Georgia’s prosecutor watchdog just survived a major courtroom attack.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker on Wednesday upheld a state law that created the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, denying a challenge brought by DeKalb District Attorney Sherry Boston and Augusta District Attorney Jared Williams.
The two prosecutors sued over Senate Bill 92, the 2023 measure that created the commission to investigate and potentially discipline or remove district attorneys and solicitors-general. They argued the law violated separation of powers, chilled free speech and unlawfully set rules for who can hold office.
In a 30-page order, the judge denied the prosecutors’ motion for summary judgment and granted the state’s motion for summary judgment on every count.
The court found the law does not strip prosecutors of case-by-case discretion, but can reach an office-wide policy refusing to prosecute an entire category of crimes. In other words: prosecutors can still make judgment calls, but they cannot rewrite state law from the courthouse.
The ruling also said the challenged provision targets official conduct tied to charging decisions, not a prosecutor’s private views, campaign talk or public advocacy.
Carr celebrated the ruling, saying prosecutors who “choose to ignore the law” will not be shielded from accountability.
There was one wrinkle: Whitaker said the commission appears to be subject to Georgia’s Administrative Procedure Act, despite the state’s argument otherwise. But the judge still declined to toss the commission’s rules, finding the plaintiffs had not shown a current legal injury.
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