County prosecutor resigns amid misconduct fight with judge

Some of the drunk drivers had alcohol levels that allegedly were more than two and a half times the legal limit. In one case a man was accused of nearly beating someone to death six days after his DUI case was dropped, according to case filings published on social media.

The messy feud in the rural county roughly 50 miles east of Macon has played out on social media, complete with name calling and AI-generated cartoons.

The conflict began after the judge said he heard that the prosecutor, the defense attorney and possibly others worked together to end the prosecution of some of Vines’ clients without the required approval from a judge.

In a May 13 email to Howard and Vines, the judge said he had investigated the allegations and, in four cases, “found them credible enough to warrant further investigation.”

“I regret this situation and in particular I regret being put in the position to have to respond to the matter at hand,” Dana said in the email, which was published on Facebook by his attorney. Dana recused himself from cases involving the two attorneys.

Howard responded by complaining about Dana to Georgia’s Judicial Qualifications Commission, which disciplines judges. He told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the judge’s “outlandish” email violated judicial conduct rules.

Meanwhile, Dana’s attorney, Ben Sessions, said he complained about Howard to Georgia’s new Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission. Sessions also told District Attorney Tripp Fitzner of the Middle Judicial Circuit of Georgia about the allegations. The DA asked the GBI to investigate and recused himself from the matter.

“My decision to request an investigation and to recuse should not be construed, either overtly or implicitly, as commenting on the merit or lack of merit of any allegations,” Fitzner said in a July 9 statement published on Facebook. “Rather, these actions were taken solely to observe the ethical obligations of a district attorney as I understand them to be and to ensure the integrity of any potential proceedings.”

Both Howard and Cochran, the sheriff, told the AJC they have done nothing wrong and welcome any investigation.

Vines, who also represents paying clients in criminal cases, did not respond to phone and email messages.

Howard, reelected after running unopposed in November 2024, has been the county’s part-time solicitor since 2018.

Despite mounting pressure to step aside, Howard told the AJC on July 9 he had the support of county leaders and did not plan to resign as the state court solicitor or the county’s attorney, a part-time role he’s held for about a decade.

But that changed in recent days.

“Serving as Washington County solicitor has been an honor until the clear bias, prejudice and harassment by Judge Dana and his allies made it impossible for me and my family to continue doing so,” Howard said in a statement Tuesday.

Howard also resigned as the county attorney on Sunday.

“We will be moving forward as a county,” Mel Daniel, chairman of the county commission, said in a video published Monday on Facebook.

Howard said his dismissal of misdemeanor criminal cases has been entirely warranted and within his discretion. He said he has dismissed 340 cases since 2018, including 22 against Vines’ clients.

“Sometimes people are worthy of a second chance,” Howard told the AJC on July 9. “I’d like to have this behind me so I can get back to working for the people who elected me in Washington County.”

Howard said he typically handled two or three thousand cases a year as a prosecutor in Washington County, which has about 20,000 residents.

Credit: Courtesy

Credit: Courtesy

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A spokesperson for the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia said because of Fitzner’s recusal, it will appoint a conflict prosecutor who will decide whether to investigate.

A GBI spokesperson said the agency is waiting on the council to formally request an investigation.

Before he resigned, Howard told the AJC he had independently asked the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission to review his work as county solicitor.

In recent weeks, Howard and Sessions, the judge’s attorney, have turned to social media.

Credit: Facebook

Credit: Facebook

Howard criticized Sessions’ many social media posts about the drama, telling the AJC “professionals don’t behave this way.” But on his own public Facebook account, Howard said Dana and the judge’s supporters were lying about him for political gain.

Sessions told the AJC he started using Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to draw attention to the alleged wrongdoing. Since mid-June, he has published more than 90 related posts on Facebook alone, calling Howard a “pompous jerk,” “incompetent, dangerous and emotionally unhinged,” “a government grifter of the worst sort,” and “the worst excuse for a prosecutor in the state of Georgia.”

“Once I started looking at it, I was like, ‘This is so much bigger than what (Dana) thought,” Sessions said. “I’ve never seen anything remotely close to it.”

Sessions has also publicly called into question Vines’ earnings from the county and his contract as a public defender. And he has suggested in several social media posts that the county sheriff may have improperly referred drunk drivers to Vines as part of the alleged deal with Howard.

The sheriff said anyone charged in the county with a misdemeanor who cannot afford a lawyer is told to contact Vines as the appropriate public defender. He said anyone charged with a felony is similarly referred to Superior Court Public Defender Brandi Payne.

“Not only is there nothing wrong with this, it is absolutely a requirement to ensure the accused are afforded their right to a lawyer,” the sheriff told the AJC. “My office welcomes any legitimate investigation, but we don’t have the time or resources to devote to social media rumors which have no basis in evidence or reality.”