9:02 a.m. Sunday, August 22, 2010

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Since early 2008, at least 16 Georgia judges have resigned or been removed from office either under a cloud of suspicion or after being publicly accused of misconduct. Among them are:

● Clinch County Superior Court Judge Brooks Blitch, who resigned after being accused of overseeing illegal payments to employees and ordering the early release of inmates.

● Woodstock and Marietta municipal Judge Diane Busch, who resigned after being charged with furnishing alcohol to teenagers, stemming from a Christmas party at her home.

● Fayette County Superior Court Judge Johnnie Caldwell, who resigned after being accused of making rude, sexually suggestive comments to an attorney.

● Superior Court Judge James Cornwell Jr. of the Mountain Judicial Circuit, who resigned after allegations he went to Las Vegas with a woman whose divorce he signed; took his underage son to a strip club; and waited three hours before reporting he wrecked his SUV.

● Fayette County Chief Superior Court Judge Paschal English, who resigned amid disclosures he was having an affair with a public defender assigned to his court. A deputy found them having sex in a parked car.

● Twiggs County Probate Judge Kenneth Fowler, who was removed for requiring criminal defendants to prove their innocence and having defendants “buy out” of their community service by making deposits into a bank account he controlled.

● Cobb County Chief Superior Court Judge Kenneth Nix, who resigned after being accused by a county prosecutor and investigator of inappropriately touching their bottoms.

● Chattooga County State Court Judge Carlton Vines, who resigned after being indicted for voter fraud. He already had been suspended after a DUI arrest.

● Chief Superior Court Judge Ernest “Bucky” Woods of the Mountain Judicial Circuit, who resigned after being accused of contacting a female criminal defendant through Facebook.
 

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