4/22/2010 - Eric Gray, Communications Director Democratic Party of Georgia

Atlanta GA – Proving that the Culture of Corruption is unchanged since disgraced former Speaker Glenn Richardson’s resignation, Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Amanda Mercier, a law partner of House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), to a prominent and premier judgeship. This appointment mimics a similar one by Perdue in 2005 when former House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s law partner was granted a judgeship to Superior Court.


According to a Dec. 17th, 2009 article in the Blue Ridge News Observer, 17 people were nominated for the prestigious position on the Appalachian Judicial Circuit, including Mrs. Mercier. Weeks later, the recommendation list was narrowed to Mercier and one other nominee. The vacancy was filled last week when Governor Perdue appointed Mercier, a partner in Speaker Ralston’s law firm.


“Judges should be chosen for their knowledge and impartiality, not their personal contacts,” said Jane Kidd, Democratic Party of Georgia Chair. “It is apparent that the Republican leadership is unable to put a stop to the back-room deals we’ve seen from them in the past.”


This is not the first evidence of judicial cronyism within the Republican state leadership. In 2005, Perdue appointed James Osborne to the Superior Court of the Paulding County Judicial Circuit. Osborne was a partner in former speaker Richardson’s law firm, and later presided over Richardson’s divorce. In a highly unusual move, Judge Osborne ordered Richardson’s divorce papers immediately sealed.


Speaker Ralston and the Republican leadership in the House have failed to enact any significant ethics reforms since the resignation of former House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram). The resignation, due to allegations of impropriety with a lobbyist, was expected to bring a resurgence of ethical government in the Gold Dome.

“It’s déjà vu all over again,” Kidd said. “Instead of passing any meaningful reform, we’re seeing the exact same thing that happened five years ago.”

The vacancy filled by Mrs. Mercier was created by the resignation of Judge Oliver Harris Doss Jr., also a 2005 Perdue appointee. He resigned from the Appalachian Judicial Circuit in November after being charged with 12 specific instances of misconduct by the Judicial Qualifications Commission.



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