Does new judicial commission in Georgia even exist? Law prof raises doubts
A poorly drafted constitutional amendment approved by Georgia voters in November could mean the state’s new and temporary Judicial Qualifications Commission has no authority to act—or doesn’t even exist, according to a Georgia State University law professor.
The problem, says professor Clark Cunningham, is over confusion about the effective date of the amendment, according to the Daily Report (sub. req.).
The amendment abolished the old, independent Judicial Qualifications Commission and created a new commission that is overseen and controlled by the legislature through member appointments. Critics had claimed the amendment politicized the judicial ethics process.
Lawmakers have interpreted the amendment as abolishing the old commission Jan. 1, the date the amendment was to take effect, Cunningham says. But the constitutional amendment states that “the Judicial Qualifications Commission which existed on June 30, 2017, is hereby abolished.”
Lawmakers have created a new, temporary commission and told its members that their terms that began Jan. 1 will expire on June 30.
The better interpretation, Cunningham says, is that the old judicial commission still exists until June 30.
“I would doubt the voters of Georgia wanted to approve something that left a large gap where we were unprotected from bad judges,” Cunningham told the Daily Report. “It would make sense that the commission composed under the [state] Constitution prior to the vote would continue to serve until June 30.”
