GBI Files Complaint Against Judge

The director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has filed a judicial complaint against Superior Court Judge Kristina Cook Connelly. In the complaint, Vernon Keenan alleges the high-profile judge violated judicial ethics by repeatedly cursing at law enforcement officers about their handling of a drug investigation. The complaint says Connelly was upset because she thought agents investigating illegal drug activity asked a confidential informant about her. GBI spokesman John Bankhead said the agency has never investigated Connelly for illegal drug activity.
-AP-

Budget Cuts Threaten Superior Courts

Leaders of Georgia's judicial branch are arguing it should be exempt from deep cuts ordered this week by Gov. Sonny Perdue. The Council of Superior Courts said Friday that it should be immune from Gov. Sonny Perdue's decision to slash the funding for state agencies by 25 percent in June amid falling tax collections. Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears called such a move "unconstitutional" in a letter she sent Thursday to Perdue. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melvin Westmoreland, who is the council's president, warned state budget officials that such a move could shut down superior courts across the state for two weeks.

(Associated Press)