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Georgia lawmakers advance bill to revive disciplinary commission for state prosecutors

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Georgia lawmakers advance bill to revive disciplinary commission for state prosecutors


ATLANTA (AP) — Republicans in the Georgia House of Representatives on Monday advanced a bill that would revive a new state commission to discipline and remove state prosecutors.

Some Georgia Republicans want the new commission to discipline Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for winning indictments of former President Donald Trump and 18 others.

Though Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation last year creating the new commission, it was unable to begin operating after the state Supreme Court in November refused to approve rules governing its conduct. Justices said they had “grave doubts” about their ability to regulate the duties of district attorneys beyond the practice of law. Because lawmakers hadn’t expressly ordered justices to act, they were refusing to rule one way or the other, they said.

A bill in the state House of Representatives removes the requirement that the state Supreme Court approve the rules. It also raises the standard for overturning a decision by the commission.

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A House committee passed it on Monday over the objections of Democrats. It now goes to the full House for a vote.

“This is just making the commission workable,” state Rep. Joseph Gullett, a Republican from Dallas, told members of a House judiciary committee.

Committee member Shea Roberts, an Atlanta Democrat, said removing the state Supreme Court’s oversight took away any sense that the bill was nonpartisan.

“It’s purely partisan now,” she said.

Democrats on the committee proposed an amendment giving their party the power to appoint some of the commission members, but it was rejected. The legislation Kemp signed gave Republicans control over all eight appointments to the commission.

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Georgia’s law creating the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission is one of multiple attempts nationwide by Republicans to control prosecutors they don’t like. Republicans have inveighed against progressive prosecutors after some have brought fewer drug possession cases and sought shorter prison sentences, arguing Democrats are coddling criminals.

In Georgia, four district attorneys are suing to overturn the commission, arguing that it unconstitutionally infringes on their power.

Gullett defended the commission.

“At the end of the day, there are Republican DAs out there who haven’t done the right thing sometimes and there’s some Democrat DAs who haven’t done the right thing sometimes,” he said.

Also on Monday, Georgia Republican state Sen. Greg Dolezal announced that he wanted to create a special Senate committee to investigate Willis, separate from the commission.

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Dolezal said in a statement that a “thorough and impartial examination” would “ensure transparency, accountability and the preservation of the integrity of our justice system.”

A spokesperson for Willis, Jeff DiSantis, had no comment.

Dolezal’s proposed resolution suggests that legal or budgetary changes could follow any inquiry. The resolution would have to win approval in the Republican-majority state Senate before any panel could be appointed.



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Oklahoma WALKS OFF No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech to win regional | Full 10th inning

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Oklahoma WALKS OFF No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech to win regional | Full 10th inning


Baseball

June 1, 2026

Oklahoma WALKS OFF No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech to win regional | Full 10th inning

June 1, 2026

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Oklahoma baseball knocked out No. 2 overall national seed Georgia Tech to clinch a spot in super regionals, thanks to a towering walk-off home run to dead center in the bottom of the 10th inning from Dayton Tockey. Watch the full extra-inning finish here.



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Georgia man arrested after confessing to 1989 New Jersey cold case murder, authorities say

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Georgia man arrested after confessing to 1989 New Jersey cold case murder, authorities say


A Griffin, Georgia man is now under arrest, charged in connection with a cold case homicide investigation in New Jersey, prosecutors say.

It’s been nearly 37 years since 42-year-old Mauricio Cuadra was shot during an apparent home invasion; now, authorities say 62-year-old Joseph Quiros-Soto is charged with his murder.

Officials say on Aug. 9, 1989, the officers with the Bayonne Police Department responded to reports of a home invasion and shooting at an apartment on the 400 block of Avenue C. Inside the home, they found Cuadra suffering from a gunshot wound. Cuadra died shortly after.

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The case remained a mystery until 2024, when Quiros-Soto confessed to the murder to police in Locust Grove, Georgia, saying that he had become a born-again Christian, NJ.com reports.

Police told the outlet that he gave the detectives details of the crime and allowed visiting Hudson County authorities to take a DNA sample, which matched a stain on the victim.

Authorities were eventually able to obtain a warrant for the Georgia man’s arrest. On May 27, 2026, deputies with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office arrested Quiros-Soto at his home in Griffin, charging him with murder and murder during the commission of a burglary.

Quiros-Soto is being detained in Georgia, awaiting extradition to New Jersey.

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Who Mississippi State baseball will play next in NCAA Tournament super regional

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Who Mississippi State baseball will play next in NCAA Tournament super regional


STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball has made the super regionals in the NCAA Tournament and will face a team its already played four times.

The No. 14 national seed Bulldogs (43-17) are matched up with No. 3 Georgia (49-12). The best-of-three series will take place in Athens, Georgia, because Georgia is the higher seed.

The super regionals run from June 5-8, and the winner will make the College World Series.

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MSU is 0-4 against Georgia this season, getting swept at Dudy Noble Field and then losing a fourth time in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Georgia won the SEC regular season and tournament championships.

Both teams made it through their regionals without a loss. Mississippi State blew out Louisiana 19-5 on May 31, while Georgia defeated Liberty.

MSU has played Georgia only once in postseason history, losing in the 1990 College World Series.

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Mississippi State baseball history in super regionals

Mississippi State has played in 10 super regionals and won five of them. It has won three straight super regionals. MSU is 2-4 as the visiting team in super regionals.

New Mississippi State coach Brian O’Connor is 7-2 in super regionals.

NCAA baseball tournament schedule

  • Super regionals: June 5-8
  • College World Series: June 12-22

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.



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