SAVANNAH | Amanda F. Williams was one of coastal Georgia's most powerful judges when she resigned to settle noncriminal misconduct charges that she had jailed drug users for indefinite periods, heard cases in which her family served as attorneys, berated lawyers and otherwise acted with "tyrannical partiality."
That was 3 ½ years ago. Since then, Williams resumed practicing law in the port city of Brunswick. Both her critics and supporters assumed she had closed her case by leaving the bench in January 2012 with a promise to never again seek judicial office.