Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams is one of four Georgia DAs challenging a new law giving a state commission authority to investigate and remove elected prosecutors.
Williams and district attorneys of the Cobb, Towaliga and Stone Mountain judicial circuits filed the action Wednesday in Fulton County Superior Court.
The suit says Senate Bill 92 gives the new Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission the ability to second-guess elected prosecutors’ exercise of prosecutorial discretion, without having any clear standard for what is appropriate.
“Senate Bill 92 imposes a top-down approach to law enforcement, overriding local choices about how to keep communities safe. While that may be the preferred outcome for the General Assembly and Gov. Kemp, the system established by SB 92 runs afoul of constraints established by the people of Georgia and embodied in the Georgia constitution,” it says.
The bill creates a new panel of political appointees and requires DAs and solicitors general “to review every individual case” and make the decision on each whether to prosecute, according to the lawsuit.
It also curbs the ability of prosecutors to explain their decisions, including those based on limited resources, and gives the politically-appointed panel the unfettered ability to investigate any complaint.
The state constitution already gives voters the ability to replace DAs with whom they are not satisfied, the DAs contend. Prosecutors are subject to the State Bar and attorney rules of professional conduct, which are enforced at the highest level by the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in May, the bill came about as some prosecutors announced plans not to prosecute lower-level drug offenses or crimes related to performing abortions. It gives the commission power to investigate based on such stated policies.
Williams faces a May Democratic primary challenge from Columbia County Assistant District Attorney Amber Brantley.
In a statement, Williams said:
“I am suing to protect the voices of voters in our circuit. I am suing to ensure prosecutors can do their jobs without fear of reprisal from those with political agendas. I am suing because I swore to uphold the constitution, and this law violates it.
“I am a prosecutor. I represent the State of Georgia, and the citizens of Burke and Richmond counties. I don’t back down from bad criminals who hurt people; I certainly won’t back down from bad law and harmful policy.”
In the Augusta Circuit, which spans Richmond and Burke counties, Williams assumed an existing backlog after taking office in 2020 and has since opened 6,879 new cases, the complaint says. Over 20 percent of new cases are violent felonies, and 23% are felony drug crimes, it said.
The Stone Mountain Circuit encompasses DeKalb County. The Towaliga Circuit includes Butts, Lamar and Monroe counties.
Stone Mountain DA Sherry Boston said Senate Bill 92 “is a direct threat to every Georgian who exercises their right to vote – their right to choose the person who they think best represents their values in the courtroom. SB 92 says to voters, if the state doesn’t like your choice, the state will choose for you.”
The prosecutors are represented by national nonprofit the Public Rights Project, which works with local governments to protect civil rights, as well as Washington, Dreyer, and Associates, and Bruce P. Brown Law.
