On Tuesday, two Georgia superior court judges refused to preside over the lawsuit filed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R) against Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) for his city’s mask mandate.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the first judge, Kelly Ellerbe, notified the state attorney general’s office and Bottom’s legal team that a discussion with an appeals judge about an opinion that could have influenced the case required his recusal .
A few hours later, a second judge, Shawn Ellen LaGrua, recused himself after he was also assigned the case due to his previous job as Kemp’s inspector general during his time as secretary of state, the Journal-Constitution reported. He also said that “it has been and continues to be considered for governor appointments” by Kemp.
Kemp and Bottoms remain locked in a court battle over the mask mandate, which Bottoms established earlier this month, requiring the social alienation of Atlanta residents and the use of masks in public.
“3104 Georgians have died and I and my family are among the 106k who tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, @GovKemp sued me for a mask mandate. A better use of taxpayer money would be to expand testing and follow-up on contacts, “the mayor wrote in a tweet last week.
Kemp and State Attorney General Chris Carr (R) have argued that the lawsuit is intended to protect Georgia businesses. The state has seen an increase in coronavirus infection rates in recent weeks and has reported more than 145,000 cases. More than 3,100 people in Georgia have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
“This lawsuit is on behalf of Atlanta business owners and their hardworking employees who are struggling to survive during these difficult times,” Kemp said in a statement last week. “These men and women are doing their best to put food on the table for their families, while local elected officials close businesses and undermine economic growth.”
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