Fulton Superior Court Judge Westmoreland Moves to Business Court

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melvin K. Westmoreland has moved from the Fulton Justice Tower to the historic Lewis Slaton Fulton County Courthouse.

Westmoreland, a Superior Court Judge in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit since 1988, said he moved to Courtroom 9G in the 136 Pryor St. Courthouse for two reasons.

He recently became the only elected Superior Court Judge serving in the Fulton Business Court and now exclusively hears civil cases. Judge Westmoreland’s new chambers (Room C927) put him on the same floor with Business Court Senior Judges Alice Bonner and Elizabeth Long and Business Court manager Noelle Lagueux-Alvarez.

The move also makes room in the Fulton Justice Tower for newly appointed Superior Court Judge Shawn LaGrua. When LaGrua is sworn in as the circuit's 20th judge she may hear a mixed docket of criminal and civil cases. Criminal cases are restricted to the Tower which has secure holding cells and elevators used to transfer prisoners to and from the Fulton County Jail.

"With only civil cases I don't need holding cells and it helps to be close to the other business court operations," Judge Westmoreland said.

Judge Westmoreland's chambers telephone is 404-612-2570.

Judicial Leaders Work Until Last Minute to Save Public Safety Improvements from Fulton Budget Axe

Leaders of the Fulton County Georgia judicial system on Tuesday continued their effort to get county officials to restore $4.2 million cut from the system’s 2010 budget. The cuts include $2.4 million in operating costs and $1.8 million in staff vacancies for the Superior Court, Clerk of Superior Court, District Attorney, Public Defender, State, Probate and Juvenile courts, Solicitor General and Marshal’s office.

If these cuts are restored judicial system leaders told county officials they will be able to:

• Continue the Fast Track felony case management system that has cut the time it takes to complete non-violent property and drug cases to just 45 days.

• Continue the current number of participants in the county’s successful Drug and Mental Health Courts.

• Continue the highly effective, cost-saving pretrial supervision program that gets 97 percent of felony defendants to all court hearings without new charges.

• Continue a new intensive pretrial supervision program that reduced jail expenses by $3.5 million from April through December 2009.

• Prepare for a major anticipated increase in criminal cases from hundreds of new Atlanta Police Officers being hired through a federal COPS Grant.

• Drastically reduce the Fulton Jail population by July 1, 2010.

• Prepare a plan to increase revenues and collections from fines and fees.

• Prepare a plan to consolidate duplicative judicial system offices.

The Fulton justice system cannot control its incoming “inventory” of murder, rape, robbery and burglary cases so justice system leaders must be allowed to continue programs that out-produce the offending population to keep the county safe.

Judicial system leaders are working together to coordinate prevention, protection, restoration, correction and punishment efforts but cuts prevent them from keeping up with incoming cases, much less the increase anticipated from deploying additional Atlanta Police Officers.

Judicial leaders say restoring these funds will produce immediate savings by reducing the number of defendants in the county jail.

Failing to adequately fund the judicial system will swell the county’s jail population, greatly increasing the cost to taxpayers for housing, feeding and caring for pretrial defendants.

Key Points of the Judicial System Plan to enhance public safety and increase access to justice for families, children and businesses.

• Fast Track Felony Case Processing

• Pretrial Release Supervision

• Jail Population Reduction Plan

• Elimination of Duplicated Services

• Increased Fee and Fine Revenue

Citizens Voice Opposition to Fulton Judicial System Cuts

  Jan. 6, 2010 -- Hundreds of concerned Fulton County residents who braved freezing temperatures packed this week's Fulton Commission meeting to show support for full funding of the county's judicial system.
  Concerned residents told commissioners that cutting any part of the system which includes courts, prosecutors, public defenders, court clerks and the county sheriff  would cripple an already overburdened system.

  Concern over proposed budget cuts in the cash-strapped county has been growing since mid-November when county managers notified judicial leaders that they might loose 24 percent of their budgets.

  Fulton's Chief Judge and District Attorney said that such massive cuts would mean they would have to make drastic staff cuts leaving their offices unable to process the more than 30,000 cases filed in Fulton Superior Court each year.

  Chief Judge Doris L. Downs, speaking for members of the judicial system, said with that level of reduction "the results would be disastrous. [and] ... would also, in our opinion, raise serious questions regarding public safety."

  In December commissioners approved a tentative budget that would reduce cuts to the judicial system to some 10 percent. But even that level of reduced spending on justice would erode the courts ability to maintain cost-saving programs that now supervise some 1700 defendants in Drug and Mental Health courts and through pretrial release supervision, forcing more defendants back into the already overflowing county jail.

  Those who spoke Wednesday, including Chief Judge Downs, Chief Judge-elect Cynthia Wright and others who are involved in providing services to the judicial system, said that there are better ways to balance the budget that to slow processing of criminal cases that will only add to jail overcrowding and more than offset any savings.

  County officials and judicial leaders continue to meet and share ideas for reducing costs without endangering the public and reducing access to justice for families, children and Fulton businesses. One idea presented to county leaders is a full-court press to process criminal cases that judicial leaders say could cut the jail population in half by July. That would greatly reduce expenses for housing, feeding, and providing medical care for inmates in the jail which now must rent space in other county jails because it is overflowing.

  Fulton County’s judicial system is the state’s largest and busiest. It is also the place where all lawsuits brought against any state government function are decided, so any reduction in its capacity to function will have statewide consequences.

  A final vote on the 2010 Fulton County budget will be held Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. in the Fulton Commission Assembly Hall, 141 Pryor St., S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303.

  Anyone interested in voicing support for the judicial system budget who cannot attend the Jan. 20 meeting may sign an electronic petition at: http://bit.ly/KeepCourtsOpen.

Former DeKalb Solicitor General named to new Fulton Superior Court Judgeship

Former DeKalb County Solicitor General Shawn Ellen LaGrua has been named a judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County.

LaGrua was appointed to the new 20th judgeship of the Fulton Superior Court by Governor Sonny Purdue. This seat on the Superior Court was approved by the Georgia General Assembly in 2008.

LaGrua has served as the Inspector-General for the Georgia Secretary of State's Office since January 2007.

Previously, she was appointed by Perdue as DeKalb County Solicitor General in 2004 and named Georgia’s Solicitor General of the Year in 2006.

LaGrua also has extensive experience as an Assistant District Attorney in DeKalb and Fulton Counties. While in Fulton County’s DA’s Office, she worked as a Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia in 1984 and her Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University School of Law in 1987 where she is currently a faculty member teaching Litigation.

LaGrua is expected to be sworn in as judge by Perdue in January. She will join the bench of Georgia's largest trial court with more than 30,000 cases filed annually The Fulton Superior Court is also among the leading courts nationally for innovative programs increasing access to justice for all.

Fulton County budget cuts may add to county expenses

Fulton County Commissioners on Wednesday are set to adopt a budget for 2010 that may cut cost-saving programs that will add to overall expenses for the county, according to Fulton’s Chief Judge.

A 10 percent across-the-board cut on top of a 4 percent employee pay decrease tentatively approved by Commissioner in December will force reductions or elimination of diversion programs that will funnel more than 1,000 defendants back into the county’s already overcrowded jail, said Chief Fulton Superior Court Judge Doris L. Downs.

“If we must eliminate or drastically reduce our Drug and Mental Health Courts and our supervised pretrial release programs we cannot allow the defendants in these programs to remain on the street unsupervised,” Downs said Monday during a meeting of program administrators. Up to 30 Superior Court employees could be fired to meet the county goal, she said. Other equally large numbers of employees could be fired from the District Attorney, Public Defender and Clerk of Court.

Upwards of 1700 defendants are currently supervised by these programs at a drastically lower cost per day than incarceration in the county jail. For example, defendants on supervised pretrial release cost the county $5 a day. Drug and Mental Health Court defendants are supervised for $23 a day. Jailing inmates costs a minimum of $72 a day.

Superior Court Administrator Judy Cramer said every cost saving effort has already been taken and all that’s left to cut are jobs.

“Wednesday is the last chance for the Commission to take into account the true impact of cuts of this magnitude,” Cramer said. Layoff letters are being readied in case the Commission holds fast to the 10-percent cuts. “We must deliver the letters by Monday in order for our employees to have time to explore other positions within the county and receive assistance from human resources with filing for unemployment and other benefits,” she said.

Downs and Cramer have met with individual commissioners and county executives and laid out an alternative plan that would cut the jail population in half by July, but that plan requires funding the judicial system at its current level. The extra personnel to process additional cases would be paid for by an existing federal stimulus grant received by the court last year, Downs said.

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Keep up to date on official Fulton Superior Court news at: http://fultoncourtinfo.blogspot.com/

Final Order in Grady Hemodialysis Case

The final order by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville in the case 2009CV175156 is now posted on the Court's Media website page.
http://www.fultoncourt.org/sca200807/for-media.html