Alpharetta judge presided over cases, represented defendants at same time, investigation finds

Bryan Mims, WSB-TV
·2 min read

A former Alpharetta city judge is accused of representing defendants as their lawyer while also presiding over their cases as their judge.

The city has sent its investigation of Barry Zimmerman to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the State Bar of Georgia.

It’s up to those agencies to determine whether a deeper investigation is warranted.

The report from Alpharetta shows six cases dating back to 2008 in which Zimmerman appears to have acted as both lawyer and judge.

He’s no longer a judge in Alpharetta. Zimmerman retired, citing personal reasons, as a governing body accused him of misconduct.

Zimmerman, for his part, denies the accusations.

The Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission investigated Zimmerman and found “reasonable cause” that he “violated the code of judicial conduct.”

But Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin said the commission gave few details about the alleged misconduct,

so the city had attorney Randy Rich probe deeper.

“It was just devastating to think that the person in charge of making sure our court system worked well and worked legally was also the person who seems to have let us down,” Rich said.

TRENDING STORIES:

Rich told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims that he found at least six cases where Zimmerman served dual roles: lawyer for defendants as well as their presiding judge.

“Instead of removing the case from the Municipal Court of Alpharetta to the State Court of Fulton County, Judge Zimmerman would negotiate the case with Solicitor Fran McQueen, use attorney Keith Brandon as a ‘straw man’ defense attorney on a plea in absentia and then have another Judge for the Municipal Court sign the orders,” the investigation said.

In absentia means neither the client nor attorney were present.

“It’s clear that a judge cannot directly, or even indirectly, through use of a straw person, represent criminal clients in the court where he actually presides,” said WSB Radio legal analyst Phil Holloway.

Mims reached Zimmerman by phone, who referred him to the Law360 online publication. In an interview with Law360, Zimmerman calls the city report “inaccurate.”

Asked in an email whether he denies the allegations, he wrote: “Absolutely! In fact, I would even recuse myself from any case that came before me in which I knew the defendant personally, or had even previously casually met the defendant.”

He said those who know him know his “integrity and professionalism.”

“The big thing with any public official is whether they violated their oath of office, and in Georgia that’s a crime,” Holloway said.

Mims attempted to contact the law offices of McQueen, the city’s solicitor. So far, he has not heard back.

RELATED NEWS: