ATLANTA — The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has thirty days to pay more than $54,000 in attorneys’ fees for violating the Georgia Open Records Act, a judge wrote on Friday.
The Office must also turn over all applicable records within the same timeframe, wrote Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause. It’s the latest development in a long-running open records dispute between the D.A.’s Office and defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant.
The judge found that the Fulton D.A.’s office had been “openly hostile” to Merchant and handled her Open Records Requests in a manner that “indicates a lack of good faith.”
In response, she ordered that the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office pay Merchant’s law firm $54,103.23 in attorneys’ fees. Judge Krause also ordered the D.A.’s Office to turn over “all responsive materials.”
Spokespeople for the Fulton D.A.’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Merchant had requested a copy of an “NDA/confidentiality agreement that employees are required to sign” as well as a list of attorneys hired by D.A. Willis, according to the court order.
The failure to adequately comply with the requests, wrote Judge Krause, was ultimately Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ responsibility.
“Ms. Willis, as the elected District Attorney, is the ultimate custodian of her office’s public records,” the judge wrote.
In a written statement, Ashleigh Merchant said she was “thrilled that Judge Krause was willing to hold Fani Willis accountable for violating the open records law.”
“Open records are vital to our state and country so that the public can see where their tax money is going and what elected officials are doing in office,” she continued.