah and Georgia have constructed hate crimes law within the confines of a list that has been validated," he said. "In a way, this is a validating experience . . . not just for hate crimes legislation but also for writing (the bill) the way we have been advocating."

Litvack's 2005 bill is already drafted and includes the compromise language. He said he may share it with Georgia Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, who drafted the law thrown out by the courts Monday. The classifications in Fort's 1999 bill were eliminated through amendments.

"I'm disappointed, but I'm not surprised," Fort said of the ruling. "I fully intend to draft a new piece of legislation. It's too important to let go. I don't know what the specific language will be, whether we will enumerate the categories as we did (before), or whether we will do it another way. But we are going to do it."

The Georgia court's decision overturns the two-year enhancement portion of an eight-year sentence given to co-defendants Christopher Botts and Angela Pisciotta, who pleaded guilty to the April 2002 aggravated assault of Che and Idris Golden.

Mark Yurachek, the attorney who argued before the Georgia court on their behalf, said the 7-0 ruling carries an important message.

"This isn't a victory for the forces of evil," Yurachek said. "We very much believed in our client, but we also believed and supported the notion that we were opposing a poorly done statute that just really failed to honor and respect and contemplate the things that (victims) had been through that caused a desire for a hate crimes statute."

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E-mail: jdobner@desnews.com