Judge arrested at nightclub should be removed for previous ethics charges, GA Supreme Court rules

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a metro Atlanta judge should be removed from the bench after she was investigated for dozens of ethics charges.

The ruling comes days after the judge was arrested at an Atlanta nightclub.

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Douglas County Probate Judge Christina Peterson was charged with simple battery against a police officer at the Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge on Peachtree Street.

Peterson had already been facing ethics charges bought against her by the Judicial Qualifications Commission in 2022.

The JQC ruled that Peterson should be removed from the bench. On Tuesday, the Georgia Supreme Court said it agrees with the JQC’s ruling. Tuesday’s ruling is not related to the Petersen’s arrest.

“In conclusion, in light of her multiple violations of the CJC rules in relation to several matters—some of them reflecting a flagrant disregard for the law, court rules, and judicial conduct rules; the pattern of violations that the Director proved by clear and convincing evidence; the extremely concerning nature of some of those violations, in particular with respect to the criminal contempt matter; and her behavior during the JQC inquiry, we conclude that removal is the appropriate sanction.”

Channel 2 Action News first reported on the ethics charges against Peterson since 2022.

Peterson was elected in 2020, and her alleged misuse of social media attracted the attention of the JQC before she was even sworn in. That’s among dozens of ethics charges the commission filed against the judge.

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2 witnesses say Douglas County probate judge should not have been arrested

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