(ReliableNews.org) – A Georgia judge found herself in some hot water recently. Police arrested her after a nightclub brawl, and officials have now removed her from the bench.
On June 20, police arrested Douglas County Probate Judge Christina J. Peterson, 38, at a club in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood. Law enforcement charged the Democrat with felony obstruction of officers by using threats or violence. She was also charged with simple battery of a cop.
According to reports, an officer with the Atlanta Police Department was working at a club in Buckhead when he heard a commotion. He saw security escorting a woman out of the establishment and walked over to help. Judge Peterson then allegedly ran over to the scene and began screaming at the officer and security guards.
The cop said that Peterson “forcibly pushed” him “in the chest” and kept smacking his hands while he tried to help escort the other woman out of the club. The department provided body cam footage of the incident and it showed Peterson yelling at the officer to let the woman go and then pushing him. After the judge allegedly hit the officer, she was taken to the ground and police arrested her.
Peterson is also allegedly heard on the video refusing to give the arresting officers her name. After her arrest, the judge took to Instagram and claimed she was helping a woman who was being attacked. She shared a video of a man punching a woman.
On June 26, Douglas County announced Peterson was dismissed from her position. The Georgia Supreme Court issued the decision just days after the judge’s arrest.
Peterson’s removal comes a couple of months after the Judicial Qualifications Commission found her guilty of “systemic incompetence” on the bench. The commission recommended she be removed from the court and gave examples of her misconduct. In one case, she put a naturalized US citizen in jail after the woman tried to amend her marriage license with the name of her real father. Peterson accused the woman of trying to defraud the court.
Peterson maintains her innocence in the assault case.
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