DECATUR, GA — Four Georgia district attorneys are suing the State of Georgia in opposition of Senate Bill 92, calling the new law unconstitutional and disapproving of a state commission’s ability to remove or discipline prosecutors for misconduct and other reasons.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston’s office said the lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Fulton County Superior Court. Cobb County District Attorney Flynn Broady, Towaliga Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jonathan Adams and Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams are also suing both the state and members of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission.
The prosecutors want the courts to invalidate SB 92 or stop the commission from handling complaints or disciplining local prosecutors, according to a news release from Boston’s office.
The prosecutors are also aiming to keep the commission from investigating or disciplining district attorneys or solicitors general for prosecutorial decisions or for statements related to those decisions, according to the news release.
The Public Rights Project, a nonprofit that works with local governments to protect civil rights, is representing the attorneys alongside Washington, Dreyer and Associates and Bruce P. Brown Law.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed SB 92 in May, creating the commission to oversee the district attorneys and solicitors general statewide. The law took effect July 1.
Boston’s news release explains that the lawsuit contends SB 92 unconstitutional and violates due process clauses of the federal and state constitutions.
The lawsuit also claims SB 92 improperly allows the commission to define the grounds for discipline, violates free speech under the federal and state constitutions and interferes with prosecutorial discretion.
According to a past news release from Kemp’s office, under SB 92, a district attorney or solicitor general can be removed or involuntarily retired for the following reasons:
- Mental or physical incapacity…
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