Hearing delayed for former Douglas County judge seeking to get charges dropped from nightclub arrest

By Rebekka Schramm

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The now-former Douglas County judge accused of punching an Atlanta police officer at a Buckhead nightclub was expected in court Thursday, but the hearing will have to be reset for another date.

Former Douglas County probate judge Christina Peterson is trying to get her criminal charges dismissed.

Peterson hired Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. as her attorney, and he wants the charges dropped. However, he didn’t show up Thursday morning. He filed paperwork Wednesday afternoon indicating he’s on a leave of absence.

Based on photos posted to Arrington’s Instagram page, he’s at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week. Arrington told court employees that he originally filed his leave of absence notice three weeks ago, but the prosecutor in the case told the judge she didn’t see the notice until late Wednesday.

The case stems from a disturbance that happened June 20 at about 3:15 a.m. Atlanta police responded to a disturbance at the Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge in Buckhead, a nightclub which has since closed.

An officer ended up arresting a woman who he says punched him. Police would later learn that the woman they arrested was Judge Peterson. She was charged with simple battery against a police officer and felony willful obstruction of law enforcement.

After Peterson’s arrest, the Georgia Supreme Court removed her from the bench for judicial misconduct unrelated to the arrest.

Arrington wants the criminal charges dropped. He said the officer lied about being punched and said his client was simply trying to help her friend who was being restrained by a man she didn’t realize was a police officer.

The Fulton County judge did not immediately set a new date for the motion to dismiss hearing.

Full Article & Source:
Hearing delayed for former Douglas County judge seeking to get charges dropped from nightclub arrest

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Remember That ATL-area Judge Who Allegedly Attacked A Cop? Well, She Insists On Her Innocence and Brought Receipts

By Phenix S Halley 

Former probate judge Christina Peterson is not backing down after she claims she was falsely arrested for assaulting an officer while at a nightclub last month. Peterson was set to appear for a hearing related to the June incident, but according to Fox News, the hearing was canceled and there’s no word of when it will be rescheduled.

Nevertheless, Peterson is maintaining her innocence, and she is using her platform to not only share her truth but also to expose an alleged plot to remove her and several other Black officials in Douglas, County Georgia.

In a recent Instagram post, Peterson shared a clip from her interview with Atlanta rapper Young Joc stating “currently 4 Black electeds have pending felonies with 3 awaiting trial in August 2024, 1 was removed from office, 2 were suspended, and 1 was investigated by special grand jury.”

Peterson went on to write “These are not bad elected officials; these are bad actors in the community who are not happy with the duly elected black leadership.” Apparently, the judge believes there is an ongoing plot to rid her county of Black officials, and this “attack” includes framing her for assaulting a police officer.

Peterson was arrested on June 20 and charged with willful obstruction of law enforcement officers by use of threats or violence and simple battery against a police officer.

According to the original police report obtained by Fox 5, the Douglas County judge allegedly hit an officer on the head early Thursday morning at Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge. The report claimed the judge appeared to be under the influence and refused to identify herself to officials.

Following her release from jail, Peterson called her arrest a “setup” and insisted she was “trying to help a woman who was being attacked by men” when she accidentally hit the officer. Peterson alleges she has “bruises, [a] black eye, [and a] swollen knee” from the incident. Two witnesses have come forward in Peterson’s defense, speaking at a press conference.

Peterson also posted footage which shows a different angle from the night of the alleged incident. In the video, you can see a man and woman get into a physical altercation followed by multiple women trying to break up the fight.

“The idea that a good Samaritan, who was helping a woman that was being viciously attacked [Alexandria Love], could be arrested and the man, who was viciously attacking the woman did not get arrested speaks to other issues that will be addressed at a later time,” Marvin Arrington Jr., the lawyer representing Peterson, said.

Full Article & Source:
Remember That ATL-area Judge Who Allegedly Attacked A Cop? Well, She Insists On Her Innocence and Brought Receipts

See Also:
Hearing canceled for ex-Douglas County judge arrested at Buckhead nightclub

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Douglas County probate judge charged with felony in Atlanta

Panel: Douglas judge guilty of 'systemic incompetence'

Controversial Douglas County judge must face disciplinary panel Sept. 5

GA Judge Removed From Bench In Ethics Case

Story by Amanda Lumpkin

GEORGIA — After recent accusations of misconduct and hitting an Atlanta police officer, Douglas County Probate Court Judge Christina Peterson has been removed from the bench.

The Judicial Qualifications Commission ruled Peterson, 38, has violated multiple Code of Judicial Conduct policies since taking office, per an 82-page Georgia Supreme Court decision obtained by Patch.

The Supreme Court said those violations warrant Peterson's removal from her judicial role.

"We agree that removal is warranted here. ... the Hearing Panel found that the (JQC) Director proved by clear and convincing evidence 28 of 30 counts alleging that Judge Peterson violated the CJC, and that discipline is authorized under the Georgia Constitution for 20 of those 28 counts. With respect to all 20 of those counts, we conclude that the Hearing Panel’s findings are not clearly erroneous," the Supreme Court said in its decision.

"And we agree with, and affirm, the Hearing Panel’s conclusion that Judge Peterson’s misconduct warrants discipline with respect to 12 of them, because the Director met her burden of showing that Judge Peterson’s conduct constituted willful misconduct in office or conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the judicial office into disrepute."

Peterson most recently was accused of hitting an Atlanta officer responding Thursday to a Peachtree Road nightclub in Buckhead.

Upon arrival, police said the officer saw security escorting a woman out of the venue.

Peterson then "rushed toward the commotion and immediately starting screaming at the security guard and officer. Ms. Peterson then forcibly pushed the officer in the chest and kept swiping his hands away as he attempted to assist the female being escorted out," police said.

Police accused Peterson of shoving the officer once more before being placed into custody. Police said she continuously refused to identify herself.

Peterson previously took to Instagram to say she was helping a woman who was being attacked by men at the club when police arrested her.

Atlanta Police body cam footage released Friday shows Peterson's arrest, and video footage released Sunday by Peterson shows what appears to be a dispute outside the club.

"Take me where you need to take me immediately, expeditiously," Peterson is heard saying in the footage. " ... I will get a fingerprint, and they can find out who I am."

Fulton County Jail records showed Peterson was charged on suspicion of simple battery against police officer/police dog/corrections or detention officer and willful obstruction of law enforcement officers by use of threats or violence.

She was granted a $1,000 bond on the former charge and a $4,000 bond on the latter charge, jail records showed.

"I know I’m not big enough to stop a big man, but I know I was strong enough in my faith to do something. Thank you for the outpouring of love and support. #probatejudge #redmartiniatl #justiceforchristina #justiceforall #protectwomen. People asked me why didn’t I just mind my business? After all, I have a position to protect. For me, a life is worth more. Would you help a stranger being attacked," Peterson wrote Sunday on Instagram.

Peterson was first charged by the JQC in September 2021, ultimately alleging 50 counts of misconduct against the now former judge, the Supreme Court said.

The high court added 20 of those counts were dismissed prior to and during a September 2023 hearing.

The JQC has made at least two past motions since September 2021 to have Peterson suspended, motions the Supreme Court said were denied.

The qualifications commission filed a third motion for interim suspension Friday, a day after Peterson's Buckhead arrest; however, the Supreme Court said Peterson's removal from office makes the motion moot.

Peterson was admitted in 2013 to the State Bar of Georgia and qualified on March 5, 2020 to run for Douglas County probate judge, the Supreme Court said. She won her election that year and was sworn in on Dec. 29, 2020 for a four-year term.

Full Article & Source:
GA Judge Removed From Bench In Ethics Case

Justices Probe Use of Precedent in Judicial Discipline

Attorneys representing two Philadelphia judges removed from the bench last year may have wanted to argue about the unfairness of the disciplinary process or the sanctions their clients received, but the state Supreme Court was only interested in hearing about the role that prior precedent may play in the Court of Judicial Discipline's deliberative process.

On Tuesday the justices heard argument in the disciplinary cases against former Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Angeles Roca and former Municipal Court Judge Dawn Segal, who were removed from the bench last year.

The justices, who had specifically granted the appeals on the issue of what role stare decisis should play for the CJD, asked about what the process should be for determining sanctions, whether the disciplinary body should have to outline its reasoning and what role the Supreme Court can play in hearing appeals. Any arguments that Roca and Segal were not afforded due process or that their sentences went beyond the bounds of fairness were quickly rejected by the court.

When attorney Samuel Stretton, who represented Roca and argued first before the Supreme Court, said he did not think removal was warranted for Roca since she had only sought a rule returnable in a case involving her son, Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor put an end to that argument, saying Roca's son received a ruling that nobody else would have. Stretton is a regular contributor to Pennsylvania Law Weekly, an affiliate of The Legal.

"Her son received something a similarly situated citizen would not have," Saylor said.

During attorney Stuart Haimowitz's time arguing, Haimowitz, who is representing Segal, said his client had not been given adequate due process since the sanction varied so vastly from the conduct at issue.

However, Saylor again put an end to that argument, saying "of course she did," and that Haimowitz was making "a serious allegation."

Saylor dismissed Haimowitz from the lectern after the exchange following only a few minutes of argument, saying, in part, that Haimowitz's arguments were repeating some of the issues Stretton had previously raised.

When it came to the question regarding stare decisis, Stretton contended that the court needed to consider precedent when making its decisions on sanctions. According to Stretton, the court did not do any proportionality analysis when considering Roca's sanctions, but simply decided that corruption requires removal.

"I'm suggesting that the court had no studied review of the case law of the past 24 to 25 years of that court and the Supreme Court treating that kind of case different from removal," Stretton said. "What happened here was a sea change."

Justice Debra Todd said Stretton was asking for a "robotic" approach where the court would simply have to follow a check list, but Stretton replied that he did not believe the court needed to be so strictly bound by stare decisis, but simply that it needed to review and distinguish the case law when making a ruling.

Robert Graci, chief counsel for the Judicial Conduct Board, argued in reply that the CJD did what it needed to do in terms of reviewing the precedent, and that a finding by the justices that the court was bound by stare decisis would not change the decision to remove Roca and Segal.

Graci said he was not surprised by the decision to remove Segal and Roca given the Supreme Court's 2014 decision in In re Magisterial District Judge Bruno, which, he said, found that corruption had no place on the bench.

"I think that the times have changed," Graci said.  (Click to Continue)

Full Article & Source:
Justices Probe Use of Precedent in Judicial Discipline