Supreme Court challengers violated judicial rules, state watchdog says

Two left-leaning plaintiff attorneys trying to unseat Republican-appointed justices of the Georgia Supreme Court have violated judicial conduct rules, the state’s judicial watchdog says.

Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin, backed by former President Barack Obama and other Democrats, have been warned that their public endorsement of one another and promise to restore abortion rights is in violation of the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct.

Judicial elections in Georgia are nonpartisan but races for the state Supreme Court have become highly politicized in recent years.

The Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission, which investigates and prosecutes allegations of judicial misconduct, forms a special committee during election years to address allegations of ethical misconduct in campaigns for judicial office.

In statements that became publicly available Monday, the JQC committee said it “reasonably believes” that Jordan and Rankin violated the judicial code by publicly endorsing one another and promising to restore abortion rights. The code applies to judges as well as those vying for a seat on the bench. The committee said a full JQC investigation could result.

Jordan and Rankin said the JQC’s attempt to silence them and other judicial candidates violates their free speech rights. Jordan called it “a purely political move to keep voters in the dark.”

“Georgians have made it loud and clear that they care deeply about abortion rights and women’s health,” Jordan said Monday. “It is both my responsibility and my First Amendment right to keep talking about these serious issues that affect every person in our state, because voters deserve the truth.”

Rankin said she’s trying to educate Georgians about who she is and what she believes.

“They have chosen to attack my campaign because my message is resonating with voters — that judges should serve all Georgians, without fear or favor,” she said. “I trust that Georgians will see this for what it is.”

The JQC’s public statements lift the lid on a federal court battle that has been fought in secret ahead of Tuesday’s judicial elections.

The case was filed under seal at the start of May by Jordan and Rankin, who sought to temporarily block the JQC committee members from taking certain actions during voting. Filings in the case, which is still being litigated, remain under seal.

Jordan is challenging Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren, Georgia’s former solicitor general. Rankin is challenging Justice Charlie Bethel, a former Republican state senator. Both Warren and Bethel were appointed in 2018 by then-Gov. Nathan Deal and defeated challenges in 2020.

Jordan and Rankin appeared together in a campaign advertisement, promising they’ll fight together for what’s fair, which violates a rule prohibiting judicial candidates from publicly endorsing other candidates for public office, the JQC committee said.

It said Jordan and Rankin also appeared at public events related to reproductive freedom and promised to restore abortion rights, in violation of a rule that prohibits judicial candidates from stating or promising how they will rule on issues likely to come before the court.

Under the state’s judicial conduct rules, judges and judicial candidates are supposed to be impartial.

Georgia’s anti-abortion law is still being litigated and the case is likely to return to the state Supreme Court.

In the last cycle of state Supreme Court elections in 2024, candidate John Barrow ran afoul of the JQC in the same way after focusing his campaign on abortion rights. Barrow, a former Democratic U.S. Congressman, ultimately failed in his bid to unseat Justice Andrew Pinson, who was appointed to the court by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022.