In re Inquiry Concerning Hays

Citation868 S.E.2d 792,313 Ga. 148
Decision Date01 February 2022
Docket NumberS21Z1181
Parties INQUIRY CONCERNING Judge Cary HAYS III.
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia

Charles Prescott Boring, Judicial Qualifications Commission, 1995 North Park Place SE, Suite 570, Atlanta, Georgia 30339, for Appellant.

Cary Hays, III, 100 Georgia Highway 42, Knoxville, Georgia 31050, for Appellee.

Robert Charles Iverson McBurney, Superior Court of Fulton County, Suite C927 Justice Center Tower, 136 Pryor Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, for Other Party.

Per Curiam.

This judicial discipline matter is before the Court on an agreement between the Director of the Judicial Qualifications Commission ("JQC") and Cary Hays III, Chief Magistrate of Crawford County, to resolve the formal charges brought against Judge Hays arising from a physical altercation with a defendant that appeared before him. The agreement calls for Judge Hays to serve an unpaid, 30-day suspension to be followed by a public reprimand. Pursuant to JQC Rule 23, the agreement was submitted to the JQC's Hearing Panel, which voted 2-1 to accept it, and then filed it with this Court. Because the record and the limited relevant precedent we have found support the proposed discipline, we accept the agreement and order that Judge Hays be suspended for 30 days without pay and be publicly reprimanded for his violations of the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct.

According to the formal charges, the allegations of which Judge Hays admits are true, Judge Hays engaged in a verbal and physical altercation with a defendant. The defendant had appeared before Judge Hays for a first appearance hearing held in the jail complex in December 2020. The defendant began cursing at Judge Hays in response to the judge's bond determination. The defendant continued to curse at Judge Hays while being led out of the hearing. Judge Hays verbally engaged with the defendant and then followed him into a hallway, at which time Judge Hays exchanged a few more words with the defendant before grabbing him and pushing him against the wall. The defendant was handcuffed and his feet shackled and was accompanied by a law enforcement officer. At no time did the defendant physically threaten Judge Hays or anyone else or attempt to flee. The defendant was not physically injured.

The JQC investigated the incident and charged Judge Hays with three violations of the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct: Rule 1.1, which requires that judges "respect and comply with the law"; Rule 1.2 (A), which requires that judges "act all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary"; and Rule 2.8 (B), which requires that judges be "patient, dignified, and courteous to litigants[.]"

As JQC Rule 23 allows, Judge Hays and the Director of the JQC entered into an agreement to resolve the formal charges with a 30-day unpaid suspension to be followed by a public reprimand, and they submitted the proposed resolution to the JQC Hearing Panel. By a 2-1 vote, the Hearing Panel recommends that we accept.1

In authorizing this resolution and submitting it to this Court for approval, the Hearing Panel considered past disciplinary cases in which public reprimands were sought and rightly concluded that a public reprimand alone was an insufficient sanction for Judge Hays's conduct. The Hearing Panel did not find an analogous disciplinary case in Georgia, and we also have not found one. The Hearing Panel points to a disciplinary case in Mississippi with more egregious facts. See Miss. Commn. on Judicial Performance v. Guest , 717 S2d 325 (Miss. 1998). There, a judge was fined and suspended for 90 days, without pay, for repeatedly hitting a defendant in a crowded courtroom and directing profanity at him; the judge's use of profanity in that case was particularly serious given that the judge had just found the defendant guilty of the offense of public profanity. See id. at 327 & n.2. Moreover, that case involved...

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4 cases
  • Langley v. State
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • 1 Febrero 2022
  • In re Norris
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • 22 Junio 2022
    ...other rule violations, and sanctions have ranged from a public reprimand to a 30-day suspension. See Inquiry Concerning Judge Cary Hays III , 313 Ga. 148, 149-50, 868 S.E.2d 792 (2022) (imposing 30-day suspension and public reprimand for judge's Rule 1.1, 1.2 (A), and 2.8 (B) violations; in......
  • Brennan v. State
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • 1 Febrero 2022
    ......Madron explained the situation concerning Harris to the military police officer and requested the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division ......
  • In re Inquiry Concerning Judge Norris
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • 22 Junio 2022
    ...... involved yelling, vulgar language, or improper physical. contact, along with other rule violations, and sanctions have. ranged from a public reprimand to a 30-day suspension. See. Inquiry Concerning Judge Cary Hays III,. . 8. . 313 Ga. 148, 149-50 (868 S.E.2d 792) (2022) (imposing 30-day. suspension and public reprimand for judge's Rule 1.1, 1.2. (A), and 2.8 (B) violations; intemperate conduct violating. Rule 2.8 (B) was judge's verbal exchange with the. defendant ......

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