Ga. Chief Judge is Unindicted Co-Conspirator
Updated: Under fire last year for his alleged role in imposing unauthorized fees on criminal defendants, the chief judge of the Alapaha Judicial Circuit in Georgia has now reportedly been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal case against a former employee who used to work for him as a magistrate judge. Meanwhile, charges filed against him today in a separate investigation by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission claim that, some 20 years ago, the same employee, who was then the judge’s secretary, managed real estate for the judge and his wife on government time.
Although Chief Judge Brooks Blitch III is not named in a federal superseding indictment, his lawyer confirms that he is the individual referred to as “co-conspirator #1,” writes the Daily Report, in an article reprinted by N.Y. Lawyer (reg. req.). The case concerns former Clinch County Magistrate Judge Linda Peterson, who allegedly got a $14,000 raise “after she helped him and his son resolve a legal claim in a manner that the indictment alleges is extortion,” the legal newspaper reports.
Previously, when she was Blitch’s secretary at the court, Peterson allegedly helped him and his wife run their real estate investments,” reports the Associated Press. Officials also contend that Blitch may have released some prisoners early.
But John Salter, a lawyer representing the judge, says the investigation hasn’t shown that the judge ever profited from this claimed misconduct. “Bringing more charges is simply an effort to hype an investigation that has so far contradicted the JQC counsel’s rhetoric of a ‘pattern of corruption,’ ” he says.
As discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts, Blitch allegedly imposed a $10 surcharge on criminal cases to fund worker salaries. That resulted in a felony mail fraud plea by a former courthouse clerk who reportedly paid himself and other employees from the fees fund.
Updated at 5:30 p.m., central time, to include Ledger-Enquirer coverage.
