Ex-judge agrees to deal in teen drinking case

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By Christopher Quinn

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Woodstock and Marietta municipal judge who resigned from her posts after police caught 10 teenagers drinking at her home at Marietta Country Club has accepted a prosecutor's offer of community service and other unnamed requirements to resolve the case.

Cobb County Sheriff's Department Diane Busch was a magistrate judge in Marietta and Woodstock.

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Rick Malone, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, said Diane Busch has agreed in principle to a deal that will include community service, such as public speaking to children, and an alcohol assessment, but no jail time.

"She has taken responsibility instead of denying it and there will be a series of requirements," Malone said.

Malone would not specify details because Busch has not signed the agreement. Malone is handling the prosecution because Busch's connections and acquaintances in the Cobb County court system created potential conflicts of interest. He expects her to appear in court in October to enter the offer.

Jimmy Berry, Busch's attorney, confirmed that he is working on a deal for Busch that would lead to dropped charges if she completed the court's requirements.

"This is the best thing for everybody," he said.

However, Carol Harper disagreed with that assessment. The Paulding County woman, who became a motivational speaker after her face was crushed in a 1979 accident involving a drunk driver, wasn't happy that the charges against Busch potentially could be dropped.

"Why? Because she is a judge? That upsets me," Harper said.

When lecturing on the dangers of drinking, Harper often speaks at schools, addressing teens.

"It's up to adults to set the example," she said. "[What Busch did] is just wrong. I think that is terrible for a judge."

Busch was cited for 21 violations, including furnishing alcohol to people younger than 21, contributing to the delinquency of minors and obstruction. They stem from a December Christmas party for adults. A neighbor reported noises from her house to Cobb County police around 3 a.m. after the adults had left. Officers witnessed teens drinking and cited 10, including four older than 17. Busch and a neighbor, Kathryn Middleton, who also faces charges, were at the house, but Busch was asleep when the police arrived, police reports said.

Joel Pugh, Middleton's attorney, confirmed that Middleton has reached an agreement, but Pugh also declined to provide details.

Busch was awakened and initially was cooperative, reports said, but she then grew irate. After officers gave breath tests to the teenagers, she screamed for them to leave her house.

Malone said: "We tried very hard to be fair in the sense that we don't think she should get any special treatment or any special punishment because she is a judge. She is a citizen of Cobb County, and that is how we are treating her."

Busch resigned from her municipal judge posts, both part-time positions, shortly after the incident became public in February.