Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been ordered to pay over $54,000 in attorney fees and expenses after a court determined her office violated Georgia’s Open Records Act (ORA) in a case involving President Donald Trump. The ruling, issued by a Georgia court on Friday, found that Willis and her office failed to respond to open records requests within the legally required timeframe and lacked “substantial justification” for withholding the requested information. As a result, the court awarded Ashleigh Merchant $54,103.23 in attorney fees and litigation costs.
The ruling arises from a dispute involving defense attorney Merchant, who represents Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the election interference case against President Donald Trump. Merchant had requested relevant records related to the case, but the District Attorney’s office did not provide them. As a result, the judge determined that the office was “openly hostile” and lacked “good faith” in addressing the requests.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause has ordered that certain public records be produced within 30 days. She cautioned that additional penalties may be imposed if District Attorney Fani Willis and her office do not comply. The case focused on whether the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office is subject to the Open Records Act, a question the court answered definitively.
The Georgia Supreme Court’s ruling in Gonzalez v. Miller confirmed that Willis, as the head of the District Attorney’s Office, is responsible for maintaining public records and ensuring compliance with Open Records Act (ORA) regulations. Importantly, Willis’s office did not claim that any of the requested records were exempt from disclosure. The court determined that her office did not provide the requested documents within the legally mandated three business days, thereby directly violating state law.
Merchant, who requested public records from Willis’s office, filed a legal challenge after not receiving a timely response. Krause determined that the District Attorney’s Office had no substantial justification for its noncompliance, which triggered penalties under the law.
“Defendants — through the Open Records custodian, Dexter Bond — were openly hostile to counsel for Plaintiff, Ms. Merchant, and testified that Ms. Merchant’s requests were handled differently than other requests,” the order read. “Proud that we have judges willing to hold people in power accountable when they ignore the law!!!!” Merchant wrote on X Friday.