The Georgia High Court of Appeals Forbids the Investigation of a Personal Conflict of Interest in the Case of DA Fani Willis
The decision caps a tumultuous year for Willis. She became a national star as she spearheaded the case against a former president and pushed ahead with other high-profile cases, like the case against rapper Young Thug. In May, she defeated a challenger in the Democratic primary.
“For at least the last 43 years, our appellate courts have held that an appearance of impropriety, without an actual conflict of interest or actual impropriety, provides no basis for the reversal of a trial court’s denial of a motion to disqualify,” Land wrote.
ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office cannot continue prosecuting the Georgia election interference case involving President-elect Donald Trump, the Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled.
“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” concluded Judge Trenton Brown, writing for the majority. “The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring.”
Fulton Superior Judge Scott McAfee ruled in March that Willis’ romantic relationship with Wade created the appearance of a conflict of interest, but did not require her disqualification.
According to the trial court, if Wade resigned his appointment, he could stay on the case. Several defendants appealed that ruling and the case has largely been halted since this summer.
Four separate prosecutions had been faced by Trump. He was convicted in New York for charges related to hush money payments, and a judge recently ruled that Trump can’t claim presidential immunity to overturn that conviction. The two federal cases against Trump were dropped just before the election, and the sentencing for the New York case has been delayed.
A Georgia appeals court blocks Fulton DA Willis from election interference: The case of Trump and the District Attorney’s Defendant Michael Roman
If the Georgia Supreme Court ultimately takes up the case and upholds the decision, it would fall to the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia to appoint a new prosecutor. It is up to the prosecutor to decide whether to continue the case.
The case focuses on efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election result by pressuring state officials and election workers, submitting a slate of false electors and attempting to tamper with sensitive voting equipment. Four of them have pleaded guilty.
Then in January 2024, co-defendant Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official, accused Willis of misconduct that threatened to derail the case. Roman claimed that Wade’s pay for the prosecution helped enriched Willis by taking vacations with her. Willis and Wade testified in front of the judge, saying she paid her own way on the trips or reimbursed him in cash for her share of the expenses.
McAfee wrote that, “an outsider could reasonably think that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences. As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist.”
The Court of Appeals was planning to hear the appeal in December, but then scrapped the oral arguments just after Trump won a second term.
There is a legal question related to whether the state law requires the disqualification of a district attorney for having a conflict of interest or just for the appearance of impropriety.
“This is a rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of the proceedings,” Brown said.
Source: Georgia appeals court blocks Fulton DA Willis from election interference case
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Judge Todd Markle concurred. Nathan Deal appointed Brown and Markle to his administration. Judge Benjamin Land, appointed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, dissented.
The court refused to dismiss the case. Fulton County prosecutors quickly notified the court that they intend to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.
Trump’s Georgia attorney Steve Sadow wrote in a statement that the appeals court ruling was “well-reasoned.” He wrote: “As the Court rightfully noted, only the remedy of disqualification will suffice to restore public confidence.”