A federal judge on Monday declined to unseal a lawsuit filed by two Democratic-backed candidates for the Georgia Supreme Court.
Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin, two left-leaning plaintiff attorneys, are hoping to oust Justices Charlie Bethel and Sarah Warren in next week’s election. Jordan and Warren are ballot opponents, as are Rankin and Bethel.
Jordan and Rankin sued the Judicial Qualifications Commission last month. But they won’t say why. The commission is a state-funded agency that investigates and prosecutes allegations of judicial misconduct.
The only clue comes from Jordan and Rankin’s petition asking a federal judge to seal the case. Their attorneys, including former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes, wrote that commissioners “have started a process that could result in the issuing of a public statement critical of Plaintiffs in the midst of a contentious election after voting has already begun.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner to unseal the case, arguing “Georgia voters have a right to know this information to determine for themselves whether the candidates or the JQC is in the wrong.”
But Gardner declined to open the records, according to Thomas Clyde, an attorney representing the AJC. Instead, the judge held a hearing on Jordan and Rankin’s request for a temporary restraining order that was closed to the public.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Jordan and Rankin filed their lawsuit under seal because of a similar lawsuit brought by a 2024 Georgia Supreme Court candidate, John Barrow. That case failed in large part because the court ruled it should not have been filed publicly.
“Our position is that was wrong then, it’s wrong now, and unless we get it corrected, every dispute involving the candidates in the JQC will essentially have to be filed under seal,” Clyde said. “And that’s what we’re trying to stop.”
Attorneys for Jordan and Rankin did not respond to a request for comment.
In an earlier order in the case, Gardner left open the door for possibly unsealing the case in the future. The judge is the sister of former Georgia House Democratic leader Stacey Abrams.
Judicial races in Georgia are nonpartisan. But the two major political parties have taken an increasing role in contesting them. Republicans, including Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, are backing the incumbent justices, both of whom were first appointed by GOP governors.
Democrats, including former president Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, have endorsed Jordan and Rankin. The election is May 19.
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