DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Yolanda C. Parker-Smith faces eight formal judicial misconduct counts tied to allegations she jailed a lawyer without first giving him a chance to speak, threatened prosecutors with incarceration and refused to return grand jury indictments in open court.
The formal charges filed July 20 say an attorney identified as G.G. arrived in Parker-Smith’s courtroom at 10:48 a.m. after attending an earlier hearing in Henry County. The Judicial Qualifications Commission alleges Parker-Smith had deputies take him into custody before addressing him, kept him in a courthouse holding cell until about noon and later lectured him about punctuality without explaining the detention.
A separate 2023 complaint alleges Parker-Smith threatened to jail DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston and two assistant district attorneys after a case dismissal was not filed by her 5 p.m. deadline. She later ordered the prosecutors to explain why they should not be held in contempt for allegedly lying to the court, then rescinded the order.
The third complaint concerns Feb. 3, when Parker-Smith was assigned to preside over grand jury proceedings. Investigators say she refused to take the bench because she did not want an assigned sheriff’s corporal in her courtroom, forcing the grand jury team to find another judge to receive the indictments.
The Georgia Supreme Court’s 2026 Judicial Qualifications Commission docket lists the matter as case S26Z1811. The charges are allegations, not findings. Under the commission’s disciplinary rules, a hearing panel will determine whether misconduct occurred and recommend any sanction, with the state Supreme Court making the final disciplinary decision.
Parker-Smith’s attorney, Gabe Banks, told WSB-TV that the judge is working to respond “fully and fairly.” He said she remains committed to administering justice impartially and serving DeKalb County.
