Atlanta police investigate sex affair involving judge and high-ranking officer

The federal judge was privately reprimanded by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which has jurisdiction in Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

Official records and statements do not name the judge or the officer. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution hasn’t independently confirmed them. The AJC attempted to contact the judge on Thursday.

In a report filed in February, the 11th Circuit said it decided to punish the judge privately in large part because the judge came clean about the affair and sex in the courthouse, having initially lied about it.

The court found the judge committed serious misconduct and “demonstrated a gross lack of judgment” but also “demonstrated a strong propensity for rehabilitation and continued diligent service to the judiciary.” It noted the judge had created an uncomfortable working environment for their staff and exposed themselves to blackmail or extortion.

“For two years, the subject judge was a federal district judge who routinely heard criminal cases engaged in a secret extramarital relationship with a prominent officer of a large law enforcement agency in the judge’s district — with the affair consisting of sexual intercourse in the subject judge’s chambers during working hours,” the 11th Circuit said. “Moreover, during this period, the subject judge’s spouse was not aware of the affair.”

The judge initially called the allegations “outrageous” and “baseless” when confronted by the 11th Circuit’s chief judge in late September, court filings show.

On Oct. 10, the judge admitted the affair and the sex in chambers but continued to deny other allegations of misconduct, including that they attended a political campaign event for a district attorney, according to the 11th Circuit.

It said the judge ultimately expressed remorse for lying and agreed to send apology letters to six of their former clerks and forego service as a chief judge or a member of a judicial conference committee.

One of the judge’s law clerks lodged a misconduct complaint against the judge in late September, prompting an 11th Circuit investigation that included forensically testing a stained couch cushion from the judge’s chambers for semen. The 11th Circuit said the test was negative.

It reported that other evidence, including court security logs and surveillance footage, corroborated the allegations against the judge.

The judge ultimately told the 11th Circuit the affair with the police officer spanned roughly two years, ending around the time of the clerk’s complaint, court filings show.

“The subject judge stated that the judge never realized that they were being overheard,” the 11th Circuit said.

Several clerks interviewed as part of the investigation said they overheard the two in the judge’s office on multiple occasions.

The 11th Circuit said the judge initially accused the complaining clerk of retaliation. Its report included part of an email sent by the judge on Sept. 29 to the judge’s boss, in which the judge said they are “astounded and confused, and have no idea what this clerk is referring to.”

“I invite you to please do a full investigation, including speaking with all of my staff,” the judge wrote in the email. “As you may imagine, I am very upset about this, and am not quite sure what steps to take next.”

In another email in late September, the judge denied knowing the identity of the police officer, filings show. The officer reportedly joined the police department in 1998 and has been the commander of a division since 2025.

The officer would frequently visit the judge, while in uniform, at the courthouse around lunchtime, the 11th Circuit said. It said the judge did not preside over any case in which either the officer or the police department was a party between Jan. 1, 2022, and Oct. 10, 2025.

“According to the subject judge, the judge and the officer never discussed cases involving the PD or PD officers and rarely discussed work,” the 11th Circuit said.