Georgia
Past high-profile trials suggest stress and potential pitfalls for Georgia judge handling Trump case
ATLANTA (AP) — Judge Peter Cahill hardly slept during the six weeks he presided over the murder trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for killing George Floyd.
Cameras in the courtroom broadcast the veteran Minnesota judge’s every word to a global audience. Outside, the nation waited nervously for the outcome of a slaying that galvanized the movement for racial justice.
“When you’re in a high-profile trial, you feel the stress, you feel the pressure even if you’re not reading the papers,” he told an audience of judges last year at The National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada.
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Cahill’s experience provides a glimpse of the additional scrutiny and strain that await the four judges overseeing the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump.
But the challenge facing Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee in Georgia is unlike any of the others. For one, he is the only judge so far to allow television cameras in the courtroom to broadcast hearings and any trials. He is presiding over a sprawling indictment with 19 defendants, among them other prominent figures including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. And the trials will play out in a battleground state that Trump narrowly lost in 2020.
Attorneys who have worked alongside McAfee, who took the bench just this year, say his demeanor and years of work as a prosecutor have prepared him for heightened pressure. The judge’s varied interests — he is an accomplished cellist and was a scuba diver at the Georgia Aquarium — should also provide relief from the stress of a long legal case.
But the experience of some judges who have been thrust into the public eye point to potential pitfalls and dangers ahead for the 34-year-old Georgia native. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida, who was nominated by Trump, has already faced sharp criticism for an early decision that favored the former president in his fight against charges he illegally hoarded classified documents.
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High-profile cases lead to a “greater intrusion on your life,” said U.S. Senior Judge Reggie Walton, who presided over the 2007 trial of I. Lewis ”Scooter” Libby, a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, and the 2012 trial of pitcher Roger Clemens.
“Sometimes there’ll be articles that may be written that may be off base,” he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “They can create a little heartburn sometimes.”
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lance Ito was accused of self-promotion for giving an interview during the O.J. Simpson trial in 1994. Critics also said he appeared too sensitive to criticism in the press and failed to control the proceedings, allowing the case to drag on for months and turn into a spectacle. “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” mocked the trial with a skit featuring dancers in beards and black robes: the Dancing Itos.
In Florida, a judicial commission found Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer violated several rules governing judicial conduct during the penalty trial last year of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz. Among them, she “unduly” chastised the lead public defender and improperly embraced members of the prosecution in the courtroom after sentencing Cruz to life without parole, the commission said. Scherer, who has since retired, told the commission she also offered to hug the defense team.
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Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who presided over Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News, said he found even a laugh can be misconstrued.
“Sarcasm doesn’t come across well. I learned that,” he said at an American Bar Association meeting in August.
The cases may also prompt safety concerns. Already some of the judges overseeing Trump’s criminal cases have received threats. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the federal election subversion case in Washington, has increased security after a woman was arrested for threatening to kill her.
McAfee did not respond to interview requests from The Associated Press. But in a sign that he understands the potential hazards ahead, he told The New Yorker he has no aspiration to become the next Ito or Judge Judy.
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“The idea with my job, in general, is to keep your head down,” he told the magazine. “Stay even-keeled and manage expectations.”
Attorneys who know McAfee say he’s ready for the challenge.
Although he’s presided over few trials, McAfee’s previous courtroom experience shows he has great confidence and poise, said Han Chung, an attorney who worked alongside McAfee at the Fulton County district attorney’s office.
As a senior assistant district attorney, McAfee prosecuted hundreds of felony cases, including murder and armed robbery. He was unflappable under tough questioning from a judge or the gaze of a jury, Chung said.
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Chung, who is now a prosecutor in nearby Gwinnett County, recalled coming runner-up to McAfee in 2016 for the best trial lawyer in their unit.
“In order to do our job, you can’t be afraid of the courtroom,” he said. “He was somebody who was especially not afraid.”
In a hearing earlier this month for two of Trump’s co-defendants, McAfee was polite, presaged a key potential stumbling block in the prosecution and ruled directly from the bench that the two would be tried together. When a prosecutor asked for two weeks to submit a brief, the judge gave him six days.
At a second hearing days later, a defense attorney accused a prosecutor of defaming the attorney’s colleague. McAfee said the prosecutor’s comment wasn’t an issue for the court, but the attorney talked over him and pressed on. McAfee let him continue briefly before cutting him off.
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“I said it’s over,” he told the attorney, who continued to protest as he left the lectern.
McAfee later listened patiently to the same attorney’s suggestion for how to schedule the trial.
Retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge E. Susan Garsh, who presided over the 2015 murder trial of New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez, told the AP that “you want to be this very firm presence but not become part of the story.”
Garsh recalled getting a weekly massage and listening to audio books during her commute to help ease the stress of the trial.
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She also said she tried to anticipate as many issues as possible. That included making sure people did not wear Patriots jerseys in the courtroom, she said.
For McAfee, it may mean accounting for his prior work at the Fulton County district attorney’s office. His supervisor for part of his tenure there was Fani Willis, who brought the indictment against Trump and the 18 other defendants.
Trump has attacked Willis, a Democrat, as a “rabid partisan,” and his attorneys may make McAfee’s work under her an issue. His legal team has already filed motions asking two of the judges overseeing indictments against him — Chutkan, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, and New York Judge Juan Manuel Merchan, who also oversaw the Trump Organization’s tax fraud trial — to recuse themselves, citing bias. Merchan rejected the request. Chutkan has yet to rule.
But McAfee, who got his law degree in 2013 from the University of Georgia, also has conservative credentials.
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He worked for the administration of Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, and in law school was a member of the Federalist Society, a group closely aligned with Republican priorities.
Kemp in 2021 appointed McAfee to lead Georgia’s Office of Inspector General, which is tasked with exposing fraud and waste in state government. Before then, McAfee worked for the U.S. attorney’s office, where he prosecuted drug trafficking groups.
In a press release announcing his appointment to the bench last year, Kemp’s office noted McAfee, who is married with two children, was captain of a tennis team, received a scholarship to play the cello as an undergraduate at Emory University and volunteered as a scuba diver at the Georgia Aquarium.
Those activities may prove helpful for McAfee while he presides over the Georgia case.
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“Hopefully, you have a life outside the law,” Cahill said during his talk in Reno about handling high-profile cases. “Something where you can get away from the law itself and enjoy yourself.”
The SEC has announced the future Georgia football conference opponents for the 2026 through 2029 seasons.
Georgia will face Florida, South Carolina and Auburn every season. The SEC announced on Friday that the annual opponents will be revisited every four seasons.
Georgia football future SEC opponents, schedule
- 2026: Florida (Atlanta), at South Carolina, Auburn, at Alabama, at Ole Miss, at Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Vanderbilt
- 2027: Florida (Tampa), South Carolina, at Auburn, at Kentucky, at Texas, at Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee
- 2028: Florida (Jacksonville), at South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, at Oklahoma, at Missouri, at Vanderbilt
- 2029: Florida (Jacksonville), South Carolina, at Auburn, Kentucky, Texas, Texas A&M, at LSU, at Mississippi State, at Tennessee
“it’s hard. I mean, it’s brutal. And everybody’s the same,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Tuesday night. “I mean, we all gotta play each other. It’s really tough, highly ranked teams, physical teams. It’s just going to continue to be a grind. I mean, looking forward with the nines coming, it’s going to be scary because you just don’t have enough. Nobody has enough depth.”
Dates for the 2026 schedule will be announced in December, according to the conference. The schedules will be flipped in 2028 and 2029 from the home-road splits in 2026 and 2027.
In its scheduling outline, the SEC made it clear it wants competitively balanced schedules, which will be determined using the entire schedule and not just the annual opponents. Tennessee reportedly will face Alabama, Vanderbilt and Kentucky in each of the next four years. The latter two are not exactly football powerhouses.
According to the SEC, the highest opponent average winning percentage for any school in the 2026-29 schedules is 55.67% while the lowest is 46.65%, a difference of only 9.02%. From 2020 through 2023 — when the league still used the divisional format — the highest winning percentage was 61.32% and the lowest was 39.76%.
In addition to nine conference games, the SEC stipulates that schools face one Power Four in its nonconference scheduling.
Georgia’s game against Georgia Tech satisfies that requirement. Georgia has future nonconference games against Louisville, Florida State, Clemson and Ohio State on its schedule for the time being.
As it stands, Georgia has 13 games scheduled for the 2025 season. The Bulldogs have nonconfernce games against Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, Louisville and Georgia Tech.
“We’re working through that right now, and a lot of that’s going to be determined as we learn when and where our schedule is going to be in the next few weeks,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said. “But that’s something we’re attacking right now to see what our options are going to be in 2026. So we’re going to take it one year at a time right now. The first focus is going to be on 2026 and then 2027 and moving on. So still a lot of work to be done, and I work closely with Coach Smart and Mark Robinson and the league to kind of figure out what is that going to mean for our schedule moving forward.”
Georgia takes on Alabama this week, with the game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
The grounds for his arrest are still unknown, even to his attorneys.
We’re back for another week of college football action and the slate is loaded, including three games between ranked opponents.
Here’s how to watch in Week 3. Scroll down for live scores, highlights and more.
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Here are the best games this Saturday:
Clemson at Georgia Tech (+3), Noon ET, ESPN: The Tigers are just 3-point favorites ahead of their first road game. It’s a sign that expectations for Clemson have been way off. With Haynes King back, the Yellow Jackets will want to keep it on the ground.
Georgia at Tennessee (+4), 3:30 p.m., ABC: Has Georgia’s offense been good enough ahead of this pivotal SEC game? Saturday is the day to air it out as Tennessee will be without its top two corners again.
South Florida at Miami (-17.5), 4:30 p.m., The CW: The Bulls are the surprise team so far this season. Can they pull off a third straight upset, or will the ‘Canes handle business?
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Florida at LSU (-7), 7:30 p.m., ABC: This game was going to be the day’s marquee matchup before Florida’s loss to USF. A Florida victory would certainly quiet the idea that Billy Napier is on the hot seat.
Texas A&M at Notre Dame (-6.5), 7:30 p.m., NBC: Aggies QB Marcel Reed has thrown for seven TDs so far and A&M’s offense has racked up 953 total yards. The Irish will surely try to get the ball to their star running backs after a subpar opener.
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