Georgia state Rep. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, took an aggressive step against Republican leadership Friday, when he signed on to a resolution calling for the ouster of Speaker of the House David Ralston.
Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, has been the head of the chamber since 2010 but is embroiled in a scandal over his work as a private defense attorney. According to an investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News, Ralston has continually used his work as a lawmaker to push back trial dates, sometimes in cases involving allegations of violent crimes.
“It is clear your public service and private business cannot function at the appropriate and prompt pace called for in your agreement with the State Bar of Georgia and their Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct,” Moore, R-Trenton, wrote in a letter to Ralston on Friday. “District 1 and many citizens across our great State believe you should no longer serve as the leader of Georgia’s largest governing body.”
House Speaker David Ralston talks to media on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019 in Atlanta. A member of the Georgia House is calling for the powerful speaker to resign amid reports that he repeatedly used his office to delay court proceedings for criminal defendants, some accused of violent crimes, that he represents as an attorney. The resolution, introduced Friday, encourages Ralston to resign over what it calls an “unacceptable abuse of power and professional judgment.” (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)A Georgia law allows state legislators to delay court cases if a scheduled hearing or trial conflicts with their job requirements as elected officials. According to the AJC, Ralston used that law to delay cases 57 times over the course of two years.
The resolution that Moore signed calls for Ralston to resign. In his letter, he also asks Ralston to consider withdrawing as attorney in the controversial court cases.