Atlanta

District attorneys sue state to block oversight panel

By Bryan Mims, WSB-TV
By Bryan Mims, WSB-TV

ATLANTA — Four district attorneys in Georgia filed a lawsuit to block a law that gives the state new powers to punish prosecutors and remove them from office.

Senate Bill 92, which became law in July, creates an eight-member panel called the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualification Commission.

It has the authority to investigate and discipline district attorneys and solicitor generals for a variety of reasons, including refusal to prosecute certain crimes.

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“Instead of making decisions without fear, they would prefer that fear guide prosecutors’ every move,” DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston, one of the four D.A.’s filing the legal challenge told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims. “Under this law, a commission of just eight could silence a community of voices and override the will of the people.”

The lawsuit seeks to have the court bar the state from investigating or disciplining any prosecutor.

The chief sponsor of the legislation, Senator Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, has said the law is about holding rogue prosecutors accountable. He sent a written statement responding to the suit: “D.A.’s have a sacred responsibility to enforce the law, and this oversight commission was created to ensure they are held to a higher standard. All Georgians deserve to have confidence that our justice system will deliver. Those who are charged to uphold the law are not above it, and I am hopeful that the courts will come to the same conclusion.”

Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones sent a written statement of his own: “Once again, the only district attorneys who need to be worried about oversight are the ones not doing their job.”

The legislation passed on party lines, with Republicans in support. But the plaintiffs in the lawsuit include three Democrats and one Republican. Jonathan Adams is the Republican district attorney for Butts, Lamar and Monroe counties who blasts the law for stripping D.A.’s of their discretion and independence.

“Although I may disagree with the D.A.’s decisions in other communities, I believe it’s their right to make those decisions and to represent their communities and constituents,” he said.

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“This legislation violates the voters’ choice,” said Jared Williams, the district attorney in Augusta who’s also a plaintiff in the suit. “The people didn’t choose us to be robots with law degrees; they chose us to make the tough decisions that ultimately protect our communities.”

Boston said the commission is unneeded. She pointed to the Ahmaud Arbery case, where three White men were convicted of murdering a Black jogger. The district attorney, Jackie Johnson, was indicted for meddling in the case and was eventually ousted from office by the voters. “When prosecutors commit actions or inactions that rise to the level we saw in the Ahmaud Arbery case, no one stands by,” she said. “Not only was she removed by the voters, she was also charged by the attorney general, and that indictment is still pending.”

Attorney General Chris Carr’s office just released this statement regarding the DA’s lawsuit:

I have great respect for the important role District Attorneys play in protecting Georgia’s citizens. Unfortunately, some District Attorneys have embraced the progressive movement across the nation of refusing to enforce the law. That is a dereliction of duty, and as a result, Georgia’s communities suffer. All Georgians deserve to be safe, and all crime victims deserve justice. Like everyone else, District Attorneys who choose to violate their oaths of office are not immune from accountability, and we will vigorously defend this law in court.

—  Chris Carr, Georgia Attorney General

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