Georgia
Georgia senators file new legislation to enact prosecutor oversight commission
ATLANTA — A pair of Georgia Senate leaders promised to continue efforts to enact a prosecutor oversight commission after a recent decision by Georgia justices put the commission with little room to maneuver, causing lawmakers to adjust their approach to enacting the oversight body.
In November, the Georgia Supreme Court declined to decide what rules the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission could operate under, effectively putting the commission itself on hiatus due to how lawmakers created the body.
As previously reported by Channel 2 Action News, the justices said they lacked jurisdictional power to decide how the commission could proceed, due to the state’s constitutional separation of powers. Justices said that, in the legislators’ own writing, they could not decide because the legislation required judicial approval of rules for the commission to operate.
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The Georgia Supreme Court said they were unable to decide if those rules were able to be approved, saying “Because we are under no legal directive to take action, the most prudent course for us is to decline to take action without conclusively deciding any constitutional question,” the court said in its decision.
Now, Sens. Randy Roberts, (R-Cataula), and John F. Kennedy, (R-Macon), have filed new legislation to address the court’s decision about the standards.
According to a release from the two senators, they filed the bill for the coming legislative session to follow similar rules for other state commissions, with the home that the “simple remedy will allow the Commission to commence its important work.”
The PAQC was created by Senate Bill 92, which was signed into law in May 2023 by Gov. Brian Kemp.
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According to its supporters, the bill is intended to ensure accountability for what some call “rogue prosecutors.”
“We have seen theatrics take hold in Georgia over the safety and welfare of our communities as some prosecutors promise ‘reform’ and then deliver nothing but ineffectiveness and blatant disregard of the law,” Robertson, the chief sponsor of SB 92, said in a statement. “Most of the state’s prosecutors follow the law, adhere to their duties, and their communities remain safe and prosperous, and those individuals should be celebrated. On the other hand, you have a few rogue prosecutors that refuse to prosecute violent criminals, lead defunct and understaffed offices, and impose blanket policies for non-prosecution of crimes.”
Several Georgia district attorneys have sued to block the legislation and commission, including some from the metro Atlanta area, and not restricted to political party lines.
Channel 2 Action News has previously reported that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit include three Democrats and one Republican. Jonathan Adams, the Republican district attorney for Butts, Lamar and Monroe counties, opposes the legislation, saying it strips prosecutors of their discretion and independence.
“Although I may disagree with the D.A.’s decisions in other communities, I believe it’s their right to make those decisions and to represent their communities and constituents,” Adams said previously.
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Georgia
Georgia overcomes slow start to defeat Cincinnati in Holiday Hoopsgiving
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Georgia center Somto Cyril goes up for a dunk during the first half against Cincinnati in their NCAA basketball game in the Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Atlanta. Georgia won 84-65. (Jason Getz/AJC)
By Olivia Sayer
6 hours ago
When Georgia basketball took the court Saturday afternoon at State Farm Arena, it resembled a team who had not faced another opponent in 11 days.
The Bulldogs came out lackadaisical with more turnovers than successful shots in the game’s first two minutes and faced an 11-point deficit before halftime.
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Georgia
Two freshman Georgia football players arrested on shoplifting charges
Georgia offensive lineman Dontrell Glover and running back Bo Walker were arrested for shoplifting at a Walmart on Friday, less than a week after the Bulldogs won the SEC Championship.
According to the Athens Banner-Herald, the freshmen were booked into Clarke County jail in Athens on two counts of misdemeanor shoplifting. Glover and Walker were arrested Friday evening and released on $1,526 bond before 8 p.m.
“We were informed of the charges and are currently in the process of gathering additional information,” Georgia spokesman Steve Drummond said in a statement. “This is a pending legal matter and we will not have further comment at this time.”
Walker played six games this season and rushed for 100 yards and three touchdowns. Glover started 11 games in 2025 and was named to the All-SEC freshman team.
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Last month, offensive lineman Nyier Daniels was dismissed from the team by head coach Kirby Smart after he was arrested on more than a dozen criminal charges after he allegedly tried to flee from police north of Athens.
The Bulldogs beat Alabama last Saturday in the SEC title game and earned a place in the College Football Playoff. They will play again on Jan. 1 against the winner of Ole Miss-Tulane in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Georgia
DOJ files suit to obtain 2020 election records in Fulton County, Georgia
The Justice Department sued Fulton County, Georgia, this week in an effort to obtain more than five-year-old ballots tied to the 2020 presidential election which President Donald Trump lost.
The eight-page complaint filed in federal court in Atlanta on Thursday, names Fulton County Clerk of Courts Che Alexander as a defendant, alleging that the clerk violated the Civil Rights Act by failing to produce records tied to the 2020 presidential election as requested by state and federal officials.
The lawsuit asks that the court demand that the records be produced within five days of a court order.
According to the lawsuit, the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections last month refused to comply with an Oct. 6 subpoena, from the state’s election board, for election records, including used and void ballots, stubs, and signature envelopes from the 2020 presidential election, saying in a Nov. 14 letter that the records were “under seal” in accord with state law.
The lawsuit states that the board later failed to respond to a letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi on Oct. 30, demanding the records which she said were needed to review the state’s compliance with federal election laws and meet state transparency efforts.
Alexander and the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday night.
Alexander had previously said in an Oct. 21 letter to the state election board that “the records sought are under seal and may not be produced absent a Court Order,” according to the lawsuit.
Trump was indicted on felony charges in Fulton County in August 2023 along with 18 other co-defendants in connection with efforts to overturn his election loss.
Trump pleaded not guilty to charges that were dropped last month by a prosecutor who took the reins of the case following Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ disqualification from prosecuting Trump in the matter.
Georgia has long been a sore spot for Trump after a narrow loss in 2020 that he has spent years disputing.
After a manual recount of election results in Georgia that reaffirmed President Joe Biden’s narrow win in the state in 2020, Trump, who was then seeking a second term, had also called then-Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and implored him to “find” the votes needed to defeat Biden in the 2020 election. Since then he has continued to falsely claim he won the state.
The Fulton County lawsuit from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division comes as it announced on Friday that it had filed federal lawsuits against four states — Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Nevada — alleging that the states had violated the Constitution by failing to produce statewide voter registration lists upon request.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement Friday that states “have the statutory duty to preserve and protect their constituents from vote dilution.”
“At this Department of Justice, we will not permit states to jeopardize the integrity and effectiveness of elections by refusing to abide by our federal elections laws. If states will not fulfill their duty to protect the integrity of the ballot, we will,” Dhillon said.
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