Measure moves forward that would increase oversight of prosecutors

District attorneys could face more oversight — with the possibility of being ousted from their elected offices — under a measure the House approved.

House Bill 231 would create a five-member commission appointed by the Georgia Supreme Court with the power to investigate, punish and remove the state’s 50 district attorneys and solicitors general for a range of violations, including “willful misconduct” in office.

Backers say the panel would pursue both Democratic and Republican prosecutors, but sides are definitely forming along ideological lines.

Former Republican President Donald Trump, the subject of an ongoing probe led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, has praised the proposal and similar measures that could boost the pressure on prosecutors. So has U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome.

Opponents of the measure, including almost every Democrat in the state House, said there are already layers of accountability built into the system, such as oversight by the State Bar of Georgia and a little-used provision that allows the General Assembly to remove prosecutors.

Willis frames HB 231 as part of a broader effort to retaliate against her and other prosecutors representing Democratic strongholds, and she has noted in the past that it follows the election in recent years of a record number of minorities to prosecutorial posts in Georgia.

“I think it’s targeting me and maybe people with similar ideologies,” Willis said, “and wanting to replace it for ideologies that don’t represent the majority of the state’s population.”

Sponsors say HB 231 and the other measures aimed at prosecutors have nothing to do with Willis’ probe.

Republicans have said it’s a way to rein in “rogue prosecutors” who they see as ineffective or inept, and supporters often bring up liberal district attorneys who have declined to enforce low-level drug offenses and other violations.