Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law legislation Wednesday opposed by Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams for its reach into prosecutorial discretion.
“This legislation will help us ensure rogue or incompetent prosecutors are held accountable if they refuse to uphold the law,” Kemp said at the signing ceremony.
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Senate Bill 332 removes the requirement that standards enforced by the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission must be approved by the Supreme Court of Georgia.
The state’s high court declined last year to approve the rules.
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Williams, one of several Georgia DAs to file suit to challenge the law, maintained Wednesday the bill defies the will of voters.
It “allows members of one party to challenge and remove elected officials of another without any regard for the will of voters who elected them,” he said.
Williams said cutting out the Georgia Supreme Court’s oversight did nothing to address U.S. Constitution concerns about usurping the will of voters.
“When a law violates the Constitution, especially a law that threatens the voice of voters, I will never back down from that fight,” he said.
The bill came about when some Georgia prosecutors said they’d decline to prosecute minor drug offenses or abortion-related crimes. It made headlines as a means to curb Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ prosecution of former president Donald Trump.
