Judge Bedford hit with ethics complaint, political theater ensues

Controversial Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford is the latest public official to get slapped with an ethics complaint by George Anderson, a government watchdog who’s always game for spelunking into the Open Records abyss.

On Friday, Anderson, the executive director of Ethics in Government Group, requested the State Ethics Commission and the Judicial Qualifications Commission investigate allegations against Bedford, the jurist who’s presided over such cases as the lawsuit about the Piedmont Park parking deck and the 2007 Terry Williams murder in Little Five Points. (My esteemed colleague Scott Henry touched upon the jurist’s Orwellian campaign slogan this morning. His opponent in the general election is Atlanta Magistrate Judge Keisha Lance Bottoms.)

Anderson alleges Bedford has misused “contempt of court” fines doled out to courtroom guests whose cell phones go off, speak out of turn, or conduct themselves in an unbecoming fashion. He wants the JQC to investigate whether the judge has misdirected fine payments to the Atlanta Santa Project, a charity Bedford founded and whose public service has been widely noted. Other allegations include not fully disclosing his campaign expenses and discussing pending cases outside the courtroom.

According to the minutes from a July 2008 NPU-F meeting that Bedford attended, he discussed the Terry Williams murder case. Members of the group who were interviewed by CL also said Bedford mentioned the case. (The judge was unavailable for comment on Friday.)

Now, here’s where this whole damn thing gets bizarre...

(Photo by Joeff Davis)