Court Refuses To Seal Charges Against Judge

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga.,None — Channel 2 Action News has learned that the state Supreme Court has refused to seal a list of 16 allegations of misconduct against a DeKalb judge who has abruptly resigned.

READ: Allegations Against Judge Barbara Mobley

Dekalb state court judge Barbara Mobley resigned Friday in the face of a state investigation of judicial misconduct. She stepped down at noon, and soon after, the state judicial qualifications commission filed a list of 16 charges that were pending against Mobley when she quit. The charges include improper use of public employees for the judge's personal matters and use of a government paid law clerk to represent the judge's personal interests in civil litigation.

Documents Detail Issues Involving Outgoing DeKalb Judge

Mobley's attorney said Monday her client had not been found in violation of any of the judicial canons of ethics.

"And she has never violated any state criminal law at all," Mobley's attorney, Jackie Patterson, told Channel 2's Richard Belcher.

But within hours of Mobley's resignation, Patterson filed an emergency motion with the state Supreme Court asking the court to seal the accusations against Mobley.

Mobley's attorney, Jackie Patterson, told the court that Mobley would have never resigned if she had known state investigators would reveal details of the accusations against the judge, but the Supreme Court stands by its decision.

"We are totally dismayed that the judicial qualifications commission posted those charges against Judge Mobley. They have not done that in other recent cases in which judges resigned," Patterson said.

WSBTV