A former Fulton County Superior Court judge accused by Georgia’s judicial watchdog of breaking the law by jailing a young woman has been hired by District Attorney Fani Willis as a prosecutor.
Shermela Williams resigned in February while facing possible removal from the bench over a series of misconduct charges and an associated lawsuit.
Now Williams, a judge since the start of 2021, is returning to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, where she previously spent several years as a prosecutor.
A spokesperson for Willis’ office told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Williams is “an accomplished attorney” who had served before “with distinction.”
“We are fortunate that she is bringing her experience and knowledge back to our office to serve our mission of making Fulton County a safer, more just place for everyone,” the spokesperson said Monday.
Williams did not respond Monday to questions about her new role.
Willis’ office declined to disclose or comment on Williams’ salary.
Williams’ job history shows she was a senior assistant district attorney in Fulton County from 2011 to 2014, when Willis was also a prosecutor in that office. Williams then spent a couple of years as a prosecutor in DeKalb County before working as a litigator at Atlanta law firm Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins.
As a judge, Williams was the target of a misconduct investigation by the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission, at one time charged with more than 30 counts of violating the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct.
The JQC’s hearing panel recommended last year that Williams be ousted from office, saying she’d inexcusably broken the law by jailing a young woman called to testify in her parents’ divorce hearing. Williams said she’d wanted to teach the 21-year-old a lesson and understands the way she handled the situation was wrong.
The woman, Molly Dennis, sued Williams in October, alleging her constitutional rights were violated when she was placed in a courthouse cell for up to 45 minutes on Williams’ orders. Williams recently sought to end the lawsuit, arguing she has “absolute judicial immunity” against Dennis’ claims.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
The jailing of Dennis in 2023 was the worst of several missteps by Williams, the state’s judicial watchdog reported to the Georgia Supreme Court, adding it was disappointed in Williams’ “stunning lack of candor” throughout the misconduct case.
Williams’ resignation came before the state Supreme Court decided what, if any, punishment she should face.
The JQC has asked the court to consider penalizing Williams irrespective of her resignation. The court has the authority to temporarily bar ousted judges from seeking judicial office in the future, among other things.
JQC Director Courtney Veal said Williams’ resignation was “an obvious attempt to resign her way out of accountability for her misconduct,” though it was “certainly best for Georgia’s citizens and judiciary.”
Before resigning, Williams had urged the state Supreme Court to let her stay on the bench, suggesting a short suspension would be adequate punishment.
In her resignation letter to Gov. Brian Kemp, Williams said her decision to step down was “bittersweet.” She was elected to a second term last year.
“Serving in this role has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life,” she wrote. “Both in and out of the courtroom; I have proudly served my community with diligence, respect, honor, balance, and impartiality.”
Williams was also accused in the JQC’s misconduct case of improperly favoring a Delta Sigma Theta sorority sister in a child custody case and making other litigants in family cases wait up to 2½ years for rulings.
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