Gov. Kemp Appoints Commission to Review Cobb Clerk Connie Taylor’s Indictment

Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed a three-person commission to investigate Cobb Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor following her recent felony indictment, a move that could result in her suspension from office while her case plays out.

Taylor, a Democrat who has served as clerk since 2020, was indicted three weeks ago on charges of destroying public records and violating her oath of office. She is accused of directing an employee to delete records related to passport fees she collected as personal income after her office received an open records request about the fees.

Under state law, when a Superior Court clerk is indicted on felony charges, the governor must appoint a commission to determine whether the indictment “relates to and adversely affects” the official’s duties such that the public’s interests are harmed. If the commission recommends it, Kemp can suspend Taylor without pay until the case concludes.

In an executive order issued Thursday, Kemp named the commission members:

• Keith Blackwell, retired Georgia Supreme Court justice
• Tim Harper, Superior Court clerk for Banks County
• Rhett Walker, Superior Court clerk for Dodge County

Because Attorney General Chris Carr’s office is prosecuting the case, a retired judge was chosen in place of the attorney general, who would normally serve on the panel.

Taylor’s arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 2, where she will be formally read the charges and enter a plea. If convicted of a felony, she would be automatically removed from office. If acquitted, any suspension would be reversed.

Indictment Details

According to prosecutors, Taylor operated a passport services division within her office, where state law allowed her to keep a $35 processing fee from each application as personal income. In her first two years in office, she collected more than $425,000 in fees, on top of her $170,000 annual salary.

The fees drew scrutiny in late 2022, after the AJC reported how lucrative the practice had been for Taylor. Shortly afterward, whistleblower and former accounting manager Maya Curry alleged Taylor ordered her to delete records related to the fees after an open records request was filed.

Curry testified that Taylor told her, “We’re just going to Donald Trump this thing.” The Georgia Bureau of Investigation launched a probe, which was later turned over to the Attorney General’s White-Collar and Cyber Crime Unit.

The indictment accuses Taylor of instructing Curry to delete a digital “Passport” folder containing accounting records, along with an email Curry had sent her regarding the fees. Prosecutors allege Taylor violated her oath by ordering the destruction of records she was legally required to safeguard.

Taylor ceased collecting the fees in October 2022. Since then, her office has said in response to records requests that she no longer receives them.

Broader Fallout

The scandal surrounding the passport fees sparked legislative efforts to reform the practice. State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-East Cobb, introduced a bill to ban clerks from pocketing the fees, but the final legislation only required clerks to disclose their collections in quarterly reports to their county commission.

Taylor’s office has also faced broader criticism. Last year, performance issues with a botched case management software rollout led the chief judge of the Cobb Judicial Circuit to declare a judicial emergency, suspending legal deadlines for a wide range of cases. The rare move — typically reserved for natural disasters or pandemics — came after missed notices, widespread no-shows in court, and system outages that left documents unable to be electronically filed.