Current:Home > StocksJudge Scott McAfee, assigned to preside over Trump's case in Georgia, will face a trial like no other -Profound Wealth Insights
Judge Scott McAfee, assigned to preside over Trump's case in Georgia, will face a trial like no other
View
Date:2025-04-16 19:28:22
One of Fulton County's newest judges will oversee the case against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, according to the case's docket.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who was appointed to the bench in February, was assigned to preside over the blockbuster case announced late Monday after a Fulton County grand jury returned a 41-count indictment. Trump and the other defendants are charged under the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO.
RICO cases, which involve multiple defendants and a web of allegations of organized or related criminal activity, are notoriously complex and laborious — a challenge for the judge as well as the attorneys involved. In another RICO case Willis' office is currently pursuing against rapper Young Thug and several others, jury selection alone has gone on for months. Experts have speculated it could become the longest trial in Georgia history.
But during a Monday night press conference, Willis indicated her office would pursue a far faster schedule in the Trump case, seeking trial "within six months."
CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson says this case could make McAfee one of the most recognizable faces in the country, given that Georgia allows cameras in the courtroom. Presiding over a case in which a former president is fighting multiple felony charges, the judge will face some unique challenges.
"No judge in the world has had this case before. You could have a judge with 50 years of experience and it would still be a new and unique case," Levinson said.
Levinson believes McAfee's past history of working in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office could help.
"He knows how the county prosecutor's office functions. That will be helpful for him. He knows how criminal trials progress from the attorney's side and that will be helpful for him."
Though he's still in his first year as a judge, this isn't McAfee's first time handling a case with a politically sensitive defendant. According to court documents, McAfee fined pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood $5,000 for violating an injunction in June. McAfee ruled Wood explicitly violated a court order prohibiting Wood from making public, derogatory statements about the plaintiffs in a civil case that is unrelated to Wood's work with the former president.
Before his judicial appointment, McAfee was Georgia's inspector general, tasked with investigating waste, fraud, abuse and corruption in the executive branch. Georgia's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who chose him for the job in March 2021, called McAfee a "strong addition to my administration" because of his prior experience as a "tough prosecutor."
Before his time in the inspector general's office, McAfee worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. He also worked as senior assistant district attorney in Fulton County and was an assistant district attorney in Barrow County.
In the Fulton County D.A.'s office, McAfee handled hundreds of felony cases, ranging from armed robbery to murder. His LinkedIn profile says he worked on several probes in its major cases division.
In a statement made after his appointment to the bench in December 2022, McAfee vowed to "do my homework."
"Lawyers can expect that I'll have read their pleadings and be ready to dive into the issues," he said.
McAfee, a longtime resident of the state, graduated with a degree in music from Emory University and received his law degree from the University of Georgia. McAfee's biography on the IG's website also notes that he previously worked for two Georgia Supreme Court justices.
His campaign website says McAfee is up for reelection in 2024.
- In:
- Georgia
- Donald Trump
veryGood! (2518)
Related
- Family of explorer who died in the Titan sub implosion seeks $50M-plus in wrongful death lawsuit
- Trump seeks dismissal of charges in Stormy Daniels hush money case
- Israeli suspects to plead to charges of raping of a British woman after defense lawyers get material
- Billboard Latin Music Awards 2023: The Complete List of Winners
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- These major cities have experienced the highest temperature increases in recent years
- Selena Gomez Debuts Dramatic Hair Transformation With New Sleek Bob
- 2030 World Cup will be held in six countries across Africa, Europe and South America
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- All Trump, all the time? Former president’s legal problems a boon to MSNBC
Ranking
- Olympic women's basketball bracket: Schedule, results, Team USA's path to gold
- US resumes some food aid deliveries to Ethiopia after assistance was halted over ‘widespread’ theft
- Biden says he couldn’t divert funds for miles of a US-Mexico border wall, but doesn’t think it works
- Signs of progress as UAW and Detroit automakers continue active talks
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- New report on New Jersey veterans home deaths says to move oversight away from military
- Amnesty International asks Pakistan to keep hosting Afghans as their expulsion may put them at risk
- Rolling candy sold nationwide recalled after death of 7-year-old
Recommendation
Blake Lively’s Inner Circle Shares Rare Insight on Her Life as a Mom to 4 Kids
What Congress accomplished with McCarthy as speaker of the House
Joel Embiid decides to play for USA — not France — in Paris Olympics, AP source says
Israeli suspects to plead to charges of raping of a British woman after defense lawyers get material
Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
Tropical Storm Philippe chugs toward Bermuda on a path to Atlantic Canada and New England
Marc Anthony and Wife Nadia Ferreira Heat Up the Red Carpet at Billboard Latin Music Awards 2023
Selena Gomez Details Embarrassment After No Longer Having a Teenager's Body