Judge faces ethics charges in assault on man after hearing
May 10, 2021
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KNOXVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia judge accused of assaulting an inmate who he said repeatedly cursed at him during a hearing is now facing ethics charges, according to a state judicial agency.
The Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission’s investigative panel alleges Crawford County Chief Magistrate Cary Hays III followed the inmate into a hallway after a December 2020 first appearance hearing, then grabbed him and pushed him against a wall while the man was handcuffed and restrained at his feet.
The inmate was not identified.
Hays, who was sworn into office in 2017, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday that he did not injure the inmate “in any way.”