A county probate judge, who was recently apprehended for supposedly shoving a police officer in a profanity-based scuffle outside of an Atlanta nightclub, has been removed from the bench by the Georgia Supreme Court.
Now, Douglas County probate judge Christina Peterson, 38, is prohibited from holding any judicial post in the state for 7 years.
Peterson is accused of pushing an off duty Atlanta cop, outside the Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge, twice in the chest. She was charged with simple battery against the police officer and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
The other officer had been attempting to de-escalate a situation involving a security guard. The guard had been walking a woman out of the club when Peterson interfered. She is said to have pushed the cop’s hands away from the woman during the incident that happened at 3 a.m.
“Let her f-cking go, let her f-cking go,” Peterson screamed at the guard and police officer as seen on footage released by the APD.
The judge was quickly apprehended and put into the back of a police cruiser. She screamed profanities and would not give officers her name.
Peterson’s attorney said that she was attempting to assist the woman, who was allegedly attacked by a man outside the club. He added that she did not shove the cop intentionally. Two bystanders, including the supposed victim, concurred with Peterson’s account during a press conference on Friday.
“He viciously attacked me, punched me in my face, and Judge Peterson was the only one to help me,” she said.
Peterson’s lawyer said that she was simply trying to be a good Samaritan.
Although an investigation is continuing in this matter, this is not the reason that the Georgia Supreme Court removed Peterson from the bench.
In separate occurrences, Peterson also “exhibited a pattern of judicial misconduct while in office,” the Judicial Qualifications Commission discovered in a review into her behavior.
Peterson, who was sworn in office in December 2020, had once been facing 50 counts of alleged misconduct. This derived from an incident that happened within the first year that she was in office.
As a panel hearing investigated, they found that there was enough evidence to find Peterson guilty of 28 counts.
In one of the incidents, Peterson is said to have held a woman, who had appealed to the judge to fix a mistake on her marriage certificate, in criminal contempt. She then gave her 20 days in jail, plus a fine, “without explanation or justification,” the panel stated.
There were also allegations that Peterson let unauthorized individuals enter the county courthouse after hours. This was without them being properly screened and using deputies to work overtime on her behalf using taxpayer money, the court stated.
Not only that, but some of Peterson’s inappropriate behavior happened outside the courthouse, too. She is said to have had hostile exchanges with neighbors at her homeowners association meeting while filing a lawsuit against the association.
The state supreme court said in its opinion that Peterson’s behavior has continuously lacked the “decorum and temperament required of a judge.”
It is noted that the Georgia Supreme Court did not considered Peterson’s viral apprehension Thursday when they conducted their investigation. However, the allegations against her only weakened her reputation further.
