The judge overseeing a motion to unseal House Speaker Glenn Richardson's divorce file has voluntarily stepped aside from the case.

Paulding County Superior Court Judge James Osborne said he disqualified himself from the case, which raised questions of whether Richardson got preferential treatment, because he "desires the full confidence of the public in the judicial process." The judge noted that there had been no court motion seeking his recusal.

Osborne disqualified himself in an order signed Thursday. On Friday, Walter Matthews, chief judge of the Rome Judicial Circuit, was appointed to decide the motion filed by Rome ethics activist George Anderson to unseal the divorce file of Glenn and Susan Richardson.

Matthews' appointment was necessary because Paulding's two other judges, Tonny Beavers and Kenneth Vinson, already had voluntarily recused themselves from hearing Anderson's motion. Beavers did not provide details of why he disqualified himself from the case. Vinson cited his "close personal relationship" with the Richardsons.

The Richardsons filed for an uncontested divorce in Paulding County on Feb. 6. The same day, they appeared privately before Osborne in his chambers and asked him to seal the file.

Osborne signed an order presented to him by Richardson that said "the harm otherwise resulting to the interest of the parties and their children which are the subject of this action outweighs any public interest and access to that portion of the record."

Both Richardson, in a court filing, and Osborne, in an interview, have denied that the speaker received preferential treatment in the handling of the divorce.

Osborne is the speaker's former law partner and his daughter works as an associate attorney at Richardson's law firm. In a telephone interview late Thursday afternoon, Osborne said he treated the Richardsons' case as he had any other. The judge also said he was still presiding over the case and had not recused himself from it because no one had asked him to.

When reminded that both Beavers and Vinson had voluntarily disqualified themselves, Osborne said, "You have to ask them." Osborne noted he had sealed other divorce files before and said he could not recall denying a request to seal an uncontested divorce file.

The judge said he typically seals files when public disclosure could have some impact on a couple's children. Osborne also said he is leery of how personal financial information in a couple's divorce files could get into the wrong hands.

In a court filing last month, Richardson blasted Anderson, saying he believed his motion to unseal the file was frivolous, false and subject to court sanctions.

Anderson, through his lawyer, Gerry Weber of Atlanta, has said because the Richardsons' divorce "involves a high-ranking public official, the cloud of suspicion about this case maximizes the public interest and minimizes privacy interests." In a recent motion, Weber contended Richardson had failed to show why his case is so exceptional to others it should be sealed from public view.