Judge Diane Busch did not alert elected officials in either city that she was being investigated by police for the Dec. 22 party. Early that morning, police caught 10 Walker High School students drinking at her home in West Cobb County.
Woodstock officials said they were tipped off by an anonymous letter.
Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin said he learned about it by reading the Marietta Daily Journal, the Tribune's sister newspaper.
A special prosecutor is scheduled to meet with Cobb Police investigators at 3 p.m. today to determine whether Ms. Busch or any other adult will face charges relating to the underage drinkers.
It is unclear when prosecutor Lalaine Briones will make a decision on whether to file any charges.
The charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor are both misdemeanors, each punishable by as many as 12 months in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Cobb Police Chief G.B. Hatfield said Wednesday that Ms. Briones does not yet have the police investigative file, which could take time to review. Police Capt. D. Bolenbaugh, Sgt. C. Dong and Detective P. Sullivan will meet with Ms. Briones.
Cobb Solicitor General Barry Morgan's office usually prosecutes misdemeanors, but he recused his office because an assistant solicitor attended a party for adults at Ms. Busch's home earlier the same evening as the bust.
In Woodstock, where Ms. Busch is the chief municipal judge, she presided over the court 11 times - seven in January and four in February, including last week - since the bust.
Woodstock's municipal court usually is in session twice each week, and the judge is paid $350 per session - a total of $700 per week. She rules on traffic offenses, DUI cases, ordinance violations and other municipal court matters. The judge is appointed by Woodstock's mayor and City Council.
Ms. Busch is not presiding this week.
"She made a decision that it would be best for the court if she allowed someone else to fill in for her until the matter is resolved," said Vic Reynolds, Ms. Busch's defense lawyer.
Reynolds insists his client did not give alcohol to anyone underage nor permit underage drinking on her property. However, according to the police report, when Ms. Busch came downstairs to talk to the officers, she appeared to be intoxicated and "said something to the effect 'I would rather have the kids drinking at my house than out driving around,' and 'I gave the kids the alcohol.'"
Reynolds said neither he nor Ms. Busch would be at today's meeting between police and the special prosecutor. He also said police and prosecutors had not interviewed Ms. Busch since the morning of the party.
Woodstock City Manager Jeff Moon said the mayor and council are waiting for the legal case to be resolved before deciding whether to take any action against Ms. Busch.
Ms. Busch also presided over Marietta's municipal court while the investigation continued. She spent the morning of Jan. 27 hearing appeals of red-light camera violations, according to the court clerk.
She was appointed in 1998, and is one of Marietta's nine associate justices able to fill in when Judge Roger Rozen is unavailable. As in Woodstock, the mayor and City Council appoint Marietta's municipal judges. The job pays $150 per session, and there can be as many as two sessions in a day.
Tumlin said Ms. Busch was among those reappointed as associate judges last month "based upon her excellent reputation as an attorney and especially her expertise in municipal court matters."
And he did not fault Ms. Busch for not informing him of the police investigation.
"I imagine she thought it was going to work itself out," he said. "People are innocent until proven guilty."
But if he were in Ms. Busch's position?
"I would have called to alert my boss," Tumlin said.
Four teenagers older than 17 and six juveniles were cited for minor in possession of alcohol after police arrived at Ms. Busch's home around 3 a.m. on Dec. 22.
The juveniles' cases are prosecuted in Cobb Juvenile Court. The cases of those older than 17 are handled in Cobb State Court, where the solicitor offers a diversion program for youth that requires a fee, community service, education and alcohol and drug screenings. Charges are dismissed for those who successfully complete the program and stay out of trouble.
Of the four teens older than 17 in this case, two of the defendants have appeared before Judge Nancy Campbell and have completed the diversion program. The other two cases are pending, with hearings scheduled next month.
On Dec. 22, four Cobb Police officers - Sgt. T.W. Jennings and Officers S. Walton, D.A. Ryan, and E.F. Ainsworth -responded to a call of gunshots in the Marietta County Club neighborhood. Upon investigating found the source of the noise: popped balloons in Ms. Busch's driveway.
When police neared the house, they saw several people who appeared to be underage with beer cans in their hands. After they asked one teenager to summon an adult, Kathryn Middleton came to the door with a beer in her hand and appeared to be intoxicated, according to the police report. Ms. Middleton is a friend and neighbor of Ms. Busch's, and one of Ms. Middleton's children also was at the home. She has since retained Joel Pugh as her defense attorney.
Ms. Middleton then returned a few minutes later with Ms. Busch, the homeowner, "who also seemed to be very intoxicated," according to the report.
"Ms. Busch stated that she had hosted an adult party earlier and that when it was over she went to bed. She stated that some of the children who had come with their parents were supposed to stay the night."
Ms. Busch allowed police to enter her home, where they began talking to the teenagers, according to the police report.
"Ms. Busch advised she had just woken up and seemed to be agitated at what she observed in the basement, stating 'you damn kids'," the report states.
State Sen. John Wiles (R-Kennesaw) arrived at Ms. Busch's home while the police were testing the teenagers for alcohol consumption, according to the report.
Ms. Busch, who also has filled in as a Cobb State Court judge in recent years, is an attorney in Wiles' Marietta law firm.
According to the police report, Wiles "stated that he had come to assist Ms. Busch. Ms. Busch made it known that Mr. Wiles was a former Cobb County prosecutor and is [now] a state senator. Ms. Busch had also stated that she was a traffic court judge in Woodstock. ...
"A few moments later I overheard Ms. Busch ask from across the room if we were really going to cite all of the kids. When one of the officers answered yes, she stated that 'she had allowed it.' Mr. Wiles was quick to tell Ms. Busch to be quiet," the police report stated.
After police cited the teenagers and turned them over to their parents, Walton realized one of the juveniles was unaccounted for. Although Ms. Busch stated the teen had left with a parent, police called the teen's mother, who said the teen was not at home and was now very concerned, according to the report.
"Officer Ryan and I checked throughout the house again looking for [the teen]. While walking down the stairs, Ms. Busch told us to get out of her house. Sgt. Jennings came into the living room and asked what was going on. Ms. Busch stated that she was going to call Chief Hatfield and Mickey Lloyd if we didn't leave. She also stated that we didn't want that P.R. Sgt. Jennings advised her she could call them if she wished because we were only doing our jobs. We left Ms. Busch's house after not locating [the teen] inside the residence," the police report states.
Jennings's report notes: "Ms. Busch advised that she had opened up her home to us but now she wanted us out. Ms. Busch had been present when contact had been made [with the teen's] mother and she knew the juvenile was missing. She also stated that she was going to call Mickey Lloyd and Chief Hatfield. I advised her twice that she could call them now if she wished."
The teen, it turned out, had walked home and was safe.
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