Deal picks lawmaker to succeed Amanda Williams
Gov. Nathan Deal has picked a state lawmaker to succeed Amanda Williams, the former chief judge from Brunswick who resigned in the face of ethics charges by the state's judicial watchdog agency.
The disclosure was made Thursday on the House floor that Rep. Roger B. Lane, R-Darien, had been picked to serve on the Superior Court bench in the Brunswick Judicial Circuit. Lane has chaired the Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee.
"I'm very honored and humbled," Lane said during a short speech on the House floor. "The circuit down there has had some controversy ... but I'm honored."
Lane was first elected to the Legislature in 2004. An attorney, he has had an office in Glynn County since 1976.
In January, Williams, the chief judge in Brunswick who presided over Georgia's largest drug court, resigned in disgrace amid charges that she behaved in a tyrannical manner and locked up some drug court defendants indefinitely, with orders they have no access to their family or lawyer.
One woman given an open-ended sentence by Williams in 2008 attempted suicide after two months in jail. The woman had previously been flagged for having suicidal tendencies.
Judicial Qualifications Commission charges also accused Williams of using "rude, abusive and insulting language" to some of her drug court defendants.
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
