District Attorneys file suit to block state oversight committee

It’s a bill that was written largely by Athens state Senator Bill Cowsert and Athens state Representative Houston Gaines, and some say it was written with Athens District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez in mind. The measure, signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp earlier this year, creates an oversight committee that can sanction and recommend removal of prosecutors who are not doing their jobs. Now a group of DAs has filed a lawsuit looking to overturn the new law.

From WSB...

Four district attorneys have filed a legal challenge to block a Georgia law backed by Governor Brian Kemp that reportedly gives the state “new powers to punish local prosecutors who don’t enforce tough-on-crime crackdowns,” according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The AJC’s Greg Bluestein writes that the lawsuit challenges one of Kemp’s “signature achievements this year — a Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission to sanction ‘rogue prosecutors’ accused of neglecting their duties.”

Dekalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston, the lead plaintiff challenging the law, called the issue “bigger than Georgia.”

“We are talking about prosecutorial discretion and prosecutorial independence, both of which have been solidly under assault the last few years,” Boston reportedly told The Associated Press.

Bluestein adds that the opponents of the law, which took effect in July, claim the legislation is a “power grab that threatens the independence of the judiciary, infringes on free speech rights and forces prosecutors to hide their stances from voters.”

The Associated Press reports that Republicans nationwide are pushing back on a sea change in prosecution, “after some progressive prosecutors have declined to prosecute crimes including marijuana possession and have sought to lessen long prison sentences.”

The AP’s Jeff Amy writes, “Kemp and other Georgia GOP candidates, like those nationwide, ran anti-crime campaigns in 2022, accusing Democrats of coddling criminals.”

A spokesperson for Gov. Brian Kemp did not immediately respond to The AP’s request for comment. Read more here.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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