A law enacted by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp empowers a new commission to discipline ‘rogue’ prosecutors.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed a bill into law that revives an oversight panel with powers to discipline and remove wayward county prosecutors, and which could potentially target alleged misconduct by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in her case against former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Kemp signed SB 332 into law on March 13, saying at a signing ceremony that the community suffers and property is put at risk when “out-of-touch” public prosecutors put politics ahead of public safety.
“This legislation will help us ensure rogue or incompetent prosecutors are held accountable if they refuse to uphold the law,” Mr. Kemp said.
“As we know all too well, crime has been on the rise across the country, and is especially prevalent in cities where prosecutors are giving criminals a free pass or failing to put them behind bars due to lack of professional conduct,” he added.
Mr. Kemp initially signed related legislation in May 2023, which established the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PACQ), with the governor saying at the time that the panel would discipline “far-left” prosecutors who make communities less safe by being soft on crime.
However, the panel was unable to start operating after the state Supreme Court in November 2023 declined to approve rules for its governance, with justices saying in their ruling that they had “grave doubts” whether adopting the standards and rules was within their constitutional powers.
So the Georgia General Assembly passed HB 881 in January 2024, which revived the oversight panel while removing the requirement for Supreme Court approval. The bill then was referred to the state Senate, where it became SB 332.
Focus on Willis
While the bill mirrored efforts in other states to hold “rogue” prosecutors accountable for refusing to prosecute certain crimes, Democrats opposed to its passage said it could be used to target prosecutors involved in the case against President Trump, including Ms. Willis.
By Tom Ozimek
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