COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A local district attorney is suing the county that she usually represents in court. Cobb County District Attorney Sonya Allen is fighting to get money that the lawsuit claims the county owes her.
“I wouldn’t be upset at the district attorney for suing for what’s rightfully hers, if it is,” said Cobb resident Scott Keenliside.
According to the lawsuit filed against Cobb County, the county suspended Allen’s pension when she took office as district attorney in 2025.
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Allen worked for the Cobb County Sheriff’s office for a little more than 29 years before she retired in 2021 as chief deputy.
The lawsuit states that Cobb County told Allen that since she was rehired as a Cobb County employee, her retirement benefits were suspended as long as she acted as the Cobb County DA.
The lawsuit accuses Cobb County of breaking the law, as it states that Allen is a state employee.
“If she has served her time helping us, then she does deserve to have her money. Everyone deserves to have their pension,” Heather King-Green told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell.
The lawsuit also claims Cobb County will only give Allen a supplemental payment in addition to her state salary if she submits a form that states she is a county employee. Allen is fighting for both her pension and the supplemental payment.
According to the Georgia Prosecuting Attorney’s Council, all 51 district attorneys in the state of Georgia are paid the same exact salary by the state, which is $138,473.
“The law allows the counties to supplement their DAs, which is an additional payment based upon the duties, the size of the circuit, a whole number of factors go into that. The supplements are based upon the counties’ willingness to supplement the state pay,” said Executive Director of the Georgia Prosecuting Attorney’s Council Pete Skandalakis.
Skandalakis says the district attorneys in the state of Georgia are the lowest-paid district attorneys in the southeast. He also says district attorneys are state employees.
“A district attorney is a constitutional officer; they are in the state constitution, they are considered state employees, obviously the public elects them, so that’s what they are. A district attorney is paid by the state. that payment comes through PAC after appropriations are made by the state of Georgia,” he said.
A Cobb County spokesperson released a statement in response to the lawsuit.
“The County Attorney’s Office does not comment on existing litigation. The pleadings of the case are public record and reflect the position of the county,” said Shelly Weidner.
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According to the county’s pleadings, the county denies many of the assertions made in the lawsuit.
A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26, 2026.
“If they are spending money on that, they might as well spend their money on giving her her money,” said Cobb Resident Tyrone Robinson.
“It stinks that taxpayers in Cobb have to pay for this. I would much more want to see reform on our laws, and who we are arresting, that would be a big deal,” said Keenliside.
Skandalakis said this is the first time he has heard of a district attorney suing a county over this kind of issue.
“This is an unusual circumstance this is the first time I’m aware of anything like this happening,” he said.
Skandalakis said there are efforts to increase state pay for district attorneys in the state of Georgia.
“There is an effort to try to get their state pay up so there’s not that huge disparity between the superior court judge and the DA,” he said.
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