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Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10

‘We’re impotent’: Board member of Georgia judicial watchdog agency criticizes recent work

Gabel court
Gabel court Gabel court

ATLANTA – A board member for Georgia’s judicial watchdog group leaned into a microphone Thursday morning as he reflected on his decade with the agency.

“How do you describe the current state of the (Judicial Qualifications Commission)?” State Rep. Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, asked.

“It’s an embarrassment,” Richard Hyde said.

“Why?” Willard asked.

Where to start? Hyde told the board the agency hasn’t had a director since mid-August. It doesn’t have an interim director, either. It doesn’t have a full-time investigator. Its board chair resigned last month. The board chair before her resigned in April.