SANDERSVILLE, Ga. — The Georgia Supreme Court agreed to punish a Washington County judge accused of years of misconduct "inside and outside the courtroom."
Robert Reeves, who serves as chief judge in Washington County, received a 30-day unpaid suspension and agreed to not seek reelection in 2026.
Over a 7 year period, Reeves is accused of misusing his position of power, sexual harassment and making improper jokes and comments in the courtroom.
"Most of these episodes involved Reeves's use of coarse, insensitive, demeaning, and/or insulting language, particularly with women," the hearing panel wrote in a summary.
A hearing panel — composed of a judge, a citizen and an attorney — found multiple incidents of Robert Reeves violating the judicial code of conduct in Georgia.
What Reeves' was accused of:
In a complaint filed back in November 2022, the Judicial Qualifications Commission accused Reeves of 58 counts of judicial misconduct.
The judge was accused of rubbing the shoulders and back of a female lawyer, calling her "Miss America" and at one point the complaint alleges Reeves pulled his car alongside her walking and said "What's a pretty girl like you doing walking alone?"
Inside the courtroom, the complaint accused him of using derogatory language. The complaint also said that a bailiff asked for a lunch break so they could feed inmates awaiting their court hearing. But in response, the court says Reeves said: "You mean we have to feed these people?"
In his response to those allegations, he described those cases as "friendly banter."
They also accused him of attempting to get a traffic ticket dismissed for an acquaintance of his among other accusations.
What did the court decide:
During a June hearing in Forsyth, Reeves and the director of the Judicial Qualifications Commission entered an agreement to bring the case to a close. Then, the Georgia Supreme Court signed off on the agreement in a decision Tuesday.
They imposed the agreed-upon 30-day unpaid suspension and other terms.
The Supreme Court said Reeves either admitted to or admitted there was sufficient evidence the commission could prove misconduct in 33 of the 58 counts against him. They say his admission also "proved by clear and convincing evidence that Judge Reeves committed the charged acts."
"The hearing panel weighed the gravity of some of the admitted misconduct against certain mitigating factors," the decision said.
They said the sexual harassment and Reeves' efforts to get a traffic ticket dismissed against an acquaintance were serious charges, but they say the offenses were "not mean-spirited or self-serving" and Reeves took a "refreshing and honest approach to the investigative process."
While a public reprimand was not enough, they felt removing Reeves' from the bench "would be too severe."
Because of that, the court and the hearing panel found a middle ground: he agreed to the suspension and agreed to a public reprimand. He also agreed to recuse himself in any future hearings involving the lawyers who accused him of sexual harassment.
While they admitted the suspension and public reprimand may seem light on their own, they said that Reeves' commitment to not seek reelection in 2026 made up for it.
"And our concerns that a 30-day unpaid suspension and a public reprimand may be insufficient sanctions under the circumstances are mitigated to some degree by the fact that Judge Reeves has accepted responsibilities and agreed, pursuant to the Consent Agreement, not to seek reelection to judicial office," the Supreme Court wrote.
It is unclear how the decision will impact existing cases assigned to Reeves. Reeves has been on the bench for 14 years.
The Supreme Court says the suspension must begin by Sept. 1. In a phone call, Reeves said he can't comment on the decision.