Ousted judge demands $50M in lawsuit tied to nightclub arrest
Charged with obstructing an Atlanta police officer during a fight outside a Buckhead nightclub, a disgraced former judge is now claiming in a $50 million lawsuit that she is the victim of the encounter.
Christina Peterson, a lawyer ousted as Douglas County’s probate judge in June 2024 for misconduct spanning her time on the bench, is suing the city of Atlanta and a police officer who arrested her.
Peterson’s complaint, filed Tuesday in the federal trial court in Atlanta, demands a jury trial and compensation “believed to exceed” $50 million for “physical injury, emotional distress, loss of liberty, and widespread reputational and professional harm.”
Peterson, 40, alleges she was unnecessarily roughed up by the officer during her arrest outside the Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge shortly after 3 a.m. on June 20, 2024. She also claims the city subsequently portrayed her as a violent felon in publishing body-worn camera footage and related material.
“Because the City’s false felony allegations were disseminated through global internet platforms and remain publicly accessible worldwide, Plaintiff’s reputational injury is not geographically limited and has materially impaired her ability to obtain legal employment, clients, and professional opportunities both domestically and internationally,” Peterson’s lawsuit states.
A representative for the city declined to comment and did not confirm details about the officer’s identity. Peterson did not immediately respond to questions about the case.
Peterson is currently charged with a single misdemeanor count of willful obstruction of a law enforcement officer. She said in a recent court filing that she wanted to waive her arraignment and plead not guilty.
A hearing in the criminal case is scheduled for March.
Peterson, a University of Georgia School of Law graduate, is representing herself in both the criminal and civil cases.
In November, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis dropped two other charges pending against Peterson, of battery and felony obstruction.
Peterson’s arrest warrants said she struck the officer with a closed fist, intending to cause him physical harm.
Peterson has maintained that she was trying to help a woman, Alexandria Love, who was being attacked outside the nightclub. Peterson claimed her arrest was “a set-up.”
In her lawsuit, Peterson said she did not resist, threaten, obstruct or strike the officer.
“Without provocation or justification, (the officer) violently slammed Plaintiff head-first to the ground and applied compressive force to her neck and back while she was prone, non-resisting, and compliant, before placing her in handcuffs,” the complaint says.
Peterson alleges she was detained in the back of a patrol vehicle for four to five hours while the officer drove erratically and made several stops and private phone calls. Her civil claims include false arrest and imprisonment, excessive force, malicious prosecution, assault and battery.
Shortly after Peterson’s arrest, Atlanta police released body-worn camera footage of the incident, along with a statement that said in part that Peterson “rushed toward the commotion and immediately started screaming” at a security guard and an officer. Police said Peterson “forcibly pushed” the officer in the chest twice and “kept swiping his hands away.”
In September, Peterson told the judge in her criminal case that she had completed a drug and alcohol evaluation, community service and therapy pursuant to an agreement with prosecutors, believing the case would be dismissed. She said eyewitness testimony and video footage supported her innocence.
The criminal case did not factor into the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision to remove Peterson from the bench, though the ruling came days after her arrest.
Peterson had been accused of violating professional conduct rules since she was elected unopposed as Douglas County’s probate judge in late 2020.
She published inappropriate social media posts, unnecessarily jailed and fined a woman and let wedding participants into the courthouse after hours without permission, the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission said. It also accused Peterson of being abusive toward a fellow judge and other county officials, obstructing access to public records and having improper contact with a litigant, among other things.
Throughout the ethics case, Peterson said she faced unfair criticism as the first Black probate judge in Douglas County. About a month before she was removed from the bench, she lost her bid for reelection.
About the Author
Journalist Rosie Manins is a legal affairs reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
