Georgia’s Republican-led state legislature is considering a set of bills that would establish a commission with the power to remove prosecutors and district attorneys from their posts.
Republicans, including Gov. Brian Kemp, say additional oversight is necessary to prevent “soft on crime” prosecutors from endangering Georgians. But Democrats are taking note of the timing – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is deciding whether to pursue indictments following her office’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia – as well as the fact that several GOP champions of the effort, including current Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, have been targeted in Willis’ investigation.
They have also raised concerns about undermining the will of the voters and removing minority prosecutors.
House Bill 231 would create the “Prosecuting Attorneys Oversight Commission, which shall have the power to discipline, remove, and cause involuntary retirement of appointed or elected district attorneys or solicitors-general.”
The commission would consist of eight members. Five would be on an investigative panel tasked with investigating “alleged conduct constituting grounds for discipline” and the other three would be a part of a hearing panel that adjudicates charges and issues “disciplinary and incapacity orders.”
The standards of conduct that would justify a prosecutor’s removal include mental and physical incapacity, being convicted of a crime and “conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the office into disrepute.”
The House bill passed in a 98-75 vote on Monday and now heads to the state Senate, which passed similar legislation, SB 92, last week.
And House Bill 229, which was introduced early in February, would lower the…
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