DailyViews: Editorial

If it quacks like a duck ...

For a case that slipped so quickly into that dark night, shielded from prying eyes by a court order, the dawn of realization of special favors is starting to shine on House Speaker Glenn Richardson.

Questions regarding Richardson’s marriage surfaced in January 2007 when Democrats filed an ethics complaint, contending he had an “improper relationship” with a female lobbyist at Atlanta Gas Light — right when he was co- sponsoring legislation on a pipeline her employer was seeking. A legislative ethics panel dismissed the complaint.

But if there were any improprieties, a divorce case could well be the place where they would surface. That’s why eyebrows were raised with Glenn and Susan Richardson’s uncontested divorce was quickly sealed by Paulding County Superior Court Judge James Osborne. First, it’s fairly unusual for a divorce case to be sealed in Georgia. Second, Osborne is a former law partner of Richardson and Osborne’s daughter is an associate at Richardson’s law firm.

While that’s enough to raise eyebrows in suspicion, a new admission by Osborne raises even more suspicion that the speaker got special treatment designed to protect his political career. Osborne initially told The Associated Press in February that his only involvement in the Richardson divorce action was to seal the file.

Now, the judge admits that he lied about that. He confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that he did, in fact, dissolve his former law partner’s marriage after the other Paulding County judges recused themselves from it.

Despite his close ties to the house speaker, Osborne told the AP: “I never felt, and I still don’t feel, that I have any partiality or prejudice to anyone involved in that case.”

Whether that’s true, the judge certainly had, from his close association with Richardson, the appearance of unfair treatment of the speaker’s case. George Anderson, a well- known ethics watchdog in Georgia, has filed an ethics complaint against Osborne for failing to recuse himself from the case.

At least Osborne did step down from deciding Anderson’s motion to unseal the Richardson divorce documents. Walter Matthews, chief judge of the Rome Judicial Circuit, has been assigned to rule on Anderson’s motion.

“Our whole case is that Speaker Richardson should not get special treatment because he is a public official,” Anderson’s attorney, Gerry Weber, told the AP.

Perhaps there is nothing in the divorce action that will shed light on the allegations against Richardson, but the manner in which this whole thing has been handled is troubling. The actions of Richardson and Osborne have given reasonable people reason to question whether the integrity of the state’s legislative and judicial systems can be compromised for political considerations.

Georgians should be able to have faith in their government, no suspicions of it.

The Albany Herald Editorial Board

More DailyViews>>

THE ALBANY HERALD Founded by H.M. McIntosh, 1891 126 N. Washington St., P.O. Box 48, Albany, Ga. 31702 Michael J. Gebhart, Publisher Jim Hendricks, Editor Danny Carter, Managing Editor Michael Hill, Circulation Director Tami Abbott, Advertising Director Lynn Ridder, Operations Director Cheryl Frakes, Business Office Manager