After successfully prosecuting 18 individuals, including former President Donald Trump, some Republicans in Georgia are calling for the new commission to punish or remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Without signing off on the order, the justices voiced their “grave doubts” regarding their authority to oversee the extralegal responsibilities of district attorneys. Their reasoning was that the justices were not going to make a decision because lawmakers hadn’t told them to.
“If district attorneys exercise judicial power, our regulation of the exercise of that power may well be within our inherent power as the head of the Judicial Branch,” justices wrote. “But if district attorneys exercise only executive power, our regulation of the exercise of that power would likely be beyond the scope of our judicial power.”
Rep. Houston Gaines (R–Athens), a Republican who was instrumental in the bill’s House passage earlier this year, has said that lawmakers could skip the court’s rule approval in January and let the commission start running.
Republicans nationwide have introduced numerous bills to limit prosecutorial bias, and this one in Georgia is only one of them. The Associated Press reported that Republicans have criticized certain progressive prosecutors for seeking reduced prison terms and a decrease in the number of drug possession cases they bring. Republicans have accused the Democrats of enabling offenders.
The rules must be approved by the state Supreme Court, but four district attorneys are also suing to dismantle the commission, claiming it violates their constitutional rights.
A Georgia judge indicated that she would dismiss the four district attorneys’ case after rejecting their motion to halt the law’s implementation in September.
Because they are afraid for their jobs, prosecutors are changing their ways, according to the plaintiffs.
Judge Paige Reese Whitaker of Fulton County Superior Court determined that the suit has little chance of success due to the fact that the Georgia Constitution “expressly authorizes the General Assembly to impose duties on district attorneys” and to establish procedures for disciplinary actions and removal.
Some say the law unfairly benefits the prosecution, while others, like Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, say that district attorneys violate their constitutional obligation to bring charges.
This law undermines a fundamental component of the American justice system—the discretion of prosecutors to decide which criminal charges to pursue and the severity of their sentences. It is against the law in Georgia for a prosecutor to reject whole categories of crimes; instead, they must decide on charges individually. The elected solicitors general of Georgia and the district attorneys who handle lesser offenses in specific counties are both affected by this.
The commission has made it clear that operations will not commence until regulations are complete. They decided in September not to investigate anything that occurred prior to the rules’ approval. Willis, who was successful in indicting Trump and others in August, faces complaints seeking disciplinary action from the commission. The impact of this ruling on these petitions is unclear.
Randy McGinley, who was recently appointed head of the commission and serves as the district attorney for Newton and Walton counties, declined to comment. McGinley said he would call a commission meeting to discuss the issue next week.
