Cobb Reporter

A Cobb County judge recently revoked his ban on elves frequently seen loitering on shelves near Christmastime.

In November, Cobb County Superior Court Judge Robert Leonard jokingly posted on Twitter that he was banning Elf on the Shelf from the county.

"Tired of living in Elf on the Shelf tyranny? Not looking forward to the Elf forgetting to move and causing your kids emotional distress? I am a public servant and will take the heat for you. My gift to tired parents. P.S. - If you love your elf, keep your elf. No contempts," Leonard wrote in a Nov. 4 Twitter post.

According to Patch, Leonard said that elves are a risk to the emotional health and well being of Cobb's young children. In his initial order, Leonard recalled a morning in which his children were traumatized when they realized their elf hadn't moved from his shelf. His children went to school in tears and "that day of education was lost to everyone."

The Cobb Bar Association later successfully argued that elves are necessary to carry out the group's toy drive this year, causing Leonard to revoke his order.

"On Nov. 4, 2021, the Court issued an Order banishing the Elves in Cobb County, to protect emotional health and well-being of Cobb's young children," according to the order rescinding banishment of the elves. "Since the entry of said Order, the undersigned has received numerous Motions to Intervene and Reconsider the ruling. The Intervenors have persuasively argued that the Elves are essential front-line workers and without them many children will suffer this holiday season. Specifically, the Cobb County Bar Association has argued the Elves are necessary to carry out their toy drive this year."