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Georgia 2016

Crooked judge tries to eliminate judicial watchdog agency

A former state judge who resigned after being investigated for sexual harassment is trying to get rid of the watchdog agency that investigated him. The ballot this November will include Amendment 3, a proposed constitutional amendment to get rid of the Judicial Qualifications Commission, an independent agency that polices the state’s judges. The former judge, now Representative Johnnie Caldwell Jr., is one of the amendment’s house sponsors. Caldwell claims that the JQC has “lost its

Elections

Disappointing news

In disappointing news, the State Bar of Georgia will not fight the Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the independence of the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC). The JQC is the body that oversees ethics complaints against judges. In a politically motivated move to protect powerful friends of legislators, the Commission was stripped of its independence this past legislative session. However, the measure is a constitutional amendment and must go before voters before becoming law. Earlier this year,