A Georgia judge who was removed from the bench following her arrest for hitting a police officer had most of her charges dismissed.
Former Douglas County Probate Judge Christina Peterson was arrested in June 2024 after she struck an Atlanta police officer “with a closed fist.”
Channel 2 News reported on Wednesday, a Fulton County judge dismissed one count of obstruction and a battery charge against Peterson, due to “want of prosecution” filings submitted by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.
Peterson’s attorney, Marvin S. Arrington, Jr., who is also a Fulton County Commissioner, asked Fulton County DA Fani Willis to drop the charges against Peterson.
One charge of obstruction is still active.
The incident happened at a now shuttered Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge in Atlanta. A video showing Peterson drunk in the backseat of a patrol car went viral on social media.
Peterson denied being under the influence of alcohol and she said she only had one glass of wine.
Peterson was previously hit with dozens of ethics complaints, and a 3-member ethics panel recommended she be removed from the bench.
The Georgia Supreme Court agreed that Peterson should be removed from the bench because she “exhibited a pattern of judicial misconduct while in office.”
In 2024, Peterson confirmed she is no longer a probate judge.
“Well, I’ll always be judge, but no, I’m no longer serving as of yesterday from a Supreme Court decision,” she said. “I have been attacked since I’ve been in office.”
In 2020, Peterson was the first Black judge appointed to the bench at Douglas County probate court.
The chain of events that led to her downfall began when Peterson was hit with 50 ethics violations.
20 violations were dismissed by a JQC disciplinary panel.
In August 2024, cell phone footage uploaded to YouTube showed the Red Martini Lounge where Peterson’s arrest occurred had been evicted.
Atlanta Police responded to a report of people stealing boxes of alcohol from the parking lot.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the owner of the lounge said the landlord evicted them even though they paid the rent. The owner told FOX 5 they were in court attempting to stop the eviction.
BREAKING: People are now taking bottles from Red Martini since our last post. pic.twitter.com/6rWkialBsI
— Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) August 7, 2024
