After hearing from a state judicial panel, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Doris Downs has all but decided against challenging District Attorney Paul Howard in the 2012 elections.
In April, Downs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she was "seriously considering" running against Howard, who has been Fulton's DA since 1996. She also asked the state Judicial Qualifications Commission for its opinion whether she could stay on the bench while running her campaign.
The JQC's director, Jeff Davis, told Downs in a recent letter that she should at least consider removing herself from hearing criminal cases if she challenges Howard. The JQC also indicated it would frown on Downs' candidacy under any condition if she took on Howard without resigning from the bench.
"I have reviewed the letter and the conditions under which such a race must be conducted," Downs said Thursday. "At this time, I am not running for district attorney."
Downs has had a number of public run-ins with Howard, with Downs criticizing Howard about how he runs his office and the DA criticizing the court for the way it handles criminal cases. Downs was the court's chief judge from 2004 to 2010 and worked 13 years in the Fulton DA's Office before becoming a judge.
Downs is not required by law to resign from the bench to run for DA in 2012, but her campaign activities would be subject to the Code of Judicial Conduct.
One judicial canon says judges must refrain from political activity inappropriate to their judicial office. "It is fundamentally inconsistent with these various and sundry prohibitions" for a judge to stay on the bench and campaign against the DA, the JQC said. The JQC also stated "it is hard to conceive" how a judge running for DA could abide with a judicial canon that says judges cannot be swayed by partisan interest, public clamor or fear of criticism.
Because judges are prohibited from lending the prestige of their office for a nonjudicial campaign, Downs would be prohibited from using the term "judge" in her campaign materials for DA unless she resigned from the bench, the JQC added.
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