Difference between revisions of "Cobb County - Judicial Misconduct"
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Cobb County - Judicial Misconduct (view source)
Revision as of 10:06, 26 September 2021
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==Robert D. Leonard II - Chief Superior Court Judge of Cobb County== | ==Robert D. Leonard II - Chief Superior Court Judge of Cobb County== | ||
[[File:Leonard_Pic.jpg|right|300px]] | [[File:Leonard_Pic.jpg|right|300px]] | ||
Judge Leonard presently serves as the Chief Judge for the Cobb Judicial Circuit. He has | Judge Robert D. Leonard II was appointed to the bench in 2010 by former Georgia Governor [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Perdue Sonny Purdue] and presently serves as the Chief Judge for the Cobb Judicial Circuit. He has been re-elected three times without opposition. <ref>[https://www.cobbcounty.org/courts/superior-court/judges/judge-robert-d-leonard ''Cobb County Superior Court - Honorable Robert D. Leonard II, Chief Judge'', cobbcounty.org.]</ref> | ||
===For Cobb or Cronies?=== | |||
For those familiar with the multiple close friendships and family connections amongst those 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 tell some of the story, but perhaps there is more to consider. | |||
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobb_County,_Georgia 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, the close connections and relationships amongst those in power at the courthouse is worth noting. | |||
===Leading Cobb's Notorious "Pay-to-Play" Way=== | |||
Cobb County Superior Court is known as a "Pay-to-Play" judicial system, which by definition is technically a violation of the [https://www.gabar.org/upload/FINAL-CJC-Draft-to-publish-for-comment.pdf Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct]. What exactly does Pay-to-Play mean in the judicial system context? It means that when a judge has discretion to appoint someone to a paid role (e.g., mediator, Guardian Ad Litem, etc.) in a case, the judge will select an individual that contributes, usually substantially, to the judge's election campaign. | |||
* List of [http://thewikilaw.org/wiki/index.php?title=File:GAL_List_2021.pdf Cobb County Guardian Ad Litems] | |||
* List of [http://thewikilaw.org/wiki/index.php?title=File:QualifiedNeutralsListTort.pdf Cobb County Mediators] | |||
<blockquote> | |||
====''Ellis v. Seaver'' - Cobb County Superior Court, Case No. 16-1-08365==== | |||
In an article by [https://scalawagmagazine.org/author/arvinddilawar/ Arvind Dilawar] published in 2020 by the SCALAWAG online magazine, Judge Leonard is exposed for appointing a Guardian Ad Litem in 2017 to a child custody case that happened to also be the highest financial donor to his re-election campaign. When one of the parties requested that the Guardian be removed from the case, Judge Leonard required that the requesting party pay to the Guardian the full amount billed by the Guardian which totaled $12,350.00, despite the fact the Guardian failed to complete work worth that amount of pay.<ref>[https://scalawagmagazine.org/2020/07/georgia-guardian-ad-litem-accountability/ ''How Georgia's court-appointed advocates are failing children and parents'' (2020), scalawagmagazine.org]</ref> | |||
====''Myton v. Starks'' - Cobb County Superior Court, Case No. 21-1-03662==== | |||
Judge Leonard's execution of the Pay-to-Play method has not wavered as of August 2021. In Cobb County Superior Court, [http://thewikilaw.org/wiki/images/9/9b/SUCV-20210098999.pdf Case No. 21-1-03662], Judge Leonard appointed Tyler J. Browning of [https://www.browningsmith.com/ Browning & Smith LLC], as a Guardian Ad Litem over a custody matter. Based on public records as of January 2021, Browning & Smith is the highest donating law firm to Judge Leonard's re-election campaign since 2014, which is presently known as Friends of Judge Leonard, donating a present total of not less than $3,600.00 to date.<ref>[https://media.ethics.ga.gov/search/campaign/Campaign_Name.aspx?NameID=9130&FilerID=C2012002602&Type=candidate ''Georgia Government Transparency And Campaign Finance Commission'' C2012002602, media.ethics.ga.gov]</ref> Unless the owners of Browning & Smith have a habit of making poor arbitrary business decisions, its donations to Cobb Superior Court judges are undoubtedly investments by the firm from which history has shown a return. | |||
</blockquote> | |||
===A (Not So) Voluntary Recusal in Waffle House Sex Tape Case=== | ===A (Not So) Voluntary Recusal in Waffle House Sex Tape Case=== | ||
In an article written by [https://www.ajc.com/staff/bill-rankin/ Bill Rankin] for [https://www.ajc.com The Atlanta Journal-Constitution], Judge Robert Leonard recused himself from the case after making biased rulings in favor of his wife's attorney | In an article written by [https://www.ajc.com/staff/bill-rankin/ Bill Rankin] for [https://www.ajc.com The Atlanta Journal-Constitution], Judge Robert Leonard recused himself from the case after making biased rulings in favor of his wife's attorney. | ||
<blockquote>One alleged conflict was that an ethics complaint had been filed against Leonard before the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission. JQC Commissioner Richard Hyde works as an investigator for Rogers’ legal team in the sex tape case, the motion said, creating a question about whether Leonard would favor Rogers’ side in the litigation to curry favor with Hyde. | <blockquote>One alleged conflict was that an ethics complaint had been filed against Leonard before the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission. JQC Commissioner Richard Hyde works as an investigator for Rogers’ legal team in the sex tape case, the motion said, creating a question about whether Leonard would favor Rogers’ side in the litigation to curry favor with Hyde. | ||
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As for Leonard’s final order, Ingram said, “You could tell he had some pent-up frustration.”</blockquote> | As for Leonard’s final order, Ingram said, “You could tell he had some pent-up frustration.”</blockquote> | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
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