Judicial Watchdog Agency Files Ethics Charges Against Atlanta Judge
The state Judicial Qualifications Commission alleges that Atlanta Municipal Court Judge JaDawnya Butler Baker has racked up multiple violations of the state Code of Judicial Conduct since she was appointed in 2015.
April 03, 2020 at 06:38 PM
4 minute read
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.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllJudge Sets Early 2025 Trial for Ex-Prosecutor Charged With Meddling in Ahmaud Arbery Investigation
3 minute readFulton Reelects Willis as DA Amid Ongoing 2020 Election Case Against Trump
3 minute readHigh Court to Weigh If Amended Complaints Establish Sovereign Immunity Waiver
6 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Trump's Return to the White House: The Legal Industry Reacts
- 2Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 3Climate Disputes, International Arbitration, and State Court Limitations for Global Issues
- 4Election 2024: Nationwide Judicial Races and Ballot Measures to Watch
- 5Judicial Face-Off: Navigating the Ethical and Efficient Use of AI in Legal Practice [CLE Pending]
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250