Inquiry Concerning Judge Christian Coomer

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia reviews a judicial-discipline proceeding involving Court of Appeals Judge Christian Coomer. The Court holds that the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct does not apply to conduct occurring before an individual became a judge or judicial candidate, and that nonjudicial conduct warrants discipline only upon a showing of bad faith. Because the Judicial Qualifications Commission Hearing Panel made legal errors and unclear findings regarding bad faith, the Court remands for further findings.

Holdings

1. The Code of Judicial Conduct does not apply to conduct undertaken before a person became a judge or judicial candidate; therefore, the JQC may not pursue disciplinary charges based solely on such pre-judicial conduct.
2. Conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice may support discipline for actions taken outside a judge's judicial capacity only when the actions were taken in bad faith; negligence alone is insufficient.
3. The Director must prove disciplinary charges by clear and convincing evidence; the Supreme Court defers to factual and credibility findings unless clearly erroneous, reviews legal questions de novo, and independently determines the appropriate discipline.
4. The JQC's authority to investigate judicial candidates and judges is not eliminated merely because the same conduct may also be investigated by the State Bar of Georgia or the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission.
5. Because the Hearing Panel did not clearly determine whether the proved violations were committed knowingly and in bad faith or merely negligently, the Supreme Court could not determine what discipline was constitutionally authorized and was required to remand for additional findings.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct applies to conduct occurring before a person becomes a judge or judicial candidate.
2. Whether conduct outside a judge's judicial capacity may support discipline for conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice without a finding of bad faith.
3. Whether the JQC may investigate conduct that also falls within the authority of the State Bar of Georgia or the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission.
4. Whether investigating conduct occurring while Coomer was both a judicial candidate and a legislator violated separation-of-powers principles.
5. Whether the Hearing Panel's ambiguous findings required remand rather than an immediate disciplinary decision by the Supreme Court.

Disposition

remanded