Doubt about decision to seal Ga. House speaker's divorce papers

Ethics activist George Anderson has filed a motion to open Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s divorce files to the public. Anderson argues that the divorce proceedings are routinely open and that the sealing of Richardson’s divorce records is unjustified.

On Feb. 6, Superior Court Judge Jim Osborne, a former law partner of Richardson’s, signed the sealing order, though the case had originally been assigned to another judge. Osborne’s daughter is a lawyer at Richardson’s law firm.

Osborne said he sealed the documents after determining that harm to the family “outweighs public interest.” Anderson’s motion argues that Osborne did not follow proper procedure and failed “to articulate the nature of the supposed harms.”