Georgia Supreme Court denies review of proposed rules to discipline prosecutors News
Harrison Keely, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Georgia Supreme Court denies review of proposed rules to discipline prosecutors

The Georgia state Supreme Court denied review Wednesday of proposed rules to discipline state prosecutors in a blow to a state legislature effort to oversee the actions of district attorneys.

The proposed rules would have allowed the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Qualifications Commission to “discipline, remove, and cause involuntary retirement of appointed or elected district attorneys or solicitors-general” for misconduct or failure to carry out duties. The rules were supported by Republican legislators dissatisfied with the recent indictment of former President Donald Trump. Under these new rules, the Commission could have removed the prosecutors leading the case against Trump if they were able to show cause.

Pursuant to Ga. Code § 15-18-32, the creation of these new rules was only permissible “provided … that such standards and rules shall be effective only upon review and adoption by the Supreme Court.” However, after receiving the proposed rules, the Georgia Supreme Court denied review. The court argued that it was unclear whether it had the power to review such rules at all:

In short, we have grave doubts that we have the constitutional power to take any action on the draft standards and rules. But deciding the question of whether we actually have that power would require deciding difficult constitutional questions of first impression outside of the adversarial process. And “as a matter of constitutional avoidance, we must not address a constitutional question where it is unnecessary to do so.” Sons of Confederate Veterans, 315 Ga. at 65 (d) (i). Because we are under no legal directive to take action, the most prudent course for us is to decline to take action without conclusively deciding any constitutional question.

In a press release, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston, who with three other district attorneys previously sued to stop the commission’s creation, said:

Today’s order by the Georgia Supreme Court shines a bright light on the fundamental failings of Senate Bill 92. We are pleased the justices have taken action to stop this unconstitutional attack on the state’s prosecutors. While we celebrate this as a victory, we remain steadfast in our commitment to fight any future attempts to undermine the will of Georgia voters and the independence of the prosecutors who they choose to represent them.

Without the Supreme Court’s approval, the proposed rules fail and cannot be implemented.

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