Will Wooten became a prosecutor because he believed in equality under the law. As a public defender, he witnessed prosecutors overcharging people who had made mistakes or charging what should’ve been a misdemeanor as a felony, and he felt like the law was not upheld for everyone equally. To him, those with money, power, and connections had one experience with the justice system, and everyone else had a very different one.
Wooten is the Georgia Deputy District Attorney leading the White-Collar Crimes unit. He co-founded and led District Attorney Fani Willis’ LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee and served on the team that prosecuted President Donald Trump on election interference charges. Now, he’s running for the Georgia Court of Appeals this spring against incumbent E. Trenton Brown III, who Wooten says represents the system imbalance he has spent his career advocating against.
Brown was appointed to the three bench positions he has held since 2008 by governors Sonny Perdue and Nathan Deal. He was the author of the majority opinion that disqualified Willis from the Trump case, which ultimately led to its dismissal.
“I think that a lot of people feel right now that the way the system works, there’s one set of rules for people who are powerful, who are connected, who have connected lawyers, who are political insiders, and then there’s this other set of rules for everyone else,” he told Georgia Voice. “I feel like I saw that firsthand in the Trump case, as one example… I feel like Georgia wants a change.”
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Wooten says his experience as both defender and prosecutor on cases spanning violent and white-collar crimes provides a people-first perspective that Brown lacks.
“It’s a concern of mine that judges who don’t have that experience don’t realize that these are cases about real people,” he said. “They’re cases with real consequences, especially at the appellate level, where decisions don’t just impact the parties that come before the court, but they impact decisions that are made by judges across the entire state.”
While the Supreme Court gets the final say within the judicial branch, it hears very few cases. The appellate court is most often the last chance someone will get to appeal their case, review their trial, and ensure they received due process – and decisions made by the appellate court establish a legal precedent for judges across the state.
Wooten recognizes himself as the underdog in the race. The Court of Appeals election, along with the general election primaries, will be held in May, when turnout is typically low, and Wooten says many people don’t even know that judges will be on the ballot. However, if he wins, he’ll make history. If elected, Wooten will be the first LGBTQ+ person to hold statewide office in Georgia, an accomplishment he hopes will inspire young LGBTQ+ people.
“I think it’s essential for not just LGBTQ+ Georgians but for all underrepresented groups to, when there’s not a seat available at the table, stand up and make a seat for yourself at the table,” he said. “I’m running not so that I can say I’m the first LGBTQ+ person elected to statewide office, but so that those LGBTQ+ kids, or whatever underrepresented group that may be growing up in Georgia, can see someone like them and understand, ‘I can do that too.’”
Election Day for nonpartisan races and the general primaries is May 19, and the voting registration deadline is April 20. More information on Wooten’s campaign can be found on his website, and other election information can be found on the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page.
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