Latest news with #ShermelaWilliams
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
She Did What? This GA Judge Is Accused of All Kinds of Strange Shenanigans
The agency in charge of investigating judicial misconduct has one Georgia Superior Court Judge on its radar. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) has filed several charges against Judge Shermela Williams, accusing her of a growing list of ethics violations, including delaying rulings and using her position to get involved in the legal proceedings of a relative. 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. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Yahoo
Fulton judge accused of detaining woman during parents' divorce hearing, calling in favor for uncle
A Fulton County Superior Court judge is facing charges accusing her of misconduct. Earlier this week, the Judicial Qualifications Commission brought 15 charges against Judge Shermela Williams. Several of the charges accuse the judge of taking too long to render a decision on child support and child custody cases, some taking as long as 30 months. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] One of the complaints involves a 22-year-old woman being detained after testifying in her parents' divorce case. During her testimony, the woman reported having a strained relationship with her father and going to his apartment and damaging it. While attorneys delivered closing arguments, Judge Williams reportedly stopped them to discuss the daughter's testimony. She is quoted in the complaint as telling the woman she had admitted to 36 years in prison worth of crimes in her testimony before having a deputy 'show her what that cell looks like.' The woman was then left in a holding cell for more than 30 minutes. When she was brought back into the courtroom, Judge Williams is quoted as telling the woman about 'girls who came in here with daddy issues.' The JQC complaint says that Williams had no legal justification to detain the woman in a cell. TRENDING STORIES: Carson Beck's Mercedes-Benz, Lamborghini stolen from his Miami home Boss shoots, kills employee at Gwinnett McDonald's parking lot 'RHOA' star's estranged husband's citizenship request denied In a separate incident, the complaint details Judge Williams asking a metro Atlanta law firm to call her on a personal cell phone after hours. When speaking with an associate with the law firm, the judge is accused of asking for an extension in a case so the respondent, her uncle, would have more time to file his answer. She is quoted as telling the associate that because others at the firm were reasonable, they should 'work something out.' The complaint claims Williams used the 'prestige of her office to advance the private interest of another.' Channel 2 Action News has reached out to Judge Williams' office for a comment. S25Z0722 JQC Formal Charges by Jennifer Smith on Scribd [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
