On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, Charles Boring, Director of the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC), charged the Honorable Robert Reeves – Chief Judge of the Middle Judicial Circuit Superior Court in the state of Georgia- with 58 counts of misconduct that include consistent derogatory remarks in the courtroom against members and non-members of the bar, sexual harassment, and inappropriate use of his title as a judge.

The filing is styled as In re: Inquiry Concerning Judge Robert Reeves, with case number #S23Z0337.

The allegations include violations of the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct Rules 1.1, 1.2(A) and (B), 1.3, 2.3(B), 2.4, 2.8, 2.9(A), 3.1(C), and  3.7(A)(3). These ethics rules generally require:

Judges shall respect and comply with the law.

Judges shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary.

Judges shall participate in establishing, maintaining, and enforcing high standards of conduct, and shall personally observe such standards of conduct so that the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary may be preserved.

Judges shall not lend the prestige of their office to advance the private interests of the judge or others.

Judges shall not, in the performance of judicial duties, by words or conduct manifest bias or prejudice, or engage in harassment, including but not limited to bias, prejudice, or harassment based upon age, disability, ethnicity, gender or sex, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.

Judges shall not convey or enable others to convey the impression that any person or organization is in a position to influence the judge.

Judges shall be patient, dignified, and courteous to litigants, jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and others with whom they deal in their official capacity, and shall require similar conduct of all persons subject to their direction and control.

Judges shall accord to every person who has a legal interest in a proceeding, or that person’s lawyer, the right to be heard according to law.

Judges may engage in extra-judicial activities, provided that doing so will not interfere with proper performance of judicial duties or cast doubt on their capacity to impartially decide any issue.

(A) Judges may engage in activities concerning the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice, provided that doing so will not interfere with the performance of their official duties or cast doubt on their capacity to impartially decide any issue

(3) Judges may assist such organizations in raising funds and may make recommendations to public and private fund-granting agencies on projects and programs concerning the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice, but judges shall not personally solicit funds during public fundraising activities.

The judicial canons can be found here.

The formal charges allege that Judge Reeves made an inappropriate remark to a Toombs County court attendee while giving instructions to the court attendees prior to excusing them. He had told the court attendees to remain seated while he finished his instructions. When an African-American male rose and began to leave the courtroom, Judge Reeves is reported as saying, “Sir, you’re walking and I’m telling you to be still. Are you really that retarded?‘

Judge Reeves reportedly made another inappropriate comment while presiding over a criminal calendar in Toombs County. During this instance, it is reported that a jailer asked the Judge when the court would be breaking for lunch, to which Reeves replied: “get the people (inmates) fed? You mean we have to feed these people (inmates)?” The report states that several supporters of the inmates were in the courtroom during this instance, and several became visibly upset after the comment.’

In June of this year, Judge Reeves allegedly publicly chastised a female attorney for the Middle Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office so intensely that she left the courtroom in tears. At the time of the event, it is reported that the attorney’s office was experiencing extreme staffing shortages, which was causing the attorney to have difficulty with the amount of paperwork required in preparation for the case. After the attorney left, Reeves is reported to have made a comment along the lines of “if you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen.”

11 formal charges were brought against Judge Reeves for his participation in a 2015 promotional video for an area non-profit organization, an advocacy facility serving communities in the Middle Judicial Circuit. By participating in these actions, the JQC alleges that Judge Reeves “failed to establish, maintain, and enforce high standards of conduct, and to personally observe such standards of conduct so that the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary is maintained.” Also, the JQC alleges that Judge Reeves lent the prestige of his office to advance the private interests of others and conveyed and enabled others to advance the impression that an organization was in a position to influence him.’

Charles Boring, Director of the JQC requests that the Court impose upon Judge Reeves the necessary disciplinary action for violations of the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct.

The filing states:

‘Violations of the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct support discipline when they amount to “willful misconduct in office,” “habitual intemperance,” or “conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the judicial office into disrepute.” Judge Reeves’s conduct as alleged amounts to willful misconduct in office, habitual intemperance, and is prejudicial to the administration of justice bringing the judicial office into disrepute. Therefore, the Director hereby seeks disciplinary action for the above-stated violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct.’

In 2007, Reeves was appointed to the Middle Judicial Circuit bench, which includes the counties of Candler, Emanuel, Jefferson, Toombs, and Washington. He was appointed the circuit’s chief judge in 2020, following Judge Kathy Palmer’s retirement.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.