Georgia district attorneys fight a new law that could remove them from office

Four Georgia district attorneys are challenging the constitutionality of a law that allows a newly appointed state panel to remove them from office.

They’re suing the state to stop the law that created the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, which Gov. Brian Kemp said will curb the power of “rogue or incompetent prosecutors who refuse to uphold the law.”

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston leads the lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court filed on grounds it violates both the U.S. and Georgia constitutions under “freedom of speech, separation of powers, delegation of powers, and due process issues.”

The other prosecutors joining the action are Jonathan Adams of Butts, Lamar, and Monroe counties; Cobb County’s Flynn Broady; and Augusta’s Jared Williams.

“It is an unconstitutional attack on our independence and our discretion,” Boston told GPB News. “We think that it’s important we make this challenge and stand up for the ability to do our jobs the way that the citizens elected us to do.”

Senate Bill 92 became one of the most controversial bills of the 2023 General Assembly and passed mainly along party lines. The disciplinary panel would review complaints and determine punishments, including removal from office for the state’s district attorneys or solicitors general.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to invalidate or halt the law.

The Georgia legislature already has the power to impeach elected district attorneys, and the State Bar of Georgia oversees licensed attorneys.