A Columbus judge who has overseen a state commission that has obtained the resignations of a number of high-profile judges will step down as chair of the agency on July 1.
Chief Superior Court Judge John Allen said he will continue serving on the seven-member Judicial Qualifications Commission, which is comprised of judges, lawyers and lay people. The commission is soon expected to vote on who will succeed Allen a chair, Jeff Davis, the commission's director, said.
Since the beginning of this year, four chief Superior Court judges have resigned in the face of ethics investigations by the judicial regulatory agency: Amanda Williams of Brunswick, William F. Lee Jr. of Newnan and David Barrett and Lynn Akeley-Alderman, both from the Enotah Judicial Circuit in North Georgia. A number of other judges have resigned in disgrace as well over the past few years.
Allen said he was stepping down as chair out of concern that the flurry of events of the past two years would lead people to believe the commission "was cloaked with the imprimatur" of only one person.
"We have, collectively, navigated fairly turbulent waters over the past couple of years," Allen wrote in a letter sent to fellow commission members. "The commission, as a whole, certainly deserves the credit for operating with steadfast integrity and resolve while negotiating wrenching decisions."
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