The Augusta Judicial Circuit comprises Burke, Richmond and Columbia counties. But Republican-oriented Columbia isn’t happy with the defeat of the GOP District Attorney by Richmond Democrat Jared Williams, who critics say sounds more like a social worker than a prosecutor.
In response, Columbia County commissioners have voted to ask the Legislature to allow them to form their own judicial district. All this underscores the big question: Columbia Countians elect their own sheriff, coroner, clerk of court, tax commissioner, etc. so why should Richmond and Burke countians select their DA?
That’s the reason why Columbia County’s state lawmakers are expected to champion a new judicial circuit bill. And prospects for passage appear good, even though the African-American DA-elect Williams is charging it’s “racist.”
Now comes further impetus for a new Columbia judicial circuit. Veteran WGAC580 radio talk show host Austin Rhodes reports on his Facebook page:
“There are 24 experienced prosecutors in the Augusta DA office…12 of them are walking out the door in January. Jared Williams has a certified disaster on his hands. 1 is the DA herself, 6 are taking new jobs because they didn’t want to work for the new DA and 5 have been told by the new DA that they would not be kept in his office. The 5 who were told they would not be kept were given no reason, and I am told when they called him to specifically find out his reasoning, he hung up on them.
“This is unprecedented in our judicial circuit … Columbia County needs to put its divorce from the circuit through at WARP SPEED. The sooner they get away from that mess, the better!”
