DeKalb judge admits wrongdoing, seeks reprimand in misconduct case
A DeKalb County judge accused by the state of illegally jailing an attorney and improperly threatening to jail the county’s district attorney, among other things, has admitted most of the allegations against her.
Superior Court Judge Yolanda Parker-Smith said this week she believes a public reprimand, one of the lowest available punishments in judicial misconduct cases, is an appropriate sanction. She denied acting in bad faith or with bias, insisting the misconduct was not intentional.
A judge since the start of 2021, she said the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission’s offer to resolve its formal charges against her with a 90-day unpaid suspension is too harsh.
“From the outset, Judge Parker-Smith has approached the Commission’s inquiry with candor and cooperation,” the judge’s lawyer, Gabe Banks, wrote in a formal response to the allegations. “She has acknowledged where she made mistakes, recognized that certain matters should have been handled differently, and expressed both a willingness to accept appropriate corrective action and a commitment to avoid similar conduct in the future.”
Parker-Smith, a former public defender, faces possible punishment by the Georgia Supreme Court, including removal from the bench. She was reelected, without an opponent, in 2024 to another four-year term.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston is separately trying to get the judge removed from all criminal cases and other matters involving her office until the JQC’s misconduct case, filed last month, is resolved. She claims the judge is biased against her and her staff.
Parker-Smith was accused by the JQC of improperly threatening to jail Boston and two assistant district attorneys in 2023 because they were a day late in voluntarily dismissing a criminal case on her docket.
The judge said Wednesday that her threat was wrong, born out of frustration over the district attorney’s office having delayed the voluntary dismissal of some other criminal cases. She said that had occasionally caused defendants to remain in custody longer than necessary.
Parker-Smith said she’s since handled hundreds of criminal matters involving Boston and her staff without incident.
Boston declined to comment Friday.
The district attorney’s attempt to recuse Parker-Smith from more than 400 criminal cases and other matters, including grand jury proceedings, is now before the Georgia Court of Appeals. In that case, Boston is backed by former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton and a bipartisan group of top prosecutors from across the state.
Boston argued in part that the judge has no authority to impose deadlines on prosecutors’ voluntary dismissal of cases. She also said the public cannot be confident that Parker-Smith will handle criminal matters fairly while the JQC case, in which she and other prosecutors are witnesses for the state, is pending.
Another DeKalb County Superior Court judge, Gregory Adams, denied the district attorney’s recusal request in late July, saying her concerns were speculative. He kept Parker-Smith on criminal cases, prompting the district attorney’s appeal.
Parker-Smith also acknowledged this week that it was wrong for her to briefly jail attorney Gerald Griggs in 2024 because he was late to a hearing, recognizing she should have first given him an opportunity to explain himself.
The judge said she was frustrated because Griggs had previously been late to or absent from hearings without giving proper notice. She said he has since appeared before her dozens of times without issue.
Griggs, a prominent community member who recently served as president of the Georgia NAACP, was locked in a courthouse cell for around an hour, the JQC alleged. Griggs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he’s always followed superior court rules and provided notice to judges and their staff about scheduling conflicts, as he did in the 2024 instance at issue.
“I would strongly urge the judge to be careful in the allegations she’s making and to publicly accept responsibility,” he said Friday. “No excuses. No attempts to explain it away. No shifting blame.”
Banks, the judge’s attorney in the JQC case, said Friday that she has “accepted full responsibility for her missteps and recognizes that discipline is warranted.” He said that unlike the JQC’s suggested 90-day unpaid suspension, a public reprimand is reasonable and proportionate to sanctions in similar cases.
“Judge Parker-Smith respects the judicial disciplinary process and looks forward to presenting the complete picture for consideration in the event that the JQC rejects her reasonable counteroffer,” Banks said.
JQC Director Courtney Veal did not comment Friday.