Cobb County judge sets the record straight in Fulton, or is it all a facade?

Judge Schuster weighs in

What looked like a turning of tides in Fulton County Superior Court now appears to be a second wave of the same one-sided agenda. And it may have remained less conspicuous but for The County Gossip in another jurisdiction exposing the iceberg.

On April 12, 2023, Cobb County Senior Superior Court judge, the Honorable Adele Grubbs, ruled in favor of the appointment of a special master in a real estate title dispute pending in Fulton County, yet the actual order entered by the judge on April 18, 2023 proved to be far more controversial than expected. But why was a Cobb County judge presiding over a case that was already assigned to Judge Melynee Leftridge in Fulton County? Or, more concerning, why was Judge Grubbs in particular handpicked for the case? Cobb Senior Judge J. Stephen Schuster candidly shared his unsolicited opinion.

The County Gossip

On April 18, 2023, Senior Judge, J. Stephen Schuster, was presiding over a child support hearing in Cobb County when he inserted what could reasonably be interpreted as a subtle dig on a local attorney who was not even present at the time nor part of the case Schuster was presiding over. The attorney was Marietta’s Matthew D. McMaster. Schuster was presiding in place of Judge Robert D. Leonard II at the time. Present at the hearing was attorney Rebecca McLaws who was representing a friend of McMaster's, Tameka Brown. According to an affidavit filed by McLaws, Judge Schuster referred to McMaster as part of Ms. Brown's "entourage" and went on to state that Senior Judge Adele Grubbs had “tangled it up" with Mr. McMaster in Fulton County. However, upon reviewing the first draft rendition of the transcript, "the phrase 'tangled it up' did not appear in the transcript whatsoever," according to attorney McLaws. McMaster, on notice of the dialogue about him, has filed a request for the audio recording of the transcript from the hearing.

When a 'Senior Judge' May Be Used

An active judge may call upon a senior judge to serve in an emergency or when the volume of cases or other unusual circumstances cause such service to be necessary in order to provide for the speedy and efficient disposition of the business of the circuit. O.C.G.A. § 15-1-9.2(c).

So who cares that Senior Judge Schuster decided to voice his opinion about a case pending in another county? Why does it matter? McMaster weighed in: "Schuster's comment in Cobb was made in the same hearing he ruled to arrest my friend, Tameka. And it was roughly an hour before Judge Grubbs' Fulton order was made publicly available. So he appears to have alluded to Judge Grubbs' agenda before I could have known about it. The fact that the transcript deviates from what I was originally told by Ms. McLaws is concerning. I'll know more once that audio is available."

When asked whether McMaster's view changes if Ms. McLaws was mistaken about the actual words used by Judge Schuster, McMaster responded: "Not at all. [Judge Schuster] shouldn't even open that door from the bench. If his gossip has a place at all, it's not in the courtroom."

An Axe to Grind

In 2022, a mandamus petition was filed in Cobb County Superior Court naming Judge Grubbs as the defending party against two plaintiffs, Troy and Tatyana Ellis. The plaintiffs sought legal consultation from attorney McMaster regarding the case. Though McMaster never entered the record as an attorney, Judge Grubbs was put on notice of McMaster's role in the matter when it was disclosed through discovery to Grubbs' attorney. Additionally, McMaster had been critical of Judge Robert E. Flournoy III in recent times for a number of reasons, one being Judge Flournoy's potential status as a disqualified senior judge based on a blemish with his application sent to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp in October of 2022. That issue has not been publicly addressed by the Governor; and based on what we now know about Judge Grubbs' status as a senior judge, she too may also be unqualified for the same procedural snafu.

Senior judge status as provided in this Code section shall be acquired by a qualified former judge’s applying to the Governor for appointment as senior judge. The Governor shall appoint each qualified applicant as a senior judge. O.C.G.A. § 15-1-9.2(a.2).

To add fuel to this fire, it was also reported that both Judge Flournoy and Judge Grubbs were seen out to lunch at Thaicoon & Sushi Bar at Marietta Square on April 18, 2023—the very same day that Judge Grubbs entered her questionable order appointing Barry L. Zimmerman as special master in the Fulton case, which was also the same day that Judge Schuster made his comment regarding Judge Grubbs and McMaster.

Judge Adele Grubbs and attorney Matt McMaster had not faced each other in any kind of trial or motion hearing in Judge Grubbs' history on the bench, despite both living amongst the same legal community and sharing the same home court. This was the first time and, given the reputation of both, one might have expected fireworks at the confrontation. There were none.

A Truly "Special" Master

So what makes the appointment of Barry L. Zimmerman as special master so questionable? A reasonable Google search reveals more than is palatable.

Former Alpharetta judge was personal attorney for city prosecutor

According to an article written by Adrianne Murchison and published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in July of 2022, the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) found "reasonable cause" that Zimmerman "violated the code of judicial conduct.” It has since been confirmed that while Zimmerman was acting as the Alpharetta Municipal Court Judge, he "presided over thousands of cases argued by a solicitor who had hired him to be her private attorney," which is of course a conflict of interest.

"The JQC resolved its investigation against Zimmerman in June when he decided to step down from the bench. He agreed not to accept any elected or appointed judicial office in the future 'in lieu of formal charges,' the JQC report states. The report said the agreement is 'a fair disposition of the matter and is in the interests of justice.'"

Alpharetta judge presided over cases, represented defendants at same time, investigation finds

In a story by Bryan Mims of WSB-TV, it was reported that Zimmerman acted as both lawyer and judge in at least six cases dating back to 2008. Zimmerman denied the accusations. According to the investigation by the City of Alpharetta: "Instead of removing the case from the Municipal Court of Alpharetta to the State Court of Fulton County, Judge Zimmerman would negotiate the case with Solicitor Fran McQueen, use attorney Keith Brandon as a ‘straw man’ defense attorney on a plea in absentia and then have another Judge for the Municipal Court sign the orders."

"It was just devastating to think that the person in charge of making sure our court system worked well and worked legally was also the person who seems to have let us down," said city attorney Randy Rich.

But why would Judge Grubbs appoint a special master whose ethics have been so severely questioned that he is barred from serving as a judge in the State of Georgia?

Appearance Is Everything

The Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct ("CJC") prohibits not just impropriety but, rather, the CJC bars the mere "appearance of impropriety." And here, it certainly appears that Senior Judges (Grubbs and Schuster) are being used to do the dirty work of the underlying elected judges (Leftridge and Leonard), though without facing the consequences of having to fight for re-election as the elected judge would. By design, it is all a facade and we are left with but one solution: Hold the elected judges accountable for the acts of their Senior Judges.

By

If you are aware of similar problems in Georgia legal matters, send the details and documents here: https://navigatingjustice.org/reporting/
May 1, 2023

See also

• Part 1: Karma prevails and Recusal Motion ensues
• Part 2: Fulton Sheriff wrongfully evicts Mother and children
• Part 3: Georgia Ethics Code Does Not Apply To Fulton Judges
• Part 4: Cobb County judge sets the record straight in Fulton, or is it all a facade?
• Part 5: Fulton Judiciary Weaponizes Project ORCA