Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) will sign a measure Friday afternoon that creates a commission to investigate, fine, or even oust prosecutors deemed too soft on crime.
The measure is part of Kemp’s second-term agenda to hold district attorneys accountable for failing to punish certain lawbreakers in a timely manner.
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Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and some district attorneys, claim the commission could be open to political pressure and may hold a district attorney’s livelihood hostage if it did not agree with decisions being made.
Supporters of the oversight commission believe it is necessary to weed out problematic prosecutors such as Athens-Clarke County District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, who has been frequently cited by Republicans as one of the prime examples of a prosecutor who has failed to live up to expectations and has allowed serious crimes to go unchecked.
“There’s issue after issue after issue,” Republican state Rep. Houston Gaines said of Gonzalez. “The whole point of the bill is to restore public safety in places where you have rogue district attorneys who aren’t doing their job.”
Gonzalez, Athens-Clarke County’s first Hispanic district attorney, had no criminal law experience before winning a December 2020 election. She campaigned on a liberal criminal justice platform that included not prosecuting certain drug offenses and refusing to seek the death penalty.
Gonzalez was sued in March by one of her own voters, Athens bar owner Jarrod Miller, who wanted a judge to force Gonzalez to follow broad statutes that define her duties. Miller’s lawsuit laid out numerous examples of alleged failures in Gonzalez’s office that have resulted in high turnover rates and failure to go after criminals. More than 50 assistant district attorneys, investigators, and other staff have left since Gonzalez was voted into office. The number of grand juries that have convened has shrunk, but the number of cases has increased.
Gonzalez has also been taken to task for failing to prosecute indictable offenses, including a murder case and a drug trafficking case. Prosecutors in her office have been accused of violating a defendant’s right to a speedy trial and are at risk of 150 cases being dismissed for failing to accuse defendants within the statute of limitations, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting.
She was also dinged by Superior Court judges in October who took issue with the “efficacy, preparation, and procedural readiness” of prosecutors in her office.
Gonzalez told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she’s being unfairly vilified because conservatives don’t like her politics and are hellbent on seeing her fail.
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She called Kemp’s new commission part of a broader campaign to strip duly elected district attorneys of any power and force them to revert to failed “tough on crime” policies of the past.
Kemp will sign legislation creating an oversight commission at the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office at 3:30 p.m.
