ATLANTA — Editor's Note: The above video is from a previous version of this story.
Georgia district attorneys have dropped their suit against a law that would allegedly undermine their authority on Friday, according to a joint news release on Monday.
It comes after the Georgia Supreme Court put a pause on the GOP-backed commission that would have the authority to discipline prosecutors, after the Court refusing to approve rules for the commission last month.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston, the suit's lead plaintiff, previously called the issue "bigger than Georgia" when the lawsuit was first filed in August.
Gov. Kemp signed the bill into law in May where it was coined as SB 92. The law would establish an appointed body that would investigate and possibly remove district attorneys and solicitors-general who were considered "rogue" or misusing their power. Opponents of the law argued it could provide a pathway for state leaders to get rid of prosecutors they do not favor.
According to the joint news release, anyone who was removed by the commission would not be allowed to serve as a prosecutor for a decade.
"As hardworking law enforcement officers routinely put their lives on the line to investigate, confront and arrest criminal offenders, I won't stand idly by as they're met with resistance from rogue or incompetent prosecutors who refuse to uphold the law," Gov. Kemp previously said when he first signed the law.
According to reports from the Associated Press, state Supreme Court justices had "grave doubts" about regulating the duties of district attorneys beyond practicing law. Justices wrote in their ruling that they can only vote on the rules of the judicial powers of district attorneys and solicitors-general. For those practicing more executive powers, it could be more difficult to create rules for the commission.
“If district attorneys exercise judicial power, our regulation of the exercise of that power may well be within our inherent power as the head of the Judicial Branch," justices previously wrote. “But if district attorneys exercise only executive power, our regulation of the exercise of that power would likely be beyond the scope of our judicial power.”
However, District Attorney Boston, the Public Rights Project, and those who oppose the law believe GOP Republicans will fight back on the ruling.
“We appreciate that the Georgia Supreme Court shares some of the same concerns we have raised since this law’s inception. While their decision means we do not need to move forward with this current legal challenge, we know some at the state Capitol have already signaled they plan to try again. We stand ready to fight any new efforts to undermine the work of Georgia’s district attorneys and silence the voters who elected us,” said DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston.