The state's judicial watchdog agency on Monday filed new charges of favoritism against a Brunswick judge who once oversaw the state's largest drug court operation.
The amended charges by the Judicial Qualifications Commission against Chief Superior Court Judge Amanda Williams accuse the judge of improperly allowing a man charged with cruelty to children and battery to improperly enter the drug court program. The defendant is the nephew of Brunswick lawyer Jim Bishop who, Williams once said, "has been there for me for years and years and years," the new charges say.
Williams also has been allowing Brunswick attorney John Ossick, who has been defending her before the judicial commission, to continue to represent individuals with cases before her, according to the new charges.
Last month, the judicial commission filed a dozen ethics charges against Williams, accusing her of behaving in a tyrannical manner on the bench and detaining defendants indefinitely and cutting off their access to their lawyers and family. She is also accused of making false statements, engaging in nepotism and using rude, abusive and insulting language to those who appeared before her.
Williams could not be reached for comment Monday. Bishop and Ossick also did not returns phone calls seeking comment. Judicial Qualifications Commission director Jeff Davis declined to comment on the new charges.
The new charges say that Henry Bishop III was indicted on family violence charges and was improperly diverted into Williams' drug court in 2009, even though he was not charged with any drug-related offenses.
When a drug court employee challenged Bishop's placement, Williams responded, "It's called being a Bishop. And I don't want to have any more conversations about it. I know I'm doing the wrong thing," the court filing says.
Williams said this was not something she was willing to do for anyone else but was doing so in this case because the defendant was Jim Bishop's nephew, the filing says.
"Jim Bishop has been there for me for years and years and years," Williams said. "He has never asked me for anything, ever, in the entire time I have been on the bench, to use my power in any case to do anything for anybody and he's asked me to do this. ... And it's that damn simple."
Williams also noted that if Henry Bishop did not enter the drug court program, he would lose his state insurance license and then could not repay a debt to his parents or support his family. She said she was "straining gnats and swallowing camels to make this thing work," according to the filing.
In the Bishop case, Williams "departed from any standard or customary protocol" by allowing him to enter the drug court program, the filing says.
Leah Ward Sears, the former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, and former state Attorney General Mike Bowers have been hired by the judicial commission to prosecute the case. A trial, overseen by the seven-member commission, is expected early next year. Its recommendations will be sent to the Georgia Supreme Court.
Williams won her first election to the bench in 1990. Last month, she relinquished control of her drug court operation and agreed to no longer preside over criminal cases while the case against her is pending.
About the Author
