DeKalb County DA asks judge to recuse herself from criminal cases, citing "bias and prejudice"

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston has asked one of the county's judges to voluntarily recuse herself from presiding over criminal cases and other matters involving her office while an inquiry into the judge continues.

In a motion filed on Monday, Boston requested that Judge Yolanda C. Parker-Smith either recuse herself or refer the motion to a different judge due to concerns over her "impartiality in criminal cases." A separate affidavit filed by Boston on the same day argued that Parker-Smith's "actions have demonstrated repeated and undeniable prejudice against me and my office."

"Given that members of my staff will likely be witnesses against her in disciplinary proceedings, it would be impossible for anyone to be confident that Judge Parker-Smith can be fair to the State in her criminal cases," Boston wrote.

A state investigation into the judge's actions

Boston's actions come a week after an investigative panel of Georgia's Judicial Qualifications Commission found reasonable cause to believe Parker-Smith committed misconduct in her position.

One case that the JQC noted happened in August 2024. In that case, an attorney's assistant notified the judge's staff that the attorney had two conflicting court appearances and asked his appearance before Parker-Smith be held until the first was finished.

Before he arrived in Parker-Smith's courtroom, the JQC reports that the judge told deputies to take him into custody. He was eventually let out about an hour later and was lectured about his punctuality by the judge.

"G.G. inquired of Judge Parker-Smith the reason for his jailing, but she did not respond," the report reads. "No subsequent action was taken by Judge Parker-Smith to address G.G. or his illegal jailing."

Another alleged incident from 2023 mentioned in the JQC's report involved the judge threatening to jail an assistant district attorney who was out of the country on leave because she was waiting for the attorney to submit a legal entry showing they weren't going to prosecute a case.

The third complaint involved a DeKalb County grand jury indictment in 2026. According to the JQC, the assistant district attorney, a clark, and a DeKalb County Sheriff's Office corporal visited Parker-Smith's courtroom so the indictment could be returned. Instead of taking the bench, the JQC reports that Parker-Smith refused to enter, saying that "she did not want the assigned corporal in her courtroom."

The panel found that Parker-Smith warrants discipline, writing that her conduct "amounts to willful misconduct in office and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice."

Boston's concerns over bias

In her affidavit, Boston says that the second complaint mentioned in the JQC panel's document involved her and two of her assistant district attorneys "for not complying quickly enough with an order she had no authority to give."

Boston argued that the situation was more complicated than the panel described, saying that Parker-Smith only stopped threatening to hold her and the other attorneys in contempt after "extensive off-the-record discussions" with the judge's own attorney.

"My office was forced to incur attorneys' fees as a result of Judge Parker-Smith's actions," she said.

Because of the matter, Boston is asking Parker-Smith to recuse herself until the JQC's inquiry is finished.

"Any reasonable person could only conclude that Judge Parker-Smith's bias and prejudice against me, the affected ADAs, and my entire staff would influence her decisions in any criminal case we prosecute before her," Boston writes. "There are now serious and legitimate questions about whether her rulings are based solely on the information she learned during a case."

CBS News Atlanta has reached out to Parker-Smith and will update this story if she chooses to respond.