Ga. judge faces new misconduct charges

The state added more charges Tuesday against a powerful judge in a rural county whose practices are being investigated, alleging that he signed blank warrants and gave them to probation officers throughout his circuit.

The state's Judicial Qualifications Commission claims the blank probation arrest warrants were used "numerous times" when Clinch County Superior Court Judge Brooks E. Blitch III wasn't available to sign completed warrants.

The commission also claims Blitch violated judicial canon by talking with probation officers about suspects without holding a hearing or notifying the victim and prosecutors.

The charges come nearly three weeks after the commission filed seven misconduct claims against Blitch. He is also accused of ordering illegal payments to county employees, ordering the early release of imprisoned felons and presiding over a case involving his son.

John Salter, one of Blitch's attorneys, said that the commission is relying on "as many flimsy allegations as possible" and that he's confident the judge will be cleared.

The 72-year-old judge is one of the most powerful politicians in rural Clinch County, near the Florida border, where he has served as a judge since 1980. He faces no criminal charges, but the commission has the power to recommend removing him from office.

Other county politicians have come under scrutiny. Sheriff Winston Peterson faces federal charges that he billed jail inmates $18 a day for room and board and used an inmate to do work at a business run by his wife, investigators say.

Chief State Court Judge Berrien Sutton faces state allegations including that he appointed non-lawyers to hear criminal cases and signed an illegal order to collect court fees that were later distributed to county officials.