Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones (D) was sanctioned by a federal judge on Thursday after she dodged a deposition in a sexual discrimination lawsuit launched by a former assistant district attorney.
During her successful 2020 campaign against Republican incumbent Meg Heap, a PAC connected to billionaire financier George Soros “invested nearly $80,000 into advertising materials” supporting Cook Jones (pictured above), though Savannah Morning News reported she claimed to have no communication with the group.
Cook Jones was sanctioned by U.S. District Judge Stan Baker, who also ruled Cook Jones was in default in the sexual discrimination case, due to her failure to appear at a deposition she missed on April 11. That deposition was part of a federal lawsuit launched against Cook Jones by former Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Skye Musson in April 2022, who claimed Cook Jones created a “bro culture” environment and passed Musson over for advancement due to her gender.
The judge’s ruling reveals Cook Jones repeatedly failed to comply with attempts by Musson’s attorneys to depose her ahead of the trial, and then failed to attend a deposition the court scheduled for April 11, more than one year after the lawsuit was filed.
Cook Jones attempted to excuse her absence due to her attendance at a pretrial conference for a criminal rape trial. However, the court revealed that Cook Jones was notified of the deposition date before the pretrial conference date was scheduled. Cook Jones repeatedly failed to inform either judge of her schedule conflict. When she did attempt to inform the judge in the rape case, Baker revealed in his ruling that Cook Jones initially provided the wrong time for the deposition.
“Cook Jones repeatedly and willfully disregarded her discovery obligations and the Court’s Orders even after the Court modified its deadlines to accommodate her,” Baker declared in his ruling, before adding that Cook gave the court “false information” to “excuse her misconduct.”
As evidence the district attorney knew the consequences of her actions, Baker noted Cook Jones’ attorney warned her of potential sanctions and a default judgment via text message once attempts to resolve the scheduling conflict failed on April 10.
Explaining his severe sanctions and decision to place Cook Jones in default, Baker wrote that her “pattern of compounding and willful failures demand significant sanctions,” and declared the district attorney “shirked her discovery obligations, failed to honor her word that she would appear for her deposition, mocked this Court’s Orders,’ and made material representations to the Court.”
When Cook Jones beat Heap in 2020, local media reported the prosecutor promised a “new era” for justice in Chatham County that included an end to “mass incarceration.”
In addition to Musson’s departure in June 2021, Cook Jones has overseen a mass exodus of 24 assistant district attorneys, reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which added that she has faced scrutiny for her 32 percent conviction rate in murder cases and perceived willingness to accept plea deals with killers.
Though the outlet noted Kemp signed SB 92, which created a body to oversee allegations of wrongdoing from state prosecutors, into law in Chatham County, no complaint against Cook Jones has been filed with the new Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PAQC).
However, eight Republicans in the Georgia Senate filed a complaint with the PAQC against another controversial district attorney, Fani Willis of Fulton County, in early October. The Republicans allege Willis, a Democrat, “cherry-picked” cases based on her political views, contributing to the intense overcrowding and degradation of the conditions at Fulton County Jail.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Georgia Star News and a reporter for the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
