Former Fulton County assistant district attorney Fani T. Willis at a recent APS hearing. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

Two former Fulton County prosecutors have stepped forward to challenge current District Attorney Paul Howard Jr., who has held the job since 1997.  

Fani Willis served 16 years in the DA's office until leaving in 2018 to open her own practice, and also served as part-time chief judge for the city of South Fulton until stepping down to run for the election.  

Christian Wise Smith, a onetime assistant solicitor with the city of Atlanta, spent two years as a Fulton prosecutor until he recently resigned to run for the top job.

Both challengers said they think it's time for new leadership in the post, but Willis—who lost a 2018 runoff election for an open superior court seat to Kevin Farmer—came out swinging against her former boss. 

"I think the district attorney's office is broken, and I think it's been broken for some time," said Willis.  

"There's too much concentration of resources on charging people, whether properly or not," she said. "They're charging people so fast that those who are really a danger are not being properly investigated."

Willis said the "complaint room" Howard set up shortly after he took over as DA, in which arresting officers and prosecutors meet early on to shepherd cases through first appearance and probable cause hearings, has become a means to launch hasty indictments.   

"The complaint room is a good idea, it's just not being properly implemented," Willis said.

Willis said resources that could be targeted to programs to keep young citizens out of the criminal justice system are instead being used to lock them up. 

"We should take that funding off of just charging people and put it into youth programs," she said. 

Willis also said she would like to see more "inclusiveness" in the DA's office.

"What I mean by that is more dialogue with community leaders, religious leaders and our justice partners," she said. "Right now, the sheriff can't get along with the district attorney; the judges have squabbles with the district attorney. People can't always agree, but they can have constructive dialogue."

Another concern, said Willis, is the number of lawyers leaving the office. 

"The turnover rate is ridiculous," she said. "If you go back four years, about 115 lawyers have left; that's almost the number of lawyer positions in the office."

Other jurisdictions don't have nearly such a turnover rate, she said. 

"We're putting all these resources into these people, and they're leaving because they can't stand the toxic environment," Willis said.

"It's not just that it's not a pleasant environment," she said. "You have people with zero trial experience trying cases, causing them to plead because they don't have the confidence to try them."

Willis also mentioned a sexual harassment complaint a former human resources officer filed against Howard late last year as a "distraction" for the DA.

Willis, who left the office as an executive assistant DA in charge of the Complex Case Division, said her experience makes her the best choice for voters, noting that Smith has little experience trying felony cases.  

"The young man running against me—I think he's got great ideas and could be a part of the next generation—but he's never even sat first chair on a trial," she said. "I just don't think he's qualified right now."

Smith conceded that he's never led a criminal prosecution as an ADA but said he handled hundreds of cases in the solicitor's office and argued that his real-world experience makes him the better choice. 

"I grew up in the justice system: Seeing my mom in and out of jail; I saw my grandmother arrested; I have an uncle serving time for murder," he said. "It didn't seem possible that I would even  graduate from high school at one point."

But he went on to graduate from Ohio University, the first in his family to earn a college degree, and received his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University. 

"I saw the possibility for advancement," Smith said.

His said his goal as DA would be to "bring some balance  to the system, to shift our focus to violent and serious crime, and utilize diversion programs for those less serious offenders."

"If we can give those people the resources to stop committing those crimes, we can break the cycle of recidivism," Smith said.

While he lacks trial experience, Smith said he has other governmental experience, like serving as chief of staff to Atlanta City councilmember Natalyn Archibong for two years.

"It doesn't take trial experience to run the district attorney's office; trial experience is not leadership," he said. "A leader is someone who can motivate someone to serve, and this office is about service."

"Right now the DA's office is the opposite of service: the turnover rate is outrageous, the technology is outdated. What's needed is a paradigm shift for administering justice."

"I can't wait to implement a justice system in Fulton County that values people over conviction rates," he said. 

Howard's office said he would try to provide a statement on the election Friday afternoon, but none had been received by press time.