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Judge unseals speaker's divorce files
PREVIOUS VERSION OF THIS STORYRelated Topics: ATLANTA
ATLANTA (Map, News) - A judge has unsealed some records in Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson's divorce after an ethics watchdog sued to open them to the public.
However, the divorce papers released on Tuesday shed little light on an allegation at the state Capitol that Richardson had an "improper relationship" with a female lobbyist. The papers described the Richardson's marriage as "irretrievably broken" but did not provide details.
The records were sealed earlier this year by Paulding County Superior Judge James Osborne, who was also Richardson's former law partner. Divorce lawyers said it's unusual to keep such records under wraps in Georgia. Critics questioned whether Richardson had received special treatment.
The records show that the case was shuffled between judges in Paulding County, where Richardson lives and where his law firm is located. Two other judges there recused themselves from the case, and the divorce was eventually granted by Osborne on May 8.
Rome Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Walter Matthews ordered on July 16 to open many of the records. They were provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday by George Anderson, who sued for their release.
Richardson's divorce from his wife, Susan, was a topic of speculation at the state Capitol because it came after a 2007 ethics complaint alleging that the Republican speaker had an "improper relationship" with a female utility lobbyist. A complaint from Georgia Democrats charged the relationship took place at the same time Richardson was co-sponsoring a bill that would have authorized a $300 million pipeline being sought by her employer.
A legislative ethics panel dismissed the complaint. Richardson never said whether he had a relationship with the unnamed lobbyist and instead launched a sharp attack on his critics, pledging to retaliate against those seeking to bring him down.
Richardson spokeswoman Clelia Davis said Tuesday that Richardson will not discuss his personal life to protect his three children.
"He has put this difficult chapter of life behind him and remains focused on protecting our Republican majority so we can continue the progress we have made," Davis said.
Anderson's lawyer, Gerry Weber, said Anderson hadn't decided whether to push to have the rest of the divorce file released.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
