Georgia Supreme Court fires appellate judge over ethical violations

AUGUST 16 (Reuters) – The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday removed a state appellate judge from office after an investigation found he broke campaign finance rules and took advantage of an elderly client.

The Supreme Court upheld a hearing panel’s findings that Christian Coomer, a former state legislator who served at the Georgia Court of Appeals in Atlanta, acted in bad faith and for personal financial gain.

“By refusing to comply with laws and professional standards when it was in his best interest to fail to comply, he has undermined public confidence in his ability to honestly and fairly obey and apply the law in the cases before him,” the Georgia Das said said the Supreme Court in its 49-page opinion.

Coomer said in a statement he was disappointed with the court’s decision, but said: “I acknowledge that my own errors of judgment led to the Supreme Court’s decision.”

Coomer, an attorney then a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, ran for and was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2018. Before he left Parliament and was sworn in as a judge, Coomer took his family to Hawaii and the trip was paid for with campaign funds, the Supreme Court said.

“Although Judge Coomer attempted to establish a legislative purpose for the trip, the trip was ultimately purely recreational,” Wednesday’s statement said.

Coomer has been suspended from his post on pay since January 2021 after the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission opened disciplinary proceedings against him.

The Commission Hearing Panel also examined Coomer’s portrayal of James Filhart before he began serving as a judge. Coomer drafted the elder Filhart’s will, listing himself – and in a later revision his wife – as executor and his children as beneficiaries. He borrowed $130,000 from Filhart on favorable terms that he worked out.

The panel found that Coomer “exploited Filhart’s trust to gain authority over Filhart’s wealth.”

Reporting by David Thomas

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David Thomas reports on the legal business, including law firm strategy, hiring, mergers and litigation. It is based in Chicago. He can be reached at d.thomas@thomsonreuters.com and on Twitter @DaveThomas5150.