(ATLANTA, Ga.) — It’s the first time that a Georgia judicial watchdog agency has recommended the removal of a state appellate court judge. Following the nonbinding recommendation, the Georgia Supreme Court now has the final say. After multiple ethics violations were made public, Judge Christian Coomer of Cartersville has been on voluntary suspension with pay since January 2021.

Coomer joined the appellate court in 2018, after then-Governor Nathan Deal appointed him to the bench. Before his judicial career, he served in the Georgia House as the Republican representative of Georgia’s 14th district, covering parts of Cartersville and Bartow County.

The Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQD), originally created by constitutional amendment in 1972, appointed a 3-member panel, lead by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney. The panel spent seven days holding hearings, and ultimately recommended Coomer’s removal.

Coomer is accused of improperly handling campaign funds, using them to help pay for family vacations overseas. The panel stated that 29 of 36 ethics violations were confirmed to have happened by the JQD. The AJC reported that the panel specifically noted that as an appellate judge, Coomer would preside over cases involving ethics violations, campaign finance violations, and other breaches of public trust.

“(Coomer’s) long-term pattern of violating attorney ethics rules and campaign finance laws to his own financial benefit, his lack of remorse, and his payment of restitution only after his wrongdoing came to light outweigh mitigating factors and demand removal from office,” the panel said, in their 50-page opinion.

The Georgia Supreme Court will hear the case, and make the ultimate decision on whether or not Coomer is allowed to remain on the bench.

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