Georgia judge suspended for misconduct, State Supreme Court rules

GEORGIA (WJBF) – Swainsboro-based Judge Robert Reeves will face a 30-day unpaid suspension and have a public reprimand published on charges of misconduct, according to a decision from the Supreme Court of Georgia on July 30.

According to the court, Reeves’ suspension must begin no later than September 1, 2024 and a public reprimand will be published in local newspapers of the counties Reeves serves and in the Fulton County Daily Report. Reeves’ jurisdiction covers Candler, Emanuel, Jefferson, Toombs and Washington counties.

Under the consent agreement between lawyers for Reeves, who serves the Middle Judicial Circuit Superior Court and the Supreme Court of Georgia, agreed not to seek reelection to judicial office when his term expires on December 31 ^st , 2026.

Reeves was facing 58 formal charges of misconduct that occurred both inside and outside of the courtroom in 14 instances over a seven-year period, according to court documents. He will also have to recuse himself from hearing any cases involving lawyers who leveled accusations against him.

Under the Consent Agreement, Judge Reeves admitted the charge or admitted that evidence exists to prove 33 of the 58 charges of misconduct. The counts of misconduct that spanned seven of Reeves 17 years of judgeship mainly concern “Reeves’s use of coarse, insensitive, demeaning, and/or insulting language, particularly with women. One involved a series of minor but nonetheless unwanted physical contacts between [Judge] Reeves and a female lawyer.”

A hearing panel concluded that Judge Reeves’ misconduct was “willful” acts “taken in bad faith,” including “habitual intemperance (i.e., rude, abusive, or off-color language or improper and unsolicited physical contact), and/or conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice,” acts which brought his Office into “disrepute” – but, while the Hearing Panel felt that a public reprimand was insufficient, it also felt that “removal from office would be too severe.”

While the Hearing Panel noted there were no published Georgia judicial discipline matters directly comparable to the charges levelled against Judge Reeves, the Georgia Supreme Court added that there “there is no allegation that Judge Reeves failed to perform his judicial duties.”

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