JaDawnya Butler Atlanta Municipal Court Judge JaDawnya Butler Baker. Photo: John Disney/ALM

Georgia's judicial watchdog agency has filed ethics charges against Atlanta Municipal Court Judge JaDawnya Butler Baker, accusing her of leveraging her judicial position for her own benefit. 

The formal charges brought by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission cited Baker for multiple potential violations of the state Code of Judicial Conduct dating back to 2015 when she first was appointed to the city court bench. The JQC filed the charges with the Supreme Court of Georgia on Friday. 

On Friday, Baker's attorney, Ronald J. Freeman of Johnson & Freeman in Union City, said that the judge and her legal team are reviewing the JQC complaint. "This process is constitutionally mandated, and we are optimistic that it will be handled with the utmost of fairness and due process," Freeman said. "We are confident that she will be treated fairly and fully vindicated."

Baker is accused of using court security and other staff to run personal errands, including picking up and delivering alcoholic beverages to an event for the judge; transporting her personal furniture; running other personal errands; and shopping for items for the judge's chambers.

The five-count ethics complaint also alleges that Baker:

  • Improperly dismissed cases presented to her for guilty pleas and other dispositions.
  • Attempted to force a prosecutor to go forward with a trial when he wanted to dismiss the case.
  • Interfered with plea negotiations.
  • Attempted to bar certain prosecutors from being assigned to her court.
  • Gave "untruthful, evasive and misleading statements" to the JQC's investigative panel about her contacts with the city solicitor about prosecutors assigned to her court.

The charges also accuse the judge of displays of "intemperate, abusive and harassing behavior" at the expense of her staff and other court personnel, including:

  • Regularly threatening to fire court employees for minor issues.
  • Belittling and humiliating staff members in court.
  • Compelling staff to work beyond their normal shifts in order to perform personal errands, favors and other "unnecessary duties" for the judge. 

The JQC said the allegations against Baker violate state ethics canons requiring judges to uphold the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, avoid even the appearance of impropriety, and at act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the judiciary. The JQC ethics complaint also alleges that Baker violated ethics rules that bar judges from leveraging the prestige of their office for their own benefit, and that judges at all times "respect and comply with the law."

Baker, a former Fulton County chief assistant district attorney, was among 17 candidates selected for interviews by Gov. Brian Kemp's Judicial Nominating Commission last year to fill an opening on the Fulton County Superior Court. In 2018, she was also on the list of candidates interviewed for a Fulton Superior Court seat by Gov. Nathan Deal's JNC. 

Baker was appointed to the Atlanta Municipal Court in 2015 by former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. A graduate of Spelman College, Baker earned her law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.