A senior DeKalb County judge should step down as the overseer of House Speaker David Ralston’s State Bar disciplinary case, Ralston’s lawyers say in a new filing.
Ralston’s attorney, former Gov. Roy Barnes, said Robert Castellani should recuse himself because the State Bar itself pushed out the last special master and if one had to go, they both do.
Hiawassee attorney Mark Dehler was originally named special master by the state Supreme Court, which has authority to discipline attorneys. Dehler last month was named executive director of the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission.
Barnes argues that during a recent conference call, neither he nor attorneys for the State Bar initially raised concerns about Dehler continuing to serve in both roles. But as it became clear that Dehler was prepared to rule in Ralston's favor in one aspect of the case, Barnes said, the Bar lawyers changed their mind and threatened to call for Dehler's removal. Dehler voluntarily stepped down the next day.
The Bar argued that the Legislature sets the JQC’s budget and Ralston, as speaker of the House, has great sway in dictating state spending. But, Barnes said, the same pressures apply to Castellani, who retired as a full-time Superior Court judge in 2010 but continues to serve as a senior judge for the county. His pay and retirement are all subject to legislative review, Barnes said.
Calling the Bar’s argument “ridiculous,” Barnes said the State Bar “suddenly has no objection to Judge Castellani’s pay, retirement and other income being appropriated and set by” Ralston.
“If the State Bar were demanding Mr. Dehler’s removal, the State Bar should be consistent and insist upon the removal of Judge Castellani,” Barnes said.
Paula Frederick, general counsel for the State Bar, did not immediately return a request for comment.
The dispute is just one front in a larger fight between Ralston and the Bar. The Blue Ridge Republican is accused of violating nine State Bar rules and of allowing his duties as a legislator "to adversely affect his representation" of his client.
Possible outcomes range from a dismissal of the complaint to public reprimand to disbarment. In a Petition for Voluntary Discipline, filed in June, Ralston attorney James Balli of Marietta suggests that the speaker face no more than “formal admonition” or public reprimand. While Ralston acknowledges violating two State Bar rules, Balli argued they were inadvertent.
But the Bar earlier this month said in its own filing that Ralston's account was "inaccurate, incomplete or immaterial," and demanded an evidentiary hearing "where the proof of each party can be tested for accuracy."
In a response filed Monday, Balli said the Bar failed to “produce a scintilla of evidence to support its claims” and fails to present “any version of any fact it contends is a more accurate narration of the events set forth” in the original petition.
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