Former Hall County solicitor pleads guilty to misdemeanor

GAINESVILLE, GA. - Two months after a grand jury indicted her on multiple felony counts, the former solicitor general of Hall County entered a guilty plea Friday to one misdemeanor count of unprofessional conduct.

Former Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard entered the plea before a visiting Superior Court judge Friday morning in Gainesville.

Under the plea, Woodard must pay restitution to Hall County and the Prosecution Attorneys Council totaling just over $2,000.

The hearing revealed that her resignation on Aug. 9 was part of the plea deal.

During the hearing, Woodard made a statement where she admitted she had made mistakes.

After the hearing, defense attorney Noah Pines declined comment.

In June, a Hall County Grand Jury indicted Woodard on 24 counts of theft by taking and false statements.

Woodard, a Republican, became Hall County's solicitor in 2008, prosecuting low-level crimes such as DUIs and simple battery. 

But the Hall County grand jury accused her of more serious crimes, indicting her on 13 counts of false statements and writings and 11 counts of theft by taking, all felonies. In total, she's accused of illegally taking nearly $4,200 from public coffers.

Hall County Solicitor Stephanie Woodard

At the time of the June indictment, her attorneys at the time, Marissa Goldberg and Drew Findling, issued a statement criticizing the prosecution by the Attorney General’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Their June statement read, "The decision by the Attorney General’s Office to institute charges against her in this absurd indictment is unfathomable and a waste of court time and taxpayer dollars. She absolutely committed no crime, but yet she has been viciously pursued by the GBI for years. They have harassed her family, including her children, during which time the agents were aware of ongoing severe health issues that they were facing."

Attorney General Chris Carr, once on a first-name basis with Woodard, called the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on her in late 2022. 

The probe was launched after an I-Team investigation discovered thousands of dollars budgeted to help crime victims was instead spent by Woodard on herself or family members. 

Those items included expensive earbuds, noise-reducing headphones and pillows. The I-Team also found spending on jewelry repairs and antique shopping sprees. Even baseball caps for Gov. Brian Kemp's reelection efforts were classified as spending on victims or witnesses. 

The solicitor even spent public money cremating her dog, the investigation found. 

Rick Farmer, of Precious Memories Crematory, remembers the $190 expense well. He said the GBI took his statement. 

"It was paid to me, for her dog," Farmer said. 

The FOX 5 I-Team examined almost two years of receipts. The investigation also revealed she spent more than $7,000 on meals for herself and staff and $1,430 for an SAT prep course. She blacked out the name of the supposed victim receiving that SAT help. 

"This shows the kind of callous disregard not only for her office, not only for her oath of office, but the people she's supposed to be protecting and helping," said Edward Queen, an Emory University ethics expert.