(The Center Square) – A three-member panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission of Georgia is recommending that Fulton County Judge Shermela J. Williams be removed from her post.
The report cites multiple instances behind the panel’s recommendation, including the arrest of a 21-year-old woman who was testifying in her parents’ divorce hearing. Williams admitted to the panel that the arrest was done to shock the woman and get her attention.
The panel’s 66-page report cites multiple cases where Williams ruled months after the final hearings in child support cases.
Williams also made a personal call to an associate on behalf of her uncle, according to the report.
The panel said Williams was not forthright in hearings, and of all the witnesses, she should have been the most candid.
“Aside from the proven misconduct, what is equally, if not more distressing is Judge Williams’ sometimes outright dishonesty and other times evolving testimony during these proceedings,” the panel said in its report. “Judge Williams gave false testimony regarding some allegations and was evasive and deceitful on others. We should not have to ask questions multiple times or ask the exact right question to get an accurate, clear and complete answer. Moreover, she should not have to clean up her testimony between hearing sessions to make it sound better after an adverse witness testifies.”‘
The decision whether to remove Williams is up to the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Williams’ attorneys said in an email to The Center Square that the judge was disappointed in the recommendation and disagrees with the conclusions.
“Removal is the most severe penalty that can be levied against a judge and is inconsistent with the JQC’s determinations in other cases. Judge Williams intends to challenge the Panel’s recommendation before the Georgia Supreme Court,” said Williams’s attorneys Gabe Banks and Jamala McFadden in a joint statement. “If the Supreme Court adopts the Panel’s recommendation, Judge Williams’ removal would be against the will of the voters and a loss to the citizens of Fulton County. During the pendency of this matter, Judge Williams remains committed to serving the citizens of Fulton County who elected her.”
