She Did What? This GA Judge Is Accused of All Kinds of Strange Shenanigans
Williams was elected in 2020 and has served as a judge in Fulton County's Superior Court since January 2021. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the Director of the Judicial Qualifications Commission is trying to find out if any of Williams' actions since she's been on the bench have violated the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct. The first hearing is scheduled to start on March 5.
Some of the conduct in question includes allegations of Williams giving preferential treatment to a sorority sister in a child custody case and reaching out to an attorney for her uncle, who was facing a contempt case in front of a different judge, hoping to 'work something out.' But one of the strangest allegations was that Williams held a young woman in a courthouse holding cell 'without any legal findings or justification' during her parents' divorce case after she admitted to damaging things in his apartment due to their strained relationship.
'Today you came here and admitted to … 36 years' worth of prison on this stuff. Do you understand that?' the JQC alleges Williams told the woman. 'And all for a divorce that had nothing to do with you, right?'
Although Williams isn't speaking out publicly about the charges, her attorney, Gabe Banks, said removing his client from the bench would be 'inconsistent with the manner in which the JQC has resolved other cases' and a betrayal of the Fulton County voters who elected her.
'All Judge Williams wants and deserves is to be treated fairly. The same rules should apply to every judge. Most importantly, discipline should be meted out evenhandedly and should not be politically motivated,' he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Los Angeles Times
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NBC News
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Justin Bibb, the mayor of Cleveland and president of the Democratic Mayors Association, said in an interview with NBC News that municipal leaders across the country are watching what's happening in Washington — on the heels of Trump activating the California National Guard to assist with immigration enforcement in Los Angeles — with wary eyes. "Absolutely, we're concerned about it," he said. "I want to be very crystal clear about something: We do not want the National Guard in our cities.' Bibb also defended Bowser's handling of Trump's crackdown this week, pointing to the unusual situation Bowser finds herself in compared to leaders of other major cities. 'She understands and recognizes that she's in a unique position where there's no real statehood in D.C., and her autonomy can be limited, but at the end of the day, she's going to continue to do the job she's been doing on reducing violent crime, with or without the support of Donald Trump,' he said. Trump has publicly mused about returning the limited powers of Washington's local government to federal control. Since 1973, the city has operated under a "home rule" charter granted by Congress that allows for residents to elect a mayor and city council. But ultimately, the Constitution gives Congress authority to determine the laws of the nation's capital. Though residents of Washington, D.C., pay federal taxes, the city does not have voting representation in Congress. Declining to directly criticize Trump, Bowser nodded to the city's subservient position during her Monday news conference. "He has prerogatives in D.C. unlike anywhere else in the country," she said of Trump. "There are things that, when a city is not a state and not fully autonomous and doesn't have senators, that the federal government can do."
