An odor of Mendacity

   In Georgia Judge Scott MacAfee’s opinion as to whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis engaged in conduct arising to an actual conflict of interest, he ruled that it did not.  That said, the court, in reviewing the possibility that a perceived conflict existed observed that there was “an odor of mendacity” about the prosecution’s behavior, .  While the learned judge may or may not have been a fan of the late Tennessee Williams, his reference to mendacity reminded me of the first time I heard that word.  As a precocious adolescent, I found the plays of Williams fascinating, and remember hearing Big Daddy say—with respect to two of his more grasping relatives—that a “powerful odor of mendacity” was present in the room and there  “ain’t nothing more powerful than that odor…” I looked up the word and discovered it was just a fancy phrase for “lying,” a concept and practice of which I was already aware.  Big Daddy’s sniffing was directed at his son and daughter-in-law  (AKA “Brother Man” and his “fertility monster of a wife,” parents of a slew of of “no-necked monsters” no less).

While legal opinions don’t always rise to the level of literature, they can’t be blamed for not trying.  Indeed, this was not the only literary allusion in Judge MacAfee’s opinion.  In another portion regarding the importance of public figures actions and appearances, he invoked the standard of purity of “Caesar’s wife.” Way to go Judge!

In fairness, the court seemed to reach a fair and balanced conclusion that D.A. Willis’s behavior in hiring her then or future paramour as a Special Assistant District Attorney did not amount to an actual conflict of interest, there certainly was enough of an appearance of one which required actions to cure it so that the prosecution could proceed.  And people don’t need to be judges to know that it doesn’t look right to hire someone with whom you have (or develop) an intimate relationship.  If nothing else, it is nepotism—something frowned on, though honored in the breach, in hirings throughout the world, not to mention corporate boardrooms and the college admissions process. In what is an irony not lost to even the most casual observer,  the defendant raising concerns over mixing business with pleasure was arguably the most immoral elected official in the history of our nation.  Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!  But then again, defendants accused of the vilest crimes are still entitled to all the protections that our constitution and laws provide. That’s the beauty of our system, and I’m glad Judge McAffee knows his Tennessee Williams—even without attribution!