Difference between revisions of "Georgia Ethics Code Does Not Apply To Fulton Judges"

Though the McCrackens hired a property manager to execute a "staged" eviction, this was obviously not a typical landlord-tenant case with an alleged rent of $15,000 per month after a $100,000 down payment. Having committed to removing Jackson as their buyer, the McCrackens were determined not to drop the case despite having failed to deliver proper legal notices before initiating the eviction (or “dispossessory”) process. The real estate market was getting exponentially warmer and it appeared to be in their interest to pocket Jackson’s investment and seek a new buyer. Jackson offered multiple times to simply pay off the running balance and continue with the purchase, to which the McCrackens’ attorney repeated "Not a chance!"

In a typical eviction where a tenant fails to pay rent, a landlord would initiate a dispossessory action with the court on grounds of “nonpayment” of rent. And if the tenant comes up with the money owed, the landlord would drop the case and everyone moves on as before the case was filed. So what exactly is a “staged eviction”? We consulted with Jackson’s attorney, Matthew D. McMaster and here was his explanation.

This often occurs when a property owner decides to sell the rental in a hot real estate market (which is what we have here) and they no longer want the tenant in the home under any set of circumstances. And when there is a written lease and the tenant is solvent, it makes an eviction very difficult. Well, in Jackson’s case, we not only have a solvent tenant and a written lease, but we also have a Purchase and Sale Agreement between the McCrackens and Jackson signed a day after the alleged lease agreement.

The easiest way to get a tenant to simply stop paying his or her rent (and every landlord attorney with half a brain knows this) is to demand some absurd amount so as to induce the tenant not to pay any money at all. Imagine for example that you owe the present month's rent, for say $2,000, and your landlord demands $4,000 due within three (3) days for both the present month and the previous month’s rent though you know for a fact you already paid the previous month's rent. The natural response by an unsuspecting tenant is to not pay a dime! Then the landlord will file with the court to have the tenant evicted and will inevitably win—though the money judgment will be less than requested by the landlord in the original demand. And thus, the staged eviction is completed in a manner that appears "legal enough" so as to avoid criminal prosecution.

"As an experienced landlord-tenant attorney—often times defending tenants—I have been privy to witnessing behavioral patterns of many landlord attorneys and judges that are complicit with these tactics, and it is very sad to say the least. Whether you have flat out corruption or if you have a judge who simply isn’t paying any attention to detail, it’s a very scary situation." McMaster continued: "The other judges turned a blind-eye when we sought removal of Judge Leftridge and relief from what we perceived to be blatant impropriety. It was almost as if they were saying 'It doesn't matter what evidence you have, we aren't going to remove our friend from the bench.'"

If there was ever a question as to whether a judge would recuse another judge for violating Georgia’s Code of Judicial Conduct, this case has removed the matter entirely from conjecture. We can now be sure "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the unwritten rule amongst the fraternity of judges in Fulton County supersedes Georgia’s ethics code. That unwritten rule is: ''No matter the facts and circumstances, a judge shall not remove another judge from a case.''