Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Friday signed a bill creating a commission with the power to remove local prosecutors who “refuse to uphold the law.”
Kemp’s office said in a news release that his signature established the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PACQ) to serve as a “valuable oversight mechanism” for prosecutors and attorneys general across the state. The bureau said the commission will ensure these officers carry out their constitutional and legal duties.
“As hard-working law enforcement officers routinely risk their lives to identify, confront and arrest criminals, I will not stand idly by as they face opposition from rogue or incompetent prosecutors who refuse to uphold the law,” Kemp said . “Creating the PACQ will help hold prosecutors who are driven by no-touch politics accountable and make our communities safer.”
The law provides several grounds for the commission to remove prosecutors or force their “involuntary retirement”. These include willful misconduct in office, mental or physical incapacity likely to interfere with one’s duties permanently, willful and persistent failure to comply with legal obligations, and conviction of a crime involving “moral depravity.”
District Attorneys and Attorneys General could also be removed for conduct that is detrimental to the administration of justice and detrimental to the firm’s reputation, and for knowingly allowing an Assistant District Attorney or Assistant Attorney General to commit any of the acts listed.
The commission starts on July 1st and can receive complaints about prosecutors from October 1st.
The law is one of several efforts by some Republicans across the country to crack down on Democratic and liberal-leaning prosecutors whom they accuse of being delinquent in their dealings with crime and declining to prosecute certain crimes.
Georgia Democrats have accused the Republican-controlled Legislature and Kemp of trying to impose the will of the Legislature on Democratic areas.
Some observers have said the law could be used against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is considering charges against former President Trump and his allies over efforts to overturn state election results in the 2020 presidential campaign.
Willis has denounced the law as racist as it comes after voters chose 14 non-white prosecutors.
Republicans named District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, who practices in Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties, as a target of the law because she declined to prosecute marijuana-related offenses. Seven prosecutors have also pledged not to prosecute abortion-related crimes after the Supreme Court ruled Roe v. Wade fell.
Georgia is not the only state where officials have taken action to try to remove prosecutors they believe are failing in their responsibilities. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in August removed a prosecutor from office for signing a pledge not to prosecute women and doctors who violate abortion laws and families seeking sex-reassignment care for minors .
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Originally published May 6, 2023 at 6:38 am
