• Georgia's attorney general has turned down a request for legal representation from a former DeKalb Superior Court judge facing ethics charges filed by the state's judicial disciplinary agency.

In an April 10 letter, AG Sam Olens rejected former judge Cynthia J. Becker's request for counsel, saying his authority to represent government officials and agencies “is generally limited to the executive branch of state government.”

Becker had asked the AG to defend her in the case the Judicial Qualifications Commission filed last month. The charges, filed three weeks after Becker retired from the bench March 1, contend that she exhibited unprofessional behavior, refused to perform her judicial duties and repeatedly violated the state Code of Judicial Conduct. Several charges relate to Becker's handling of a 2013 corruption case involving former officials with the county school system, including decisions to alter one defendant's plea deal to include prison—his deal with prosecutors was for probation—and orders for new trials for two other defendants.