ATLANTA — After months of legal drama, a ruling in the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis disqualification saga could be imminent.
The judge has signaled a ruling could come this week as he weighs whether the D.A.'s romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade renders the pair unable to impartially prosecute the Fulton County election interference case against former president Donald Trump and others.
Defense lawyers have argued that Willis improperly financially benefitted from that relationship, a claim that both Willis and Wade have denied.
And as a possible ruling looms, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has some major decisions to make.
In legal controversies, lawyers usually fight over two big questions: the facts of what happened and the legal standard that should be used to evaluate those facts
Experts say the judge's answer to that second question could be key to whatever ruling he reaches.
"Ultimately, it's going to come down to what standard the judge applies," said Robert James, a former Dekalb County district attorney who is now working in private practice.
Both the Fulton County D.A.'s office and the defense team spent the bulk of last week fighting over that question in dueling court filings.
Defense attorneys seeking to disqualify the prosecutors have argued that even an appearance of impropriety is enough to force the removal of Willis and her office from the case.
"An apparent conflict is sufficient to warrant a prosecutor's disqualification," wrote an attorney for defendant Robert Cheeley last week.
The D.A.'s office disputes that, writing in a court filing, "an actual conflict of interest must be shown to disqualify an elected district attorney," and that conflict must be proven to a "high standard of proof."
According to James, case law exists that could support either standard -- making the ultimate decision of which to apply a weighty one for Judge McAfee.
His choice could have a significant impact on whether Willis and her office are allowed to remain on the case.
"There are some cases that suggest that you actually have to have an actual conflict," James said. "I don't really think we have that here."
However, James added that other cases "suggest, or say, that you just need the appearance of impropriety."
Adoption of that 'appearance' standard would be "a much stronger argument for the defense," said James.
To be clear, that decision alone does not guarantee an outcome. Once that standard is decided upon, the judge must then determine how the facts apply to that legal rule.
There are also other legal questions that the judge must resolve before issuing a final decision.
However, experts say that the choice of legal standards will play an important role.
With potentially major ramifications, Atlanta defense attorney Bob Rubin said he expects Judge McAfee to give that decision serious consideration before ruling.
"I know he does not take that lightly," Rubin said.