ATLANTA — A state panel says a Fulton County Superior Court judge should be thrown off the bench.
The panel said Judge Shermela Williams illegally jailed a witness, lied during testimony, and more.
The three-judge panel from the Judicial Qualifications Commission accused Williams of more than 30 counts of misconduct.
They say they had little option but to seek the ultimate sanction after they said Williams violated multiple rules stretching back years, including finding that she lied on the stand.
“Given the level of untruthful testimony Judge Williams offered throughout, we are left with little option but to seek the ultimate sanction of removal. A judge that cannot be trusted to tell the truth cannot be trusted to remain in office.”
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The JQC said that although she often handled a heavy caseload, some cases went years after the final hearing without rulings.
“How is it anyone’s fault but yours?” one judge asked Williams during a hearing this summer.
“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m being very transparent and candid,” Williams said.
According to court documents, at least one case did not get a final ruling until 29 months after the final hearing.
The panel says the long wait times were the least egregious of her problems.
The JQC found that Judge Williams had improper ex parte conversations with one person about the case because they were sorority sisters. In another case, the JQC found she improperly helped a family member.
“Judges not only have to do the right thing, they have to avoid even the appearance of impropriety,” Randy Kessler, a prominent family law attorney, said.
Kessler has tried many cases in front of Williams and says she was often a good judge.
“I’ve seen her hundreds of times try her best to get it right,” Kessler said. “I don’t think Judge Williams was trying to do wrong if she did make mistakes.”
However, the JQC said in the most egregious case, Williams improperly jailed a witness.
They say that while a 21-year-old witness testified on behalf of her mom, Williams constantly interrupted the testimony and asked her questions.
At one point, she allegedly commanded the deputy put the witness in custody to “Go show her what that cell looks like.”
“I was trying not to put her in jail and essentially say scared straight for a better term. That was not the right decision,” Williams told the panel.
“I think I’ve seen it all, right? And then I see something like that,” Kessler said.
The commission found Williams seemed to constantly change her story on the stand—
The recommendation will go to the Georgia Supreme Court, where they can accept the recommendation, reject it, or provide their own decision.
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