MARIETTA - Two women who were involved in an early morning teenage Christmas drinking party in an upscale neighborhood near Marietta Country Club were facing arraignment today, but instead pleaded not guilty to their charges Thursday and requested jury trials.

Marietta lawyer and former part-time magistrate judge Diane Busch, 47, who was charged on March 5 with 21 misdemeanor counts stemming from an underage drinking party police busted at her home in December at 3 a.m., has pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial, according to Cobb State Court Administrator Diane Webb.

Busch, who is represented by noted trial lawyer Jimmy Berry, was originally scheduled for arraignment today on the charges of furnishing alcohol to minors, contributing to the delinquency of minors and obstruction of justice.

Senior Judge Jack McLaughlin of DeKalb County will hear the case, though no trial date has been set. The judges of Cobb State Court recused themselves from hearing the case because Busch, a a former part-time magistrate, had filled in on the bench occasionally.

Kathryn Middleton, 46, a friend of Busch's who was at the home on Dec. 22 and was also charged with furnishing alcohol to minors and contributing to the delinquency of minors, also pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial, Webb said.

Middleton's lawyer, Joel Pugh, said the prosecutor had filed a motion to join the cases, and the women will likely be tried at the same time. Lawyer Lalaine Briones is the special prosecutor in the two cases.

Both women are free on $3,500 bond.

Busch was arrested March 5 after she turned herself in at Cobb County Jail. In a letter dated March 6 to Chief Marietta Municipal Judge Roger Rozen, Busch resigned her judgeship in Marietta. Also in March, the city of Woodstock confirmed that Busch resigned as that city's chief municipal judge.

Ten teenagers, all students at the Walker School, were cited for underage drinking at Busch's home on Dec. 22. Six of those were under age 16.

Busch was charged with 10 counts of furnishing alcoholic beverages to persons under 21; six counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor; four counts of contributing to furnishing alcohol to persons under 21; and one count of obstruction of justice, for lying to a police officer about the whereabouts of one of the teenagers that night, according to the arrest warrant.

Middleton, a 46-year-old real estate agent, was charged with each count the former judge faces except for obstruction. She also turned herself in at Cobb Jail March 5.

Middleton was reportedly cleaning up when police arrived about 3 a.m. on Dec. 22. A neighbor reported hearing what sounded like gunshots. The teens had been popping balloons.

The teenage drinking party was said to have followed an earlier Christmas party attended by adults.

Middleton "appeared intoxicated" when she came to the door, according to the police report. She was asked to get the homeowner, and returned a few minutes later with Busch, "who also seemed to be very intoxicated," according to the report.

"She seemed to not comprehend and continued to ask why we were there ... Ms. Busch stated that she had hosted an adult party earlier and that when it was over she went to bed. She stated that some of the children who had come with their parents were supposed to stay the night," according to the report.

John Wiles, a state senator and one of Busch's neighbors, arrived at Busch's home after police busted the teen party to pick up his child. He is mentioned prominently in the police report and quoted as asking an officer not to give one of the teens a citation because it could jeopardize his baseball scholarship.

From that point, the case took several bizarre twists and grabbed headlines for more than three months, including information from the Cobb Solicitor's Office that said Busch was representing one of the teens at the party, a college player on scholarship, and tried to persuade a Cobb state court judge to allow baseball practice time to serve as his community service work. A young assistant prosecutor gave out this information, recanted the baseball story a day later in late February, adding he already had dismissed the case, and subsequently resigned.

Solicitor General Barry Morgan then refilled the underage drinking charge against William Maxwell, 19, of Marietta, because Maxwell was not even eligible for the diversion program due to his blood alcohol reading and there was no application filed.

Busch initially represented Maxwell - All-Cobb County outfielder/pitcher at the Walker School in 2006 who went to Rice University on a scholarship - and tried to get him a deal under the diversion program, in which 150 hours of baseball practice would be accepted in place of the standard 40 hours of community service.

She continued to represent him until Feb. 11, the day documents were to be filed stating the teen had completed his diversion program requirements, and then turned the case over to Susan M. Miller, a friend and prosecutor in the Woodstock Municipal Court. But Busch apparently chose not to tell State Court Judge Nancy Campbell Jan. 13 that Maxwell had been cited in her own home.