The Cobb Web

Cobb County located in the State of Georgia had a population of 760,141 as of 2019 making it Georgia’s third most populous county. Despite Cobb County’s large population, there are more close connections and relationships amongst those in power than would seem to be the result of natural occurrences.

For those familiar with the multiple close friendships and family connections amongst the people in power of the Cobb County court system, there may be a clearer picture of why and how Cobb’s Superior Court judges make their decisions. The relevant applicable laws and the facts of the cases may tell some of the story, but perhaps there is more to consider.

A Short List

• Roy E. Barnes
• Thomas "Tom" J. Browning
• Tyler J. Browning
• Thomas E. Cauthorn III
• Hylton B. Dupree Jr.
• Hon. Robert E. Flournoy III
• Katie K. Leonard
• Hon. Robert D. Leonard II
• Hon. A. Gregory Poole
• Hon. Allison B. Salter
• Charles B. Tanksley
• Kathryn Tanksley

See also WikiLaw page Cobb County - Judicial Misconduct.

Roy E. Barnes

Roy Barnes is a Cobb County attorney who served as the 80th Governor of the State of Georgia from 1999 to 2003. During that time, he appointed Judge Robert E. Flournoy III to the Cobb County Superior Court on July 14, 2000 and former Judge Kathryn Tanksley to the State Court of Cobb County in 2003. Kathryn Tanksley was the wife of Barnes’s former law partner Charles B. Tanksley.

At the time of Tanksley’s appointment to the bench, she was an associate attorney with her husband Charles in the Marietta law firm of Browning & Tanksley, where Barnes formerly was a partner along with Thomas “Tom” J. Browning. Her husband, although a Republican, was an assistant floor leader for Barnes in the Senate.

Shortly after his last term as Governor, “Barnes founded the Barnes Law Group with his daughter, Allison Barnes Salter; son-in-law, John Salter; and long-time law partner, Charles Tanksley. The Barnes Law Group continues Barnes' private law practice which began in 1975 when he formed his first law firm.”

Robert E. Flournoy III - Superior Court Judge

Judge Flournoy, III was appointed to the Cobb County Superior Court by Governor Roy E. Barnes on July 14, 2000 and was elected without opposition in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018. During his first term, he hired Tyler J. Browning (the son of Judge Flournoy’s longtime friend Tom Browning) as his staff attorney. In 2010, Judge Flournoy initiated a custody action against his daughter for which he hired Thomas “Tom” J. Browning. In 2016, Judge Flournoy asked Tyler Browning to be his election campaign Chairperson and Tom Browning to be his Treasurer. Both father and son accepted and still maintain those roles as of August 2021.

Judge Flournoy and Cobb attorney Hylton B. Dupree, Jr. are known in the county community to be longtime friends.

Curry v. Rivera et al. and Rivera v. Scharle - Cobb County Superior Court, Case Nos. 21-1-02536 & 21-1-01795

In June of 2021, Judge Robert E. Flournoy III was asked by way of motion to recuse himself from presiding over a custody case in which Tom Browning, founding partner of Browning & Smith who was Judge Flournoy's attorney in his 2010 custody case, longtime friend and campaign treasurer of Flournoy's, was representing an opposing party. The case was temporarily assigned to the Chief Superior Court Judge, Robert D. Leonard II to hear the recusal motion. Despite the known relationship between Tom Browning and Judge Flournoy, Judge Leonard denied the request for recusal and the case was assigned back to Judge Flournoy. A motion for reconsideration was subsequently filed against Judge Leonard's order and that matter is still pending.

Ellis v. Grubbs - Cobb County Superior Court, Case No. 21-1-06837

Conversely, on September 9, 2021, a Petition for Writ of Mandamus was filed against the Honorable Adele Grubbs along with a request for recusal against the entire Cobb County judicial circuit. That request was granted by the Chief Superior Court Judge, Robert D. Leonard II on September 24, 2021 and was ordered to be transferred to the 7th Judicial Court Administrator for further appointment to a Superior Court Judge outside the Cobb Circuit. Ironically, the 7th Judicial Court Administrator as of September 2021 was the Honorable Robert E. Flournoy III also of Cobb County Superior Court. In short, Judge Leonard handed the case to another Cobb County Superior Court judge to pick a judge outside of Cobb County to handle the matter. The petitioner in that case filed an immediate motion to recuse Judge Flournoy from the matter, which was subsequently granted by another administrative Judge, William T. Boyett, on September 27, 2021. The case was a day later assigned to the Honorable Joe C. Bishop.

While the District Attorney, as an agent of the Georgia Department of Law ("GDL"), would typically represent a Superior Court judge in defending against a writ of mandamus in the State of Georgia, the GDL declined representation of Judge Grubbs in this particular matter "due to a potential conflict" as outlined in Governor Brian Kemp's Executive Order dated September 24, 2021., and three attorneys from the law firm Moore Ingram Johnson & Steele, LLP have been appointed to represent Judge Grubbs against the Petitioners. This case is still pending.

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