Amanda Williams, a former chief judge accused of running her courtroom under tyrannical rule, was indicted Wednesday and charged with two felony counts by a Fulton County grand jury.
Williams presided as a Superior Court judge over the Brunswick Judicial Circuit for more than two decades. She resigned from the bench in disgrace in 2012 after being slapped with more than a dozen ethics charges. These included allegations that she indefinitely locked up drug court participants and denied them access to the outside world.
Williams, 68, stands charged with making a false statement on Aug. 5, 2011, when she appeared before the state Judicial Qualifications Commission, the agency that regulates judicial conduct. She was also indicted for violating her oath of public office as a judge when she allegedly made that false statement.
Williams did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment. She must soon appear in Fulton County court to answer the charges.
Williams becomes at least the eighth Georgia judge in the past decade to face criminal charges after being investigated by the Judicial Qualifications Commission.
Williams’ courtroom practices were put in the national spotlight in 2011 when a public radio show, “This American Life,” broadcast “Very Tough Love,” which gave a harsh review of her drug court. It focused on a number of people who had appeared before Williams. One was Lindsey Dills, who in 2008 was sentenced by Williams to indefinite detention in solitary confinement, with no mail, no phone calls and no visitors allowed except for a drug counselor, according to court records.
Dills, who had previously been flagged for having suicidal tendencies, tried to commit suicide by slitting her wrists after being in solitary confinement for 61 days, according to court records.
The Fulton County indictment alleges that Williams made a false statement to the judicial watchdog commission when she said she gave no direction to the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office regarding Dills’ incarceration.
In a statement, the Fulton District Attorney’s Office said there is a recording of Williams’ direct order to have Dills incarcerated. The case was presented to the grand jury after “an exhaustive investigation,” the statement said.
State Attorney General Sam Olens appointed Fulton District Attorney Paul Howard as a special prosecutor shortly after Williams stepped down from office in early 2011.
“It’s certainly unfortunate,” said Lester Tate, who chairs the state’s judicial watchdog agency. “It is a rare situation when you see a judge facing criminal charges. I hope it will continue to be rare.”
The Judicial Qualifications Commission cooperated with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office’s investigation, Tate said.
“There are two things we have no control over,” Tate added. “One is whether judges tell us the truth when they come in front of us. The second is what prosecutors will do when they go back and look at the records of our investigation.”
St. Simons attorney Mary Helen Moses said she unsuccessfully challenged Williams during her 2010 reelection campaign because she had heard so many stories of injustice.
“The subsequent Judicial Qualifications Commission investigation determined that many of those stories were true,” Moses said Wednesday. “I am grateful that the legal system is working to hold judges accountable to their oath of office.”
During a 2011 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Williams defended her use of incarceration for drug court participants who failed drug tests. A third failed test, for example, brought weeks of confinement.
“It takes 21 days to break the habit and seven days to reflect on it,” Williams said. “I didn’t just decide I was going to be mean to these people. It’s all treatment-motivated.”
As for indefinite incarceration, Williams said, “These people aren’t sitting in jail forever and ever and ever and ever. I’m fair. I’m consistent. I do care.”
About the Author
