Court News

Statement on Non-Complex Docket

2011-01-04T14:38:00.001-05:00

The Fulton Superior Court has no plans to discontinue the non-complex docket.

National experts have endorsed our system. It is an appropriate and proven way to handle low-level, non-violent offenders in a timely and cost effective manner so that the jail can house those accused of serious violent offenses.

An experienced, elected judge will be in charge of all proceedings including hearing cases, sentencing offenders and providing oversight.

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2011-01-03T18:54:00.000-05:00

TEXT OF LETTER TO CITIZENS OF FULTON COUNTY
January 3, 2011

Letter to the Citizens of Fulton County:

This letter is written in my capacity as Chief Judge on behalf of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit. On December 27, 2010 State Patrol Trooper Chadwick LeCroy lost his life in the line of duty. As a judge, I am prohibited from commenting on the circumstances associated with his death. However, I, and every judge in this Circuit, recognize that his death represents a grievous loss to his family and the State of Georgia.

The purpose of this letter is to provide accurate information and fulfill our duty to the public in providing transparency with respect to the Court's business as it relates to the release of Gregory Favors, the person charged with the shooting of Trooper LeCroy.

At or around 9:35 p.m. on December 10, 2010, Favors and a co-defendant, Mr. Larry Brown, were arrested by the Atlanta Police Department. Mr. Favors was arrested for the offenses of Entering Auto, Possession of Cocaine, Possession of Tools to Commit a Crime and Obstruction. Mr. Brown was charged with Possession of Tools to Commit a Crime and Party to a Crime. Both were taken to the Fulton County Jail.

Due process under the Constitution requires that a person arrested without a warrant "have the probable cause for his or her continued detention reviewed by a neutral and detached magistrate as soon as reasonably feasible but, in any event, within 48 hours of arrest." Capestany v. State, 289 Ga. App. 47 (2007). The 48-hour constitutional requirement is a well settled principle of law, established two decades ago in the case of County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (1991). In Georgia, the constitutional mandate is also recognized by statute. OCGA 17-4-62 provides that any person who is arrested without a warrant and who is not brought before an appropriate judicial officer within 48 hours of arrest "shall be released." The 48-hour rule is clearly not "a self-imposed Fulton County judicial system deadline" as it has been characterized. It is mandatory.

The due process mandate to determine probable cause within 48 hours is fulfilled in Fulton County by having arrestees appear on a first appearance calendar before a magistrate at the Fulton County jail. The determination of probable cause is made by the arresting officer appearing before the magistrate and testifying to the circumstances of the arrest. If a defendant has been held for 48 hours and the arresting officer fails to appear at the calendar, the defendant must be released.

To determine probable cause, a magistrate must have something to review-either a warrant or the testimony of an arresting officer. The Court's records reflect that Mr. Favors' codefendant appeared before a magistrate within 48 hours of his arrest. There was no warrant presented to the magistrate and the arresting officer was not present. The magistrate was, therefore, required to release Mr. Brown. Had Mr. Favors been on the same calendar, he also would have been required to be released.

On December 13, Mr. Favors first appeared on a calendar. As of that point, he had been incarcerated pursuant to his warrantless arrest for more than 48 hours. When he appeared before the magistrate, no warrant had yet been obtained and the arresting officer was not present. Under those circumstances the magistrate before whom Mr. Favors appeared had no alternative but to comply with Georgia Law and the Constitution. For that reason, Mr. Favors was released.

The imposition of a signature bond on a defendant entitled to release is an attempt at a practical accommodation. It reflects an effort by the magistrate to maintain some control and contact with the arrestee until the arresting officer obtains an arrest warrant or the prosecuting agency issues an indictment. In this case, no warrant was obtained and no indictment issued after Mr. Favors' release pursuant to Riverside.

When Mr. Favors was released on December 13, 2010 it was not the result of judicial whim or an adherence to some arbitrary self-imposed rule. Rather, he was released because the judges and courts of this community have a duty to uphold the rule of law and comply with its requirements. It has also been suggested that had Mr. Favors received a different sentence in other proceedings or if his case had been heard through some other process, he would not have been on the streets. That suggestion reflects the reality that when a tragedy occurs, people want explanations. Hindsight is often the first tool reached for in an effort to provide an easy answer.

Fulton County, like many urban courts across the country, has developed a two-tiered system for adjudicating criminal cases. Less complex cases involving non-violent offenses are heard more quickly than more complex cases. Mr. Favors at the time of his arrest was not under indictment in a non-complex case. His release had therefore nothing to do with that program.

It is true that Mr. Favors had previous matters which were heard in Fulton County. Those cases were heard and sentences imposed based upon the facts and circumstances presented to the court at the time those decisions were made. Responsibility for the decisions rest with the decision makers. However, the propriety of those decisions can only be fairly judged in the context in which they were made based on the information provided to the Court.

Trooper LeCroy's death was tragic. The judges of this community believe that the people of Fulton County deserve a justice system that upholds the rule of law, seeks truth and does justice. On behalf of myself and all of the judges of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, I pledge that we will continue to do all we can to insure the public is protected and well-served. This includes our duty to be faithful to the law, even in difficult times.

Hon. Cynthia D. Wright, Chief Judge

Superior Court of Fulton County

Atlanta Judicial Circuit

cc: Mayor Kasim Reed, City of Atlanta

Chief George Turner, Atlanta Police Department

Chairman John H. Eaves, Fulton County Board of Commissioners

Fulton County Board of Commissioners

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard

Statement on Defendant Gregory Favors

2010-12-29T16:13:00.010-05:00

Joint statement from Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Cynthia Wright and Fulton County State Court Chief Judge Patsy Porter:

Our Courts are currently reviewing information related to alleged suspect, Gregory Favors and his history as a defendant in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit. If there are issues that need to be addressed, we will work with all involved in the criminal justice system.

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Gate City Bar Judicial Section Names 2010 Legacy Award Winners

2010-12-03T17:25:00.004-05:00

ATLANTA – The Gate City Bar Association Judicial Section has named those receiving its 2010 Legacy Awards. They are:

• A.T. Walden Award:

Granvette Matthews, Esq., Director, Family Division of Superior Court of Fulton County

• Judge Clarence Cooper Legacy Award:

Judge Marvin S. Arrington, Sr., Atlanta Judicial Circuit

• Judge Thelma Wyatt Moore Legacy Award:

Judge Constance Russell, Atlanta Judicial Circuit

• Justice Robert Benham Legacy Award:

Judge Orion L. Douglass, State Court of Glynn County

• Judge Horace T. Ward Legacy Award:

Judge Stephanie Davis, Magistrate Court of Fulton County

The awards will be presented at the Judicial Section’s holiday scholarship and awards dinner on December 8, 2010.

“This year’s Legacy Award recipients are phenomenal public servants representing the high professional standards set by the esteemed jurists for whom these awards have been named,” said Judicial Section Chair, Fulton Superior Court Judge Gail S. Tusan. “It is my personal and professional honor to publicly acknowledge the contributions made to the legal community and community at large.”

Five local high school seniors and one graduating Morehouse College senior will be presented the Section’s 2011-2012 scholarships.

Those selected for scholarships are:

• Amanda Bennett, a junior at Chamblee Charter High School

• Paul Harris, Jr., a senior at Carver Early College High School

• Joa O’Neal, a senior at Carver Early College High School

• Christopher Preston, a senior at Morehouse College

• Ashanté Rosier-Robinson, a senior at Chamblee Charter High School

• Tevin Williams, a senior at Carver Early College High School

The Gate City Bar Association [http://gatecitybar.org/],established in 1948, is the oldest African American Bar Association in the State of Georgia. The Gate City Bar Association was organized by ten African American lawyers to provide the educational, social and community involvement of a professional association for African American lawyers.

The purpose of GCBA Judicial Section [http://www.gatecityjudges.org/], founded in 2005, is to assist Georgia judges in the performance of their responsibilities and to foster positive relations between the bench and the bar. Through various community outreach programs, the Judicial Section seeks to build bridges with other organizations, constituencies and the community at large, all with the goal of increasing public trust and confidence in the justice system.

The Superior Court of Fulton County is Georgia’s largest and busiest trial court. Become a fan of the Fulton Superior Court on facebook. Follow the Court on twitter.

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About the 2010 Legacy Award Namesakes and Recipients:

A. T. Walden---Born in Fort Valley, GA, A.T. Walden received a law degree from the University of Michigan in 1911 and subsequently began practicing in Macon, GA. After serving as a captain in the army in World War I, Walden began practicing in Atlanta. Here he founded the Gate City Bar Association and the Atlanta Negro Voters League. After serving as president of the Atlanta NAACP, delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and the first black judge in Georgia since the Reconstruction Era, serving in Atlanta’s Municipal Court, Walden passed in 1965.

Granvette Matthews --- has been the Director of the Fulton Superior Court Family Division since November 2001. Prior to that time she was the Administrator of the Fulton County Alternative Dispute Resolution Program. She is a member of the Georgia Bar and is a registered neutral with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution.

Ms. Matthews is a graduate of the Emory University School of Law. She earned her Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University and her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Winthrop University where she graduated magna cum laude. Ms. Matthews also earned her undergraduate certificate in Social Work from Winthrop University.

After receiving her undergraduate degree, Ms. Matthews served as a Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) in Atlanta, and, upon graduation from law school Ms. Matthews was awarded a Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellowship and served as a staff attorney with Georgia Legal Services. Prior to her employment with Fulton County, Ms. Matthews was employed by the City of Atlanta, first as the Director of Pretrial Services and then as Clerk of Court/Court Administrator for the City of Atlanta Municipal Court.

In an interesting coincidence, Ms. Matthews used to volunteer at A. T. Walden Middle School, in Atlanta, teaching students about mediation.

Clarence Cooper—Born in Decatur, GA, Clarence Cooper obtained a Doctorate of Law in 1967 from Emory University. After working with Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Cooper became the first black Assistant District Attorney with Fulton County. Cooper served as a judge in the City of Atlanta Municipal Court and the Fulton County Superior Court before being appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals in 1990. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the second black federal judge in Georgia in 1995.

Marvin S. Arrington --- was appointed Judge to the Fulton County Superior Court by Governor Roy Barnes in January 2002. Prior to his appointment as Judge, Mr. Arrington was senior partner at the law firm of Arrington & Hollowell. His areas of concentration were civil litigation, white-collar crime, administrative law, and corporate representation.

He has been voted “One of Atlanta’s Top 25 Lawyers” by Atlanta Magazine and is recognized as being “Among the 100 Most Influential People in Georgia” by Georgia Trend Magazine. He received the Silverback Award recognizing his good works with the Atlanta Zoo. Mr. Arrington also received the Georgia Bar Association’s highest community service award, “The Chief Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service.”

Judge Arrington is an Emory University Law School Alumnus and a graduate of Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta. As a member of the Society of International Business Fellows, he attended the London School of Business in 1981. Judge Arrington served as President of the Atlanta City Council, having been a member of the Council for over twenty years. He also has served as a member of the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium Authority and was its Chairman for eleven years, having been appointed by Mayor Maynard Jackson and later re-appointed by former Mayor Andrew Young.

Judge Arrington’s recently published autobiography, “MAKING MY MARK The Story of a Man Who Wouldn’t Stay in His Place,” is a testament of what happens when hard work and perseverance meet tenacity and optimism. It’s the story of a dedicated man, born in a segregated South who went on to break down racial barriers and build walls of inclusion and harmony. Through this book and his work with youth on the bench and in the larger community Judge Arrington continues to mentor, educate, and inspire future generations.

Judge Arrington has served as a Special Assistant to the President of the National Bar Association and formerly headed that Association's legal section. He was also appointed by the President of the American Bar Association to serve on the Association's Advisory Committee of the Special Committee on Election Law and Voter Participation. Judge Arrington has also served the State Bar of Georgia as Chairman of the Correctional Facilities and Service Committee.

Judge Arrington has served as a member of the boards of the Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority, the Metropolitan Atlanta Olympic Authority, the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Advisory Board of the World Trade Club of Atlanta, the Commerce Club, the Atlanta Business League, the Atlanta Lawyers Club, and the Board of Governors of the Atlanta City Club. Judge Arrington has served on the Board of Trustees of The Lovett School and Clark Atlanta University. He is presently a member of the Board of Trustees of Emory University.

Judge Arrington has received numerous awards and commendations in recognition of his many accomplishments within the legal profession and for his commitment to community service. Emory University awarded Judge Arrington the "Emory Medal" in 1988 and the "Distinguished Alumnus Award" in 1989.

Judge Arrington's professional affiliations have included memberships in the State Bar of Georgia, the National Bar Association, the American Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association, American Trial Lawyers Association, the Gate City Bar Association and the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore—Born in Los Angeles, CA, Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore was the first woman to serve full-time on the benches of the Atlanta Municipal Court and the City Court of Atlanta. She is the first woman to serve as Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County and the first African-American woman to serve as Chief Administrative Judge of any Judicial Circuit in Georgia. Before retiring, after almost 30 years of service, Moore received the United States Chief Justice Award for Judicial Excellence.

Honorable Constance C. Russell ---

Judge, Superior Court

Atlanta Circuit, Fifth Judicial Administrative District County: Fulton

Office Address

T5705 Justice Center Tower 185 Central Avenue, SW Atlanta, GA 30303

Phone: 404-612-2803 Fax: 404-335-2814

Secretary: Vickie Edwards-Hood

Email: vickie.edwards-hood@fultoncountyga.gov

Birth date: December 1

Initial Term: (A) 03/04/96

College/University: Harvard University

Law School: University of Virginia School of Law

Robert Benham—Born in Cartersville, GA, Robert Benham holds a J.D. from the University of Georgia and an L.L.M from the University of Virginia. After serving as an attorney for the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Benham worked as a Special Assistant Attorney General in Cartersville while serving as President of the Bartow County Bar Association. After being appointed by Governor Joe Frank Harris as the first black state appellate judge in Georgia and serving for five years, Benham was appointed the 1st black Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Honorable Orin L. Douglass --- was born February 22, 1947 in Savannah, Georgia. His parents were both longtime educators in the Chatham County school system and he received his primary and secondary education in the Catholic parochial schools of Savannah.

In 1964, Douglass received his high school diploma from St. Pius X High School in Savannah, Georgia and in that same year was awarded a four-year athletic scholarship to attend Holy Cross College in Worchester, Massachusetts.

While at Holy Cross College, Douglas majored in Philosophy and received his A.B. degree in 1968. In that same year he was accepted and enrolled into Washington University Law School in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1971, he received his Juris Doctorate degree from that institution.

After graduating from Washington University, Douglass was admitted to the State Bars of Missouri and Georgia in 1973. After serving as a law intern for the St. Louis Legal Aid Society and subsequently, Assistant Circuit attorney for the City of St. Louis, Douglass returned to his home state of Georgia in 1974.

After a brief stint as associate counsel for the law firm of Hill, Jones and Farrington in Atlanta, Georgia, Douglass returned to coastal Georgia and moved to St. Simons Island, Georgia in 1974. Since that time he has practiced law in the Glynn County community as a general practice trial lawyer for almost twenty years and presently is judge of the State Court of Glynn County.

In 1981 Douglass was appointed by the Brunswick City Council to the position of Judge of the Municipal Court. He served in that capacity for 12 years until November 1992 when he was elected in a multi-candidate, countywide race to the position of Judge of the State Court of Glynn County. Judge Douglass is presently serving his fourth term in that position.

Judge Douglass is married to the former Shirley Hill of Valdosta, Georgia and to this 34-year union they have been blessed with the birth of three children, Orin Jr., age 33, a special child, Omar, age 28, a 2004 graduate of Holy Cross College, and Odet, age 22, a senior at Holy Cross College and a member of the class of 2011.

Douglass, the grandson of a Presbyterian minister, is a member of the Brunswick Second Presbyterian Church where he is an Elder, sings in the choir and serves as the assistant music director. He presently serves on the Executive Board of the Okeefenoke Council of the Boy Scouts and is a charter member of the Fourteen Black Men of Glynn, Inc. He also served as past chairman of the Communities in Schools of Glynn, a grass roots support organization which serves and supports he public schools of Glynn County, Georgia.

Judge Douglass has served on several special commissions appointed by the Georgia Supreme Court and the Governor of Georgia. He is past President of the Council of State Court Judges for the State of Georgia and was once nominated to the Governor’s shortlist to fill a vacancy on the Georgia Court of Appeals until his nomination was withdrawn as his request.

Judge Douglass presently serves on various commercial and non-profit boards of directors and in 2004 he was specially honored by his alma mater, Washington University Law School when he was inducted as an honorary initiate into the University’s Oder of the Coif. In 2006 he was awarded a Distinguished Law Alumni Award by Washington University for that year and in 2007 he was awarded the Alfred W. Jones, Sr. Man of the Year Award by the Brunswick-Glynn County Chamber of Commerce.

Horace Ward—Born in LaGrange, GA, Horace Ward obtained a Bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and a Master’s degree from Atlanta University. He subsequently obtained a law degree from Northwestern University after being denied by the then-segregated University of Georgia Law School. Ward later added in the case to desegregate UGA’s law school. He served for nine years in Georgia’s State Senate before being appointed by President Jimmy Carter as the first black federal judge in the state of Georgia in 1979.

Honorable Stephanie Davis --- was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Albert and Myrtle Davis. She attended St. Paul of the Cross Elementary School and graduated from Northside High School. She earned an AB degree in Communication at Stanford University and obtained her JD degree at Emory University.

Judge Davis’ first job as an attorney was law clerk to the Honorable Clarence Cooper in the Superior Court of Fulton County in 1986. After Judge Cooper’s appointment to the Georgia Court of Appeals in 1990, she joined his staff as staff attorney. She later served as staff attorney for Judges Harold Banke and John Ruffin. In 2000, Judge Davis was appointed to be a part time magistrate in Fulton County. She became a full time magistrate in 2002. Last year, the judges of the State Court of Fulton County appointed her Chief Magistrate of Fulton County where she presides over dispossessory matters, small claims, garnishments, civilian warrant applications, traffic court, criminal first appearances, the issuance of arrest and search warrants, as well as, mental health, environmental, child support and domestic violence cases.

A strong advocate for persons with disabilities, Judge Davis served as the first chairperson for the Fulton County Commission on Disability Affairs. She joined others in a successful federal lawsuit against MARTA to ensure equal access to transportation in metropolitan Atlanta. She currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board at the Shepherd Center and has served as an advisor on disability related issues for numerous boards and agencies.

Judge Davis has served on several boards, including the Board of the Directors of The Atlanta Women’s Foundation and the Executive Board for the Council of Magistrate Court Judges.

Judge Davis is an enthusiastic Atlanta Falcons fan. She currently devotes a great deal of her free time to her neighborhood, Atlantic Station and serves on the Board of Directors of the Art Foundry Condominium Association.

About the students receiving scholarships:

Amanda Bennett is a junior at Chamblee Charter High School. Amanda has served as a prosecuting attorney on her school’s mock trial team as well as a member of the Academic and Black History Bowl teams. She plays the violin for the DeKalb Youth Symphony and is currently a member of DeKalb County Teen Court. Amanda hopes to be a public defender one day.

Paul Harris, Jr. is a senior at Carver Early College High School, where he currently stands as class Valedictorian. He is dually enrolled at Georgia State University and has been honored with the National Honor Society Leader Award as well as the President’s List at GSU. He is the Captain of his school’s debate team and the Vice-President of the Key Club. After receiving his Juris Doctorate, Paul plans on becoming a criminal defense lawyer.

Joa O’Neal is a senior at Carver Early College High School. She has been an active member of the Atlanta community for years, volunteering with the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Be a Match Foundation, Hands on Atlanta, and many breast cancer research initiatives. She plans to continue to college next fall and ultimately hopes to have a career in non-profit administration.

Christopher Preston is a senior Political Science major at Morehouse College; he is also the first male in his family to attend college. He is a Dean’s List student who spent a summer studying at the London School of Economics. Preston currently serves at the president of the 100 Black Men of America Collegiate Chapter of Atlanta, GA. Upon graduation, Preston plans to continue to law school.

Ashanté Rosier-Robinson is a senior at Chamblee Charter High School. She is the secretary of her school’s Student Government Association and a volunteer with Hosea Feed the Hungry and Hands on Atlanta. After attending law school, Ashanté plans to use her knowledge of the legal system to press for a higher quality of education in South DeKalb county public schools.

Tevin Williams is a senior at Carver Early College High School. He is an honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society. Tevin has been consistently involved with the Sandtown community Recreational Center Community Service Projects. Next fall, he plans on attending the University of Georgia as a pre-law major, after which he will pursue a Juris Doctorate.

Pretrial Offices Have Been Combined

2010-11-29T10:53:00.000-05:00

ATLANTA - Less than a month after the merger was approved Fulton County Superior and State Court Pretrial offices have been combined!

The merger, approved Oct. 21 by Fulton County Commissioners and completed Nov. 19, marks a new era of cooperation and efficiency said Superior Court Chief Judge Cynthia Wright and State Court Chief Judge Patsy Porter.

The merger combined offices that supervised misdemeanor and felony defendants. The measure was promised earlier this year by Court leaders to increase the efficiency of court operations in the face of ongoing budget constraints.

“This change ushers in a new era of cooperation between State and Superior Courts of sharing services to increase the efficiency of both Courts,” said Chief Superior Court Judge Wright who became Chief Judge in May.

State Court Chief Judge Porter, who also took office this year, agreed that the merger is “a good opportunity to work together as a court system; to show that we are on the same team.”

A committee of State Court judges Susan B. Forsling, Susan E. Edlein and Fred C. Eady worked with State Court staff to hammer out the details of the transfer, Judge Porter said. She praised the “invaluable” service of State Court staff members Mark Harper, Valerie Jordan and Adelaide Wilder in preparing for the transfer of the misdemeanor pretrial release and supervision to Superior Court.

Current State Court pretrial office employees became Superior Court employees under the agreement, said Superior Court Administrator Yolanda Lewis. Combining the operations provides court officials an opportunity to evaluate and improve efficiencies, Lewis said.

"We look forward to a new and improved Pretrial program which will expand the use of technologies and services," Lewis said.

Pretrial Services officers provide neutral, non-adversarial and verified information to judges, defense attorneys, and the prosecutors for use in determining whether to grant bond at a defendant’s initial court appearance and any subsequent hearings where bond and or conditions of release are being determined.

Supervision officers conduct drug testing of defendants to determine the prevalence of drug addiction in the jail population and provide initial screening for addiction and or mental illness to determine which defendants may be appropriately referred to Drug or Mental Health Court.

Working around the clock seven days a week Superior Court Pretrial Services screened 14,220 felony defendants in 2009. Of that total, judges assigned 4,435 defendants to the supervised release program.

Defendants in the supervised release program are much more likely to appear in court and avoid further arrests. In 2009, 97 percent of defendants released to Pretrial supervision attended all scheduled court hearings while avoiding new criminal charges.

The Superior and State Courts of Fulton County are Georgia’s largest and busiest trial courts.

Learn more about the Superior Court on Facebook and follow Court developments on twitter. You can also access information about Superior and State Court programs on the internet at http://www.fultoncourt.org/.

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Grant funds program to cut repeat offenses

2010-10-25T15:59:00.000-04:00

Fulton County has been granted approximately $749,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice as a part of the federal Second Chance Act. The monies will be used to fund a program designed to reduce recidivism.

Inmates selected to participate in Fulton County’s Second Chance Project will receive assistance while they are in the Fulton County Jail and for 18 months after their release. The services provided by the program will focus on helping participants change their behavior.

Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Cynthia Wright said that the program will bring needed additions to the state's effort to rehabilitate offenders.

"The Superior Court looks forward to working with our Justice System Partners, Chairman [John] Eaves and the County Commission in ensuring that the Second Chance Project is the first step toward improving offender outcomes and public safety," Judge Wright said.

By reducing recidivism, the Taskforce hopes to help inmates reclaim their lives, help the community with improved public safety, and help save taxpayer dollars. The Fulton County criminal justice system cost taxpayers approximately $221.9 million for 2010. Inmates released back to Fulton County from the state prison system have a 47% recidivism rate.

Fulton County is among 116 organizations in the U.S. – and one of only 17 counties – that will receive Second Chance Act funding this year. The grant allows for an annual renewal for the amount received for up to three years.

The grant was developed by the Fulton County Reentry Taskforce, headed by Fulton County Chairman John H. Eaves, with support from key justice system officials, including District Attorney Paul Howard, Sheriff Ted Jackson, Chief Judge Wright, Public Defender Vernon Pitts, and state agencies including the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Georgia Department of Pardons and Paroles, and the Georgia Department of Labor. Nonprofit and education partners include the Atlanta and Fulton County School systems, the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, the Georgia Justice Project, Atlanta Metropolitan College and the Atlanta Technical College, Community Voices and the Morehouse School of Medicine.

"Our Second Chance grant award validates the process we have undertaken -- to bring everyone to the table to identify the best ways to address the public safety challenges we all face in Fulton County,” said Fulton Commission Chairman Eaves.

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source: Fulton County news release Oct. 22, 2010
More details at: Second Chance Program Fact Sheet

Fulton Courts merge programs

2010-10-21T16:05:00.000-04:00

ATLANTA – The pretrial release supervision programs of the Fulton County Superior and State Courts will be combined in what Court officials call the beginning of a new era of cooperation and efficiency.

Approved Wednesday by Fulton County Commissioners the merger combines offices that supervised misdemeanor and felony defendants. It was a measure promised by Court leaders earlier this year to increase the efficiency of court operations in the face of ongoing budget constraints.

“This change ushers in a new era of cooperation between State and Superior Courts of sharing services to increase the efficiency of both Courts,” said Chief Superior Court Judge Cynthia Wright who became Chief Judge in May.

State Court Chief Judge Patsy Porter, who also took office this year, agreed that the merger is “a good opportunity to work together as a court system; to show that we are on the same team.”

A committee of State Court judges Susan B. Forsling, Susan E. Edlein and Fred C. Eady worked with State Court staff to hammer out the details of the transfer, Judge Porter said. She praised the “invaluable” service of State Court staff members Mark Harper, Valerie Jordan and Adelaide Wilder in preparing for the transfer of the misdemeanor pretrial release and supervision to Superior Court.

Current State Court pretrial office employees will become Superior Court employees under the agreement, said Superior Court Administrator Yolanda Lewis. No jobs will be eliminated during the transition and combining operations will provide an opportunity to evaluate and improve efficiencies with both programs, Lewis said.

Pretrial Services officers provide neutral, non-adversarial and verified information to judges, defense attorneys, and the prosecutors for use in determining whether to grant bond at a defendant’s initial court appearance and any subsequent hearings where bond and or conditions of release are being determined.

Supervision officers conduct drug testing of defendants to determine the prevalence of drug addiction in the jail population and provide initial screening for addiction and or mental illness to determine which defendants may be appropriately referred to Drug or Mental Health Court.

Working around the clock seven days a week Superior Court Pretrial Services screened 14,220 felony defendants in 2009. Of that total, judges assigned 4,435 defendants to the supervised release program.

Defendants in the supervised release program are much more likely to appear in court and avoid further arrests. In 2009, 97 percent of defendants released to Pretrial supervision attended all scheduled court hearings while avoiding new criminal charges.

The Superior and State Courts of Fulton County are Georgia’s largest and busiest trial courts.

Learn more about the Superior Court on Facebook and follow Court developments on twitter. You can also access information about Superior and State Court programs on the internet at www.fultoncourt.org.

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Jury Newsletter Focuses on Judges

2010-10-13T15:40:00.000-04:00

The current issue of Jury Matters includes profiles of three judges, including one visiting from Japan; upgrades to security at the Fulton County Superior Court; tips on resolving disputes without going to court; and the history of Grand Juries.

October, 2010 issue

The quarterly newsletter also has information on staying comfortable and keeping up with business demands during jury service.

And a regular feature, our Service feedback form helps the Court maintain top customer service for those who provide a vital public service.

Download your copy and learn more about the judicial branch and how jurors preserve our democratic system of government.

“Invaluable” Business Court Turns 5

2010-10-11T11:20:00.003-04:00

ATLANTA – The Fulton Superior Court Business Case Division, which marks its 5th anniversary today, Oct. 11, 2010, has grown into an “invaluable resource” for Atlanta’s business community according to an attorney who specializes in business litigation.

Fulton’s Business Court, recognized in 2009 as the most innovative business court in the nation by the National Association of County Executives, has enhanced Atlanta’s position as a business hub in the Southeast.

“When discussing the option of requesting transfer to the Fulton Business Court, we tell our clients that it is the closest thing to being in Federal Court without actually being there,” said Walter H. Bush, a shareholder at the law firm Carlton Fields “We tell them that matters are handled in an expeditious and efficient matter, the judges understand business law cases and no game playing to avoid getting to the real issues is allowed.”

Since October 2005, Business Court has dealt with litigation involving more than 400 Atlanta area businesses and has drawn praise for the dispatch with which complicated Business disputes are resolved. Business Court also has freed up the Superior Court judges’ civil case calendars by handling these time-consuming, complicated cases.

“The Business Court has provided a valuable service to the business community and the bar during the past five years, said Mary C. Gill, Chair of the Georgia Bar Association’s Business Court Committee.

“The Business Court was established to provide an efficient and dedicated forum to resolve complex commercial and business cases, said Gill, a partner at Alston & Bird LLP. The Business Court has succeeded in meeting these objectives through enhanced procedures and availability, as measured by the increased caseload over the past five years.”

Through September of this year Business Court has resolved 21 of the 64 cases it has handled in 2010.

The Fulton County Business Court was the state’s first specialized venue for complex commercial and business litigation. A Rule Amendment approved by the Georgia Supreme Court in June 2007 that made transferring cases to Business Court easier has more than doubled its caseload.

Eligible cases involve contractual disputes, commercial litigation, securities, or questions of corporate, limited liability company or partnership law. Business Court-eligible cases involve multiple issues and/or parties and complex questions of substantive law that require additional judicial resources to manage and adjudicate.

Business Court uses a high-tech Courtroom with document cameras, projectors, and evidence display system. Teleconference hearings can be arranged, to further reduce time and costs associated with complex cases. Business litigator Bush said that having judges who only hear Business Court cases brings flexibility of time, subject matter expertise, and judicial experience to the resolution of these disputes.

“I am reminded of the old story about the lawyer who called his partner to tell how the case came out. ‘Justice was done,’ to which the partner replied, ‘appeal immediately,’ Bush said. “For those actually seeking justice, the Fulton Business Court is a terrific forum, and to those attorneys who practice business related litigation and their clients with business disputes, it is an invaluable resource.”

Currently, Business Court cases are heard by Superior Court Judge Melvin K. Westmoreland and Senior Superior Court Judges Alice D. Bonner and Elizabeth E. Long.

The Superior Court of Fulton County is Georgia’s largest and busiest trial court and is a national leader in innovations that increase access to justice for all citizens. Follow the Court on Facebook and twitter and access Court programs and information on the internet at www.fultoncourt.org.

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Lewis Named Fulton Superior Court Administrator

2010-08-27T16:32:00.001-04:00

For Immediate Release Aug. 27, 2010

ATLANTA – Clayton County Court Administrator Yolanda L. Lewis has been named Court Administrator for the Superior Court of Fulton County.

Lewis will replace veteran Fulton Superior Court Administrator Judy Cramer, who is leaving to begin a new career in the ministry.

Lewis has been Court Administrator in Clayton County since April 2008. Previously she was Assistant Director for Court Services at the Administrative Office of the Courts, a state agency that provides administrative assistance to Georgia Courts. Prior to joining the Administrative Office of the Courts in 2004 Lewis was a strategic planner at the Governor’s Justice Coordinating Council and worked as a program coordinator at the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Mobile, Alabama.

Lewis received her Masters of Public Administration from the University of South Alabama in 2002 and a certificate in Judicial Administration and Management from the University of Michigan in August 2010.

The Superior Court of Fulton County is Georgia’s largest and busiest trial court. Its 20 elected judges and four fulltime Magistrate Judges receive in excess of 30,000 new cases annually.

The Superior Court of Fulton County is one of the top-performing urban courts in America. Our innovative programs, nationally recognized best practices and excellent judges and staff are making a difference in the lives of Fulton residents. We are committed to ensuring that all find justice find in our court. For additional information about our court, please visit our Web site at http://www.fultoncourt.org/

Court Security Projects Funded

2010-08-19T15:05:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010 the Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted to include major improvements to the security of Fulton Courts in a federal bond issue.
The 5-2 vote capped two weeks of negotiations between county and judicial leaders to reinstate $5.4 million in previously approved projects to improve security at the county's Juvenile Court and create a state-of-the-art security command center in the Fulton Court Complex.
The security changes were among improvements a Governor's Commission on Court Security recommended in 2006 following a shooting spree at the Fulton Court Complex in which a Superior Court Judge, court reporter and Deputy were killed by an escaping defendant in a rape case.

The $26 million bond project also includes lighting, building maintenance and roof replacement of a senior center. Other items approved Wednesday include a job training center near the Fulton County jail, a prisoner reentry center for prisoners coming out of Georgia prisons, an arts center roof replacement, and bus stop lighting and street security cameras. A health center would be renovated to increase services and the aviation community center at the county's airport in the Fulton Industrial Boulevard area.

A Last-minute Proposal to Strip Security Funding Postponed By Fulton Commission

2010-08-11T11:59:00.002-04:00

ATLANTA -- Fulton County Commissioners on Wednesday stopped short of stripping some $5.4 million in security improvements recommended after a post-shooting review of the Fulton Courts Complex in 2005.

The commission received a recommendation Tuesday to redirect some of the funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to building an aviation community center at Charlie Brown Airport in the Fulton Industrial Boulevard district.

A study lead by the U.S. Marshal's Office after a deadly March 11, 2005 shooting in the Fulton Court Complex in which a judge, court reporter and deputy were killed and a second deputy was gravely injured urged Fulton to bring its security umbrella up to current standards for large court complexes. The primary improvement recommended was a command center to monitor the nearly 1-million-square-foot facility that is visited by thousands daily.

The commission decided to postpone a vote on the change County Manager Zachary Williams said resulted from conversations with city officials who must authorize the county to spend the funds within the city limits.

County Attorney David Ware said commissioners are within their legal rights in changing the list of items prior to finalizing the bond approval.

The $26 million project list includes lighting, building maintenance and roof replacement of a senior center. Other items recommended Wednesday include a job training center near the Fulton County jail, a prisoner reentry center for prisoners coming out of Georgia prisons, an arts center roof replacement, and bus stop lighting and security cameras. A health center would be renovated to increase services and the aviation community center at the county's airport in the Fulton Industrial Boulevard area.

Atlanta officials will consider the county's plan on Aug. 16. Commissioners will vote on projects Aug. 18 and a final list must be submitted to state officials by Aug. 31, Williams said.

New Issue of Jury Newsletter Available Online

2010-08-05T13:21:00.002-04:00

August 2010 Jury Matters Newsletter

The current issue of Jury Matters includes profiles of two Fulton County Superior Court judges and the Clerk of Superior Court, plus tips on navigating family law issues and an update on how social media are adding to concerns about fair trials.

The quarterly newsletter also has information on staying comfortable and keeping up with business demands during jury service. And a regular feature, our Service feedback form helps the Court maintain top customer service for those who provide a vital public service.

Download a copy and learn more about the judicial branch and how jurors preserve our democratic system of government.

Court Publishes Services, Locations Directory

2010-08-04T16:21:00.000-04:00

The Superior Court of Fulton County has published a Directory of Fulton Courts services, locations and directions. The Directory is available for download from the Court's website: www.fultoncourt.org/sca200807/
Users of the Directory are encouraged to submit updates and additions by email to pio@fultoncourt.org.

Drug Court Sets Graduation

2010-07-21T10:36:00.001-04:00

FOR RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, 21 JULY 2010

The Fulton County Drug Court recognizes 15 graduates at it's Summer graduation ceremony Friday, July 23, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. in the Fulton Government Center Assembly Hall, 141 Pryor St., S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303.

Drug Court defendants who have fulfilled the requirements of the accountability court program will be recognized and a reception will be held for the graduates following the ceremony. The event is open to the public.

Drug Court has been operated by the Superior Court of Fulton County since 1997 and has proven an effective alternative to prison for addicted offenders. There are currently approximately 400 active Drug Court participants. The program has achieved a 70 percent success rate for graduates and is a cost-effective alternative to incarceration. A Mental Health Court for defendants with mental disorders has been in operation since 2007.

NOTE: Media wishing to cover the event must agree to limit their visual images to graduates who have signed HIPPA release forms. A list of graduates who have agreed to be photographed and interviewed will be available at the event.

The Superior Court of Fulton County is one of the top-performing urban courts in America. Our innovative programs, nationally recognized best practices, and excellent judges and staff reflect our commitment to ensuring that all find justice in our court.

For additional information about these and other programs operated by our court, please visit our web site at http://www.fultoncourt.org/.

Court's 20th Judge Takes Office

2010-07-08T07:59:00.000-04:00

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shawn Ellen LaGrua has taken the oath of office and is now the Court's 20th elected judge.

Judge LaGrua was appointed to the new office by Governor Sonny Perdue. She was the Inspector General of the Georgia Secretary of State's Office. Previously, she had been Solicitor General of DeKalb County and an assistant district attorney in DeKalb and Fulton counties, for the Tallapoosa Circuit and the Prosecuting Attorney's Council.

Judge LaGrua graduated from the University of Georgia in 1984 and received her juris doctorate in law from the Georgia State University College of Law in 1987.

Judge LaGrua is a Master of the Logan E. Bleckley Inn of Court, an Advanced Evidence professor at Georgia State University College of Law, and a founding member and chair of the Georgia Association of Woman Lawyers, Judicial Application Review Committee.

Her community activities include serving on the boards of directors of The Georgia Center for Children, The Daisy Hill Foundation, Ahimsa House, Gold Shield Foundation, and Project Destiny Academy of Excellence.

Judge LaGrua will hear a mixed docket of criminal and civil cases. Her chambers telephone number is 404-612-8460.

Fulton Judge Named to Court Reporter Board

2010-06-30T14:19:00.000-04:00

ATLANTA – Fulton Superior Court Judge Ural D. Glanville has been appointed to the board supervising the work and professional standards of Georgia’s official court reporters.

Judge Glanville is one of two judges on the nine-member Board of Court Reporting. The Judicial Council of Georgia, which is comprised of the Chief Judges of the Georgia’s Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Superior, State, Magistrate and Juvenile courts, established the Board of Court Reporting to define and regulate the practice of court reporting in Georgia.

Judge Glanville’s appointment to the Board by the Judicial Council a vote of confidence in his abilities, said Fulton Superior Court Chief Judge Cynthia Wright.

“For Judge Glanville to be appointed to oversee this critical part of our system of justice is a tribute to him--and our Court has utmost confidence in him to discharge the duties required,” Chief Judge Wright said.

The Board consists of five certified court reporters, two attorneys appointed by the State Bar of Georgia and two judges, one from the State Court and one from the Superior Court. The Board meets four times a year and conducts two certification examinations a year. Certification by one of two national associations is required for anyone to be a court reporter in Georgia.

Judge Glanville has been a Fulton Superior Court Judge since 2005 and is also an Army Judge Advocate Officer. Previously he served as a Magistrate Judge in Fulton State Court, and prosecutor in the Solicitor General’s Office in DeKalb and Fulton Counties. Judge Glanville received his law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law.

For additional biographical information and a reproducible .jpg photo of Judge Glanville, go to: http://www.fultoncourt.org/sca200807/judges/superior-court-judges/a-l/ural-d-glanville.html

For more information on the Board of Court Reporters, go to: http://www.georgiacourts.org/agencies/bcr/index.html

Fulton State’s First Permanent Family Division

2010-06-29T14:08:00.000-04:00

ATLANTA (June 29, 2010) -- After operating as a pilot project for 12 years, the Family Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County has been made a permanent part of Georgia’s largest and busiest trial court.

Established in 1998 by the General Assembly as a pilot project, the Family Division is an innovative program in which legal, psychological and social services professionals assist litigants and their families in resolving domestic legal disputes in a coordinated, non-confrontational and expeditious manner.

The Judges of Family Division volunteer for the assignment and receive specialized training. Fulton County has actively supported the Court by funding the Family Division. The Supreme Court of Georgia made the Family Division permanent just days before its legislative mandate was to have expired on June 30, 2010.

“We appreciate the Supreme Court’s action, the County’s ongoing funding, and the support of the legal community for the efficient and effective resolution of family disputes,” said Chief Superior Court Judge Cynthia Wright, who previously served as a Family Division judge. “Our Bench has enthusiastically supported the Family Division and the Judges who serve the families of Fulton County.”

The Supreme Court order said the justices decided to permanently establish the program to “Provide a speedy, certain, comprehensive, non-adversarial approach to the judicial resolution of multiple family problems and disputes while more systematically and effectively addressing the interests of children and the family unit.”

“Few issues come before our courts that are more important than the stability of our families,” Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein said of the decision to make Fulton’s Georgia’s first permanent Family Division. “The swift resolution of matters such as divorce and child custody, adoption and domestic violence, safeguard our children’s well-being and society at large.

“The Fulton County Family Court has become a model for the state of Georgia,” Chief Justice Hunstein said.

Fulton’s Family Division was created to take into account the special nature of domestic legal issues. Among the innovations introduced to Georgia by the program:

• Family Law Information Center, providing free assistance to litigants, including legal consultations and forms for filing and responding to domestic legal actions,

• One Stop, an office that assists those seeking protection from domestic violence and stalking,

• Onsite Mediation, offered at no cost to litigants to resolve their legal issues,

• I-CAN! - the Interactive Community Assistance Network, is free, internet-based help to properly complete legal forms using client-provided answers to a series of questions presented by a video guide,

• On Site

paternity testing and
drug and alcohol testing,

• Seminars, including:

Free, monthly legal seminars and clinics
Families in Transition - a mandatory seminar in English and Spanish for parents or guardians engaged in litigation which involves the question of custody of a minor child or children and
Assisting Children in Transition for the children of divorcing families.

• One Family, One Judge concept, with all actions involving a family being heard by the same judge.

Family Division Chief Administrative Judge Gail S. Tusan was one of the first to volunteer for the Family Division. She, along with fellow Family Division Judges Bensonetta Tipton Lane and Tom Campbell, knows firsthand how important the service is to families who appear before the court.

“Our judges and staff are committed to helping Fulton’s families work through difficult transitions and access much needed services, said Judge Tusan. “In today’s dire economic times, the ability to afford counsel is even more challenging.

“The Family Division guarantees that every citizen with a family related issue will be heard,” Judge Tusan said.

The program is also very efficient. In 2009, the Family Division resolved 5,677 cases, provided 1,227 free attorney consultations, fielded 34,814 help requests, issued 2,021 temporary protective orders and held 41 Families in Transition and 27 Assisting Children in Transition seminars. At the end of the first quarter of 2010 the program was on track to top those numbers, according to court records.

The Family Division effort has been extended by volunteer activities such as the Domestic Violence Project, which operate a free assistance center located within the Court complex.

“Since its inception, AVLF has worked collaboratively with the Family Division to address the varied needs of families in transition,” said Jennifer Stolarski, director of the Domestic Violence Project.

“From the Guardian ad Litem program to the Mediation program to the Family Law Information Center to the One Stop and Safe Families Offices, we have seen the difference that the coordinated efforts of the Family Division can make for our clients and for individual families. The Family Division adds tremendous value to our community, and we look forward to our continued partnership.”

Jon W. Hedgepeth, chairman of the Atlanta Bar Association’s Family Law Section, said he hopes other county Superior Courts will emulate the Fulton Family Division.

“The Family Division is by far the most efficient and effective program in resolving family law issues,” Mr. Hedgepeth said. “It is my hope that other counties will realize the effectiveness of a division dedicated to family law and implement similar programs.”

For more information on the Family Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County, go to: http://www.fultoncourt.org/ and click on Family Division in the left column. To read the Supreme Court of Georgia order making the Family Division a permanent part of the Fulton Superior Court, go to: http://bit.ly/FultonFamilyDivision

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Just For Jurors

2010-06-28T10:24:00.000-04:00

Want to know more about jury service and why it’s so important to the working of the Justice System?
The Superior Court of Fulton County now has a newsletter for jurors to answer those and other questions.

Jury Matters contains profiles of judges, tips on how to make jury service more enjoyable, why serving on a jury is important and how to deal with having to set aside time for this important civic duty.

The current issue profiles the six Fulton County residents who comprise the Jury Commission, citizens appointed by the Chief Judge to six-year terms. The Jury Commission ensures that Fulton’s jury lists comprise a fair cross section of the county’s residents as required by the U.S. Constitution.

The Superior Court of Fulton County, with 20 elected judges and an ongoing caseload of some 30,000 cases, is Georgia’s largest and busiest trial court. The Court annually issues jury duty summons to nearly 100,000 Fulton residents, but has a goal of reducing that number by increasing the efficiency of its jury operation. The Court invites citizen feedback on how to do more with less.

Jury Matters can be downloaded from the Court’s webpage for jurors.

Go to www.fultoncourt.org/ and click on Jury Division in the left column.

Hearing in Election Petition Case on Wednesday

2010-06-23T15:29:00.000-04:00

A hearing in the Mary Norwood election petition case (10CV187251) will be held on Wednesday, June 30 at 9:30 a.m. before Superior Court of Fulton County Judge Jerry W. Baxter in Courtroom 4D, Fulton Justice Center Tower, 185 Central Ave., S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303.
Media should fax Rule 22 electronic coverage requests to 404-224-3748. For further media information contact, pio@fultoncourt.org.

Superior Court Reassigns Burglary Cases

2010-06-18T14:29:00.001-04:00

Responding to Citizen Concerns

ATLANTA -- Burglary charges in Fulton County will no longer be decided by Magistrate Judges, Fulton County’s Chief Judge announced Friday.

Citing concerns about the increasing incidence of burglary and its impact on communities Chief Judge Cynthia Wright said the Court’s elected Superior Court Judges will hear all burglary cases effective June 21, 2010.

“I and my fellow Judges have listened to input from our citizens and have taken their concerns to heart,” Judge Wright said. "We are making this change so that we can adequately review the charges, a defendant’s past criminal history, impose appropriate sentences and be held accountable by the public for the sentence imposed."

Up until this date, burglaries have been assigned to the Court’s Felony Fast-Track program. Begun in 2006, the Fast-Track is credited with reducing Fulton’s criminal case backlog of nonviolent, drug and property crime cases by 40 percent while giving the county’s elected Superior Court Judges more time to deal with murder and other violent crimes.

“The Felony Fast-Track program does an excellent job of processing nonviolent drug and minor property crime, but at this point the Court believes it more appropriate that burglary be removed from that program based on the increasing incidence of burglary and the increasing incidence of violent burglary,” Judge Wright said.

Judge Wright said Fast-Track and every other program and process of the Superior Court is and will continue to be under review to ensure that the Court functions efficiently and effectively and with greater accountability.

“Each time we attempt to improve our Court we understand that there will need to be adjustments to procedures,” Judge Wright said. “But our commitment is always to public safety, efficiency in court procedures and providing due process for all.”

Fulton Superior Court is Georgia’s largest and busiest trial court, with some 30,000 cases on its calendar.

The Fast-Track program is one of several innovations piloted by the Court. Others established in the past two decades include Georgia’s:

• First Family Court to speed decisions in divorce, custody and support actions to minimize the pain and dislocation associated with these proceedings.

• Most ambitious and effective Drug and Mental Health courts. Our programs address the most serious repeat offenders to maximize public safety by turning lawbreakers into taxpayers.

• Most efficient and effective pretrial release supervision program that saves taxpayer money while keeping defendants for reoffending.

In 2009, the Court began a backlog reduction project, funded by a $1.2 million federal grant to sort out 350 crimes-against-persons felony cases that were more than 1 year old.

This year, the Court developed a case management pilot project that seeks to maintain the reduction in cases by meeting or beating nation best practice timelines and benchmarks for processing felony cases that was recently agreed to by the Court, District Attorney, and Public Defender.

Fulton’s 19 Superior Court Judges preside over administrative appeals and civil, serious criminal, and domestic relations cases. And, since Fulton County includes Atlanta, the state’s capitol, Fulton Superior Court Judges hears all lawsuits involving state government units. The Fulton Superior Court Administrator manages Approximately 300 staff that operates the programs and services designed to provide the citizens of Fulton County with meaningful access to the judicial system.

Chief Judge Corrects The Record

2010-06-17T11:07:00.001-04:00

Thursday, 17 June 2010 08:55
By Don Plummer

On Wednesday Chief Judge Cynthia Wright corrected several mischaracterizations of the status of cases being heard by the Superior Court of Fulton County.

During an interview on WSB TV Chief Judge Wright said the recent dismissal of a murder case due to the length of time it had been pending was because of the specific facts in that case.

“The length of time a case is pending does not necessarily require dismissal because cases can grow old due to a variety of reasons, including incompetency to stand trial, appeals, motions and other case-related issues,” Chief Judge Wright said.

In fact, Judge Wright said, the Fulton Superior Court has continued to make significant progress in reducing the number of pending murder cases by completing 57 cases since January, leaving the Court with a total of 179 active murder cases.

Overall, felony caseloads have been reduced in the past four years, Judge Wright said.

One reason for the reduction: the Court instituted a Felony Fast-Track case-management program.

This joint effort of the Court, the Fulton District Attorney, and Fulton Public Defender deals with all nonviolent drug and property crimes – which comprise more than 70 percent of all felony indictments in Fulton - in nine weeks from arrest to conclusion. And, less than 1 percent of those cases require trial, further saving court time and tax dollars. Since Felony Fast-Track began in 2006, the court’s inventory of these type cases has been reduced by 40 percent.

A new pilot project agreed to by the DA and Public Defender will expand the rigid case management standards of Felony Fast-Track to new felony cases has been in development for several months, Wright said.

The case management plan was the result of a two-day seminar last fall organized by the Court and led by national case management experts. The seminar, attended by the Fulton County District Attorney, Fulton’s Public Defender, Superior Court Judges, Clerk of Court and members of their respective staffs, led to creation of the case management plan being implemented.

The plan will include 10 of the Court’s 20 judges and will operate under a memorandum of understanding agreed to by the District Attorney, Public Defender and other justice system partners. Under the expanded case standards plan murder and other serious violent felonies will be concluded within 48 weeks of indictment. All other crimes against persons felonies will be processed within 36 weeks of Indictment, Wright said.

The Fulton judicial system does face challenges due to a lack of funding that affects every agency, Wright said. A new unified computer system, a 10-year campaign that was approved this year, will go a long way toward streamlining the state’s largest judicial system, but more has to be done to bring the system up to the demands of civil and criminal cases, she said.

More money must be allocated for all justice agencies so they have adequate staff to process the large volume of civil and criminal cases in Fulton, she said.

The Superior Court must not focus exclusively on criminal cases because the Court has other Constitutionally mandated obligations to process civil cases, including domestic litigation involving families and children, Wright said.

Balancing those multiple responsibilities and increasing coordination with other justice agencies to achieve maximum efficiency is a goal that Wright has set for her two-year term as Chief Judge.

Clearing the Backlog

2010-06-11T11:22:00.000-04:00

Read about how our Court is innovating ways to improve access to justice and enhance public safety by resolving older cases.

________________________________________
Friday, June 11, 2010

Fulton clears 239 backlogged cases

Federally funded program helps save money and resolve cases that have been stalled for at least one year

By Greg Land, Staff Reporter

In a near-empty Fulton County courtroom, Northeastern Circuit Senior Judge John E. Girardeau listened attentively as Public Defender Richard W. Marks summed up his case: no 911 tapes, no "independent" witnesses—true, the assault victim had been photographed with bruises on her face, but she may have inflicted the injuries to herself in order to frame her boyfriend, to "pay him back" for cheating on her.

Rising to deliver his own closing remarks, Fulton County Assistant District Attorney David J. Studdard dismissed Marks' arguments as "preposterous" and expressed astonishment that his opponent could make them with a straight face.

Girardeau then issued his instructions to the jury, sending them out to deliberate as one more of the county's backlogged cases ground toward an end.

One of eight senior judges assigned to the Superior Court's Backlog Reduction Program, Girardeau had first become involved in State v. Stewart just two days earlier. Pretrial motions, plea negotiations and witness issues had all been ironed out earlier.

"When they say it's scheduled for trial week, you can count on it being ready for trial," said Girardeau, who took senior status in 2005.

"That's different from a judge handling a regular calendar, where there often other things that can cause delays," he said.

Since last September, the program has led to resolution of 239 complex felony cases that had left nearly 189 criminal defendants languishing in the Fulton County Jail for more than a year—often much longer than that, according to Fulton County Superior Court statistics.

Funded by $1.2 million in federal stimulus money, the program has churned through the backlog mainly through plea deals, with the toughest cases going to trial before designated teams of prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and support staff.

The cumulative total for the amount of time those defendants spent in jail before trial: 83,294 days, or more than 228 years, according to the court.

"These are people who have been sitting in jail at a cost of $72 a day," said Fulton County Superior Court Senior Judge Stephanie B. Manis, "while I understand it costs about $40 a day to keep them in state prison." She was citing data from Fulton County Sheriff Theodore "Ted" Jackson.

While saving the county taxpayers money by moving the cases is important, noted Manis, it's also important to resolve the cases in the interest of justice: There have been some not-guilty verdicts, and several of the cases—mostly those involving lower mandatory minimum sentences or lower-level felonies—have been dead-docketed.

Manis has been overseeing the program since its inception, and before that had been working on another backlog case project.

The cases, some of which involve defendants who have been jailed since 2006, fall into four categories:

•murder;

•mandatory plus, in which convictions on charges including aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, aggravated sodomy, kidnapping with bodily injury, kidnapping a victim under 14 years of age and rape are punishable by a mandatory minimum 25 years in prison;

•mandatory, in which convictions for armed robbery, hijacking, kidnapping, trafficking and offenses that require inclusion upon Georgia's sex offender registry are punishable by a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison; and

•other, which includes offenses such as aggravated assault and aggravated battery, punishable by one to 20 years in prison, and child molestation, punishable by five to 20 years, among others.

Manis said several factors contribute to these "tough to resolve" cases.

"I think you have a higher number of cases with defendants with mental health issues," she said. "There are a large number of crimes against women and children, and a larger number of cases with the high mandatory sentences."

As the General Assembly has steadily increased such sentences and the number of crimes to which they apply, she said, defendants are more likely to roll the dice on a jury trial than to accept a plea.

"With these 25- and 30-year sentences, there's much less advantage to someone going on the record and expressing remorse," she said. "We predict about 80 percent will go to trial."

Other reasons for the backlog involve cases with multiple defendants and attorneys, cases that are on appeal or those that have already resulted in a mistrial. But Manis said the most common reason cited for the dust-gathering cases is "court congestion."

Manis has drawn upon several years' worth of a court consultant's recommendations for criminal case management to put together her own informal bench book and recommendations for the lawyers, judges and staff who work the backlog cases.

She has so far relegated the actual trials to the other judges, busying herself with reviewing cases, hearing motions and conducting meetings, disposing of the cases she can and getting the others ready for trial so a judge can simply walk into court and begin voir dire.

"I talk to everybody," she said, telling the backlog defendants and the victims, "it's taking a long time, and we need move this case along."

The Georgia Legislature has slashed most state funding for senior judges, and Superior Court Administrator Judith Cramer credits officials in Fulton municipalities for letting some of their own federal funds be used for the project.

"It wouldn't have been possible without the chiefs of police, city managers and council members of the Fulton County cities," said Cramer, explaining that the funds came from a federal Justice Assistance Grant to the cities last year.

"The money was to be shared with law enforcement. I met with a group of [city officials] and asked if they'd give me some of their money," said Cramer.

While funds have been made available nationwide to hire more police officers, "judges, prosecutors, public defenders and clerks are often left out of the equation," she said. "But the more boots on the ground, the more arrests are made."

Cramer likened the resulting surge in arrests on already swollen criminal dockets to a snake eating a large animal.

"You've got this large lump moving through the snake, and what you've got is a snake with indigestion," she said.

With total funding of $1,235,493, the program pays for 20 positions, incuding two senior judges and a three-member staff; two senior prosecutors, two investigators and a legal assistant; three public defenders and a defense investigator; four staff members from the clerk of the Superior Court's office and two staff members from the Sheriff's Department.

The judges' duties rotate between Manis, Girardeau and Senior Fulton County Judges Isaac Jenrette and Elizabeth E. Long; Senior Cobb County Judge Michael Stoddard; and Senior DeKalb County Judges Robert P. Mallis and Anne Workman. Senior Cherokee Circuit Superior Court Judge Tom Pope was originally involved but has since withdrawn, said Manis.

The program was staffed and operational in September, and Cramer said that the funding is projected to run out about mid-December. After that, she's hoping the county, state and/or federal governments might be willing to help keep it alive.

The program gets high marks from those involved.

"One of the great things about the backlog program is that we're able to jump right on our clients' cases," said Marks, the public defender in the case before Girardeau who is one of three Fulton County public defenders assigned to the program.

The ability to have cases prepared by one judge then, if necessary, sent to another for trial enables quick handling, said Marks.

"Our job is to make sure that everything that has to be done is done," he said, "as opposed to just letting them just keep sitting on the shelf."

While the public defenders handle most of the cases, he said, "everything's on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, the original attorney on the case [whether assigned or private], will come to backlog and represent the defendant. In others, the original lawyer will pass his file to us. There's no bright-line rule."

The state has provided seasoned prosecutors, and the cases move as smoothly as can be expected, said Marks.

"No system is perfect," said Marks, "but [the program] does a great job, and the goals set out have been attained."

Prosecutor Studdard deferred comment to Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr., who lauded the program even as he repeated his own complaints about the handling of cases in the Superior Court.

"My assessment is that Judge Manis and the lawyers and the PDs have done an outstanding job," said Howard. "A lot of the credit goes to Judge Manis, who has single-handedly engineered this effort to reduce the backlog cases."

But Howard—who has seen a string of criminal cases fall apart when defendants sought speedy trial dismissals, often in cases in which multiple judges have been assigned a case as the years tick by—said there still need to be courtwide standards for handling cases.

Howard acknowledges that the court has adopted several innovations that have streamlined case-flow to some extent, including specialty courts designed to weed out defendants who have drug and mental health issues; a fast-track program to move lower-level drug and property crime cases swiftly; and a recent pilot program to create separate criminal and civil divisions in the Superior Court.

"This is the fourth backlog effort we have been involved in," said Howard. "Even though this is successful, the number of people in the backlog cases and the number of people in jail remains relatively the same."

Howard called for "an organizational change that will affect the superior, state and magistrate courts, all attacking the same priorities: the numbers of people in jail and awaiting trial.

"Second," he said, "all of the cases in our superior court system should be tried within a certain number of days."

While the criminal justice system in Fulton does suffer from a lack of sufficient resources, he said, "I regard those questions about resources being anecdotal. Unless there is an organizational approach, there will not be overall change. Activity is not the same as achievement."

Cramer, who recently announced she would leave her post, said that one of the goals of the project is to set precisely such goals and caseload standards, which can then be adopted by the entire Fulton County bench.

"The problem now is setting up the system so it doesn't happen again," she said. "We want to develop standards relating to case management. We already have standards for fast-track felonies, but it's much more difficult for the complex cases."

Even so, she noted, there are 19—soon to be 20—elected judges on the Superior Court bench, and "as in any legal culture, there will be specific areas of concern," she said.

"And we simply do not have enough judges, DAs or PDs," she said. "It's a good program, but it won't solve the problem. We have 19 judges now; we need 32 just to do the job."

Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Cynthia D. Wright said the court has requested $140,000 in additional funds from the county to continue the program. The request was among several from the county's justice system that were removed from the Fulton County Commission's June 2 agenda; according to Fulton County Superior Court spokesman Don Plummer, it will again be on the agenda for the June 16 meeting.

"We continue to explore other possible avenues for continued funding of the backlog," said Wright via an e-mail.

Howard said he, too, is hoping to keep the program alive.

Lengthy delays are "unfair for defendants, and even more unfair for victims," he said.

More Ways to Keep Up with Fulton Superior Court

2010-06-10T10:50:00.000-04:00

The Superior Court of Fulton County is expanding its ability to communicate with the world.

In addition to the Court's public website, the Court now has both Facebook and Twitter pages that include the latest Court news and access to photos, videos and updates to events and court cases.

The addition of social media tools expands the Court's ability to connect with constituents ranging from Fulton County residents to the wider audience of attorneys and others who conduct business with the Court. They are also a great way for citizens to learn how the Court provides efficient administration of justice for all.

And for those intimidated by social media the Court remains accessible by mail, telephone and email. The contact page on the court's website provides information about these three easy ways for anyone at any location in the world to contact the court and receive direct replies to their questions and concerns.

Speak Out: Let Fulton Commissioners Know You Support Safer Communities

2010-05-26T12:54:00.000-04:00

Your comments are sought on the Fulton County 2010 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Proposal.

Deadline is 5:00 p.m., Monday, May 31st, 2010

Fulton County residents are invited to comment on a grant application that will help Fulton pay for activities that prevent and control crime.

Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. is the deadline to submit comments on the Fulton County 2009 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program proposal. JAG helps governments thwart crime by funding local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice.

It is anticipated that this grant application will be placed on the Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 Board of Commissioners Recess Meeting Agenda.

Fulton County is required by the U.S. Department of Justice-Office of Justice Programs to solicit citizen comments on the JAG proposed projects.

Copies of the complete JAG application, which has details, are at the Fulton County Department of Finance, 141 Pryor Street, S.W., Suite 7001, Atlanta, GA, 30303

Comments must be sent online or in writing to the attention of Joe Trachtenberg Grants Development Manager, Fulton County,mailto:joe.trachtenberg@fultoncountga.gov This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by mail to the above-listed address.

Bridge over Pryor Street Reopens

2010-05-17T11:21:00.000-04:00

The Gordon Joyner Bridge connecting the Fulton County Courts complex with the Fulton Government headquarters reopened Monday, May 17, 2010.
The bridge had been closed for upgrades.
Fulton County employees and contractors are reminded that they must display their official identification badges at all times while entering and within the Courts complex, said Sheriff's Lt. Col. Michael Wilson.
Security officers and Sheriff's deputies at the bridge will wand all entering the Courts complex, Lt. Col. Wilson said.
Mail deliveries cannot be made to the Courts complex via the bridge, according to Lt. Col. Wilson. Also, law enforcement personnel carrying firearms must enter the Courts complex through either the 136 Pryor Street or 185 Central Avenue entrances where firearms storage is available, he said.

Fulton Accountability Courts Mark National Observance

2010-05-12T09:20:00.007-04:00

MEDIA ALERT

May is National Accountability Court Month and the Fulton County Drug and Mental Health Courts are hosting events to highlight the importance of these courts to public safety.

The theme for the month, “All Rise: Putting Drug Court Within Reach of Every Person in Need” recognizes the need to establish accountability courts to address the problems of each of the 1.2 million Americans who appear before the courts each year with serious substance abuse and mental health issues.

Simply put, research has shown that accountability courts work. They are effective alternatives to repeated offenses by persons with addictions and mental illness and produce citizens who pay taxes, support their families and live drug-free lives.

Fulton's Drug and Mental Health Courts invite your coverage of the following events:

Friday, May 21

Fulton County Accountability Courts Picnic
Welcome All Park
College Park, GA

Wednesday, May 26

Fulton County Accountability Courts Family Day
Hope Hall
1135-A Jefferson St.
Atlanta, GA

For times and other coverage information, email PIO@FultonCourt.org

Law Day Benefits Citizens - Like You!

2010-05-11T11:01:00.017-04:00

For the past five years as part of the celebration of Law Day, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation in conjunction with the Atlanta Bar Association has held a Healthcare Directives fair. The venue is chosen by the Atlanta Bar and AVLF provides the volunteers. Healthcare Directives are provided to the general public and any interested staff members of the chosen venue.

For Law Day 2010 the event was held at the Fulton County Government Center Atrium. Six volunteer attorneys and 14 paralegals executed 49 Healthcare Directives and provided information for 17 potential Wills clients.

Law Day 2010 in Atlanta also included a fun day in Piedmont Park, special programs for Fulton County State and Superior Court jurors, greeters at the Fulton Court Complex, and a reception for the outgoing and incoming Fulton Superior Court Chief Judges.

For more information on the programs and services of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation visit their website at: http://www.avlf.org/.

Upcoming Law Day events include:

May 22

Community Law Clinic

In celebration of Law Day, the Gate City Bar Association will host its first Community Law Clinic 2010 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Greenbriar Mall. This clinic will provide an opportunity for lawyers, and other legal professionals, to participate in a hands-on project interfacing with the community. Citizens will have the opportunity to have a one-on-one consultation with an attorney in the following practice areas: Bankruptcy, Foreclosures, Family Law and Criminal Law. Additionally, there will be on-going seminars throughout the day for the public on bankruptcy and foreclosures.

For more information call (404) 419-6627 or www.gatecitybar.org

May 23

2010 Law Day Worship Service

Legal Ministry of Cascade United Methodist Church in partnership with the Gate City Bar Association, Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, and Judicial Section of the Gate City Bar Association, Sunday, May 23, 2010, 11:00 am, Cascade United Methodist Church, 3144 Cascade Road, SW, Atlanta, GA 30311. Speaker: The Hon. Paul L. Howard, Jr., Fulton County District Attorney. Free and open to the public.

Fulton Superior Court Administrator Resigns

2010-05-05T16:54:00.001-04:00

ATLANTA – Judith A. Cramer announced her resignation as administrator of the Superior Court of Fulton County. Ms. Cramer, who has held the position since 1997, said Wednesday that she will remain as administrator until a successor is named.

Ms. Cramer’s announcement came the same day that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted for a new unified justice system computer system, a project that Ms. Cramer and other court officials had sought for most of the past decade.

The decision to leave, however, had been in the making for some time, Ms. Cramer said.

“This is a decision that I had been struggling with for nearly a year,” Ms. Cramer said. Ms. Cramer, who last year earned a Master of Divinity degree from United Theological Seminary, said she will be seeking a position as a pastor in the United Methodist Church.

Chief Superior Court Judge Cynthia D. Wright praised Ms. Cramer’s devotion to the Court.

“Judy has invested countless hours to help this Court create new programs and obtain the technology necessary to serve our citizens,” Chief Judge Wright said. “I am particularly happy that one of the initiatives she has labored for over the last 10 years is now just a few steps away from becoming a reality after today’s Board of Commissioners’ vote.”

“We wish Ms. Cramer success in her new ventures and thank her from the bottom of our hearts for her tireless efforts,” Chief Judge Wright said.

Ms. Cramer began her court career at the local Common Pleas Court in Montgomery County, Ohio, where she was asked to develop and direct a 12-County correctional institution for adult male and felony offenders. In 1982, she became the Court Administrator for the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas where she served until 1993. After operating a successful Weed and Seed crime reduction program in Tampa, Fl., Ms. Cramer joined the Fulton Superior Court as court administrator in 1997.

Ms. Cramer was instrumental in establishing and managing a number of innovative programs at the Fulton Superior Court that streamline and enhance the administration of criminal and civil cases.

The court was the first in Georgia to have fulltime Family Court judges who hear divorces and other family law matters so they are not delayed by criminal cases. The Court also operates Georgia’s largest and most ambitious Drug and Mental Health Court programs which greatly reduce the incident of repeat crimes by defendants.

The Fulton Superior Court Business Division, which was recognized in 2009 as the most innovative business court in the nation by the National Association of County Executives, is credited with enhancing Atlanta’s position as a business hub in the Southeast.

###

Benefit from upcoming Law Day events

2010-04-21T15:20:00.002-04:00

As we begin the second decade of the twenty-first century, the law is changing dramatically as it seeks to shape and adapt to new conditions.
Law Day 2010 provides us with an opportunity to understand and appreciate the emerging challenges and enduring traditions of law in the 21st century.

The Judges and staff of the Superior Court of Fulton County invite you to participate in and benefit from Law Day 2010 programs scheduled throughout our community.

April 26, 27 & 28

Welcome to Court!

Greeters at each entrance of the Fulton County Courthouse complex welcome visitors plus special programs for jurors

April 27

Free Advance Directives for Healthcare

Volunteer attorneys & paralegals provide free assistance in creating Advance Directives, Fulton Government Center Atrium, 141 Pryor St., 9 a.m. – 3 pm

May 1

Law Day Legal Clinic and Workshop

World Changers Church International, 2500 Burdett Road, College Park, 11:30 am – 4 pm. Phone: 770-210-5700

May 22

Community Law Clinic

In celebration of Law Day, the Gate City Bar Association will host its first Community Law Clinic 2010 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Greenbriar Mall. This clinic will provide an opportunity for lawyers, and other legal professionals, to participate in a hands-on project interfacing with the community. Citizens will have the opportunity to have a one-on-one consultation with an attorney in the following practice areas: Bankruptcy, Foreclosures, Family Law and Criminal Law. Additionally, there will be on-going seminars throughout the day for the public on bankruptcy and foreclosures.

For more information call (404) 419-6627 or www.gatecitybar.org

May 23

2010 Law Day Worship Service

Legal Ministry of Cascade United Methodist Church in partnership with the Gate City Bar Association, Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, and Judicial Section of the Gate City Bar Association, Sunday, May 23, 2010, 11:00 am, Cascade United Methodist Church, 3144 Cascade Road, SW, Atlanta, GA 30311. Speaker: The Hon. Paul L. Howard, Jr., Fulton County District Attorney. Free and open to the public.

Alert: Major Public Event to Close Streets Near Court

2010-04-14T14:03:00.000-04:00

An event scheduled for Thursday, April 15, 2010 from 2:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. at the Georgia State Capitol is expected to draw a large group of pedestrians. The Atlanta Police Department plans to close the following streets near the Court Complex from 12:00 noon until 10 p.m.

1) Washington Street from Mitchell Street to Trinity Avenue

2) Capitol Square from Washington Street to Capitol Avenue

3) M.L. King Jr. Drive from Piedmont Avenue to Central Avenue

4) Courtland Street from Gilmer Street to M.L. King Jr. Drive

5) Mitchell Street from Central Avenue to Washington Street

6) The west bound lane of Gilmer Street from Piedmont Avenue to Courtland Street

The Court Complex will NOT be closed Thursday, but those who must conduct business at the Complex are urged to allow extra time for transit to and from the area.

Judge Wright recognized for Dispute Resolution efforts

2010-04-13T14:09:00.000-04:00

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Cynthia D. Wright was recently recognized by the Georgia Supreme Court Resolution for her six years of service on the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution.

Supreme Court Justice Hugh P. Thompson presented Judge Wright the Resolution at her final Commission meeting on April 8.

Judge Wright, who becomes Chief Judge of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit as of May 1, 2010, was appointed by the Supreme Court in 2004 to serve a six-year term on the Commission.

She served as Chair of the Commission’s Committee on Ethics from 2006 to 2009 and was Chair of the Commission’s Committee on Budget and Personnel from 2009 to 2010, where she fought for the fiscal future of the Commission and the Office of Dispute Resolution through the most difficult budgetary times it has faced in its 17- year history.

Judge Wright has been a steadfast champion of a court-connected alternative dispute resolution system that offers litigants effective, low-cost alternatives to litigation and that helps fulfill a Constitutional mandate to “provide for the speedy, efficient, and inexpensive resolution of disputes and prosecutions,” according to the resolution by the Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Judge Wright was appointed to the Atlanta Judicial Circuit by Governor Zell Miller in 1996, and was most recently reelected in 2006. Since 1998 she has served almost exclusively in the Family Division of the Fulton County Superior Court. She has also served as judge of the State Court of Fulton County.

Judge Wright graduated magna cum laude from Macon’s Wesleyan College in 1974 and earned her J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1977. She served as assistant legal counsel to Governor George Busbee from1978 to 1980. After private practice, she served as chief legal counsel to Governor Zell Miller from 1991 to 1995, during which time she authored the legislation and constitutional amendment that established the Lottery for Education.

Lawdragon, a guide to the nation’s best lawyers and judges, selected Judge Wright as one of the 500 Leading Judges in America. In 2000 the Family Law Section of State Bar of Georgia awarded Judge Wright the Joseph T. Tuggle, Jr. Professionalism Award. In 2006 the Family Law Section also presented her the Jack P. Turner Award for her outstanding contributions and achievement in family law in Georgia. The Atlanta Family Law Bar most recently honored her for her tenure in the Family Division.

Among her many community activities, Judge Wright serves on the board of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, and she is a frequent lecturer at family and other continuing legal and judicial education seminars. She has served as an adjunct professor at Emory University and is herself a student at the University of the South working toward her second Education for Ministry Diploma.

Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution

The Commission on Dispute Resolution is the sole state authority that oversees the quality and quantity of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services such as mediation and arbitration offered through the courts. The primary goals of the Commission are to save taxpayers money by reducing the need for more judges and more courtrooms; to enable the efficient use of judicial resources by reducing the need for trials; and to offer litigants inexpensive and productive alternatives to trying their cases before juries and judges.

Working through its staff in the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, the Commission regulates a court ADR system has grown from three counties in 1992 to 121 counties today. Since 1997, 137,000 court cases have settled through ADR. In FY08 alone, an estimated 20,000 cases were settled through court ADR, at a taxpayer savings of more than $6.4 million a year in salaries for the 17 judges and their staffs that would otherwise be needed to handle those cases.

The Commission comprises 16 judges, attorneys, and dispute resolution professionals who serve without compensation.

After Judge Wright’s departure, the current Commission members are:

Edith Primm, Esq., (Chair), Justice Center of Atlanta;

Justice Hugh P. Thompson, Georgia Supreme Court;

Judge Charles E. Auslander III, Magistrate Court of Athens/Clarke County;

Judge Debra Bernes, Georgia Court of Appeals;

Laurence L. Christensen, Esq., Georgia Mediation Services, Marietta;

Judge Edward E. Carriere, DeKalb County State Court, Decatur;

Bryan Cavan, Esq., State Bar of Georgia, Miller & Martin, PLLC, Atlanta;

Wade H. Coleman, Esq., Coleman Talley, LLP, Valdosta;

Sen. William S. Cowsert, Esq., Cowsert & Avery, Athens;

Judge C. Andrew Fuller, Northeastern Judicial Circuit, Gainesville;

Alan Granath, mediator, Atlanta;

Melissa C. Heard, mediator, trainer, Dallas, Ga.;

Dale Hetzler, Esq., Erlanger Health System, Chattanooga, Tenn.;

Martha Kitchens, mediator, Douglasville;

Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet, Augusta Judicial Circuit, Augusta

Celebrate Law Day 2010 at Piedmont Park

2010-03-30T14:59:00.001-04:00

Bring the family and join the fun at Piedmont Park on Saturday, April 10 as the annual Law Day public celebration kicks off with a 5K race, followed by music, art, food and an all-American good time at the park.

The day begins with the 10th annual Legal Runaround, a 5K race, walk and tot trot benefiting the Atlanta Bar Foundation. Pets and strollers welcome. Registration begins at 7:30a.m. Preregistration is $15 if received by April 8. $20 if received after April 8. For registration information, call 404-832-6210 or email saponte@atlantabar.org.

After the race relax at the park’s Main Pavilion. Enjoy music, a kid’s art contest, snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy and other treats. Tour law-related booths and get a close-up look at equipment exhibits by the Atlanta Police Department and other public safety agencies.

In addition to cool give-a-ways, Fulton Emergency Management will have a 9-1-1 simulator of their actual computer-aided dispatch equipment, a display board with important tips about dialing 9-1-1 and a safety video.

And don’t miss the highlight of Law Day: recognition of outstanding public safety officers and court employees, including the Liberty Bell Award, Fulton County Court Employee of the Year, Peace Officer of the Year and prizes for the winners of the kid’s art contest.

Law Day has been observed since 1950 as an opportunity for all Americans to reflect on the rule of law and the foundations of our legal system. It’s a time to celebrate the rich history of our judicial system and a time to consider its future in this rapidly changing world.

Law Day 2010 is sponsored by: The Fulton County Courts, The Atlanta Bar Foundation, The Atlanta Police Department, The Multi-Bar Leadership Council, King & Spalding, Weinstock and Scavo, P.C., ALSTON + BIRD, LLP, FELLOWS LaBRIOLA, Hawkins & Parnell, LLP.

Law Day 2010

Who: Everyone is welcome

What: A Public Celebration of Law Day 2010

Where: Work Progress Administration (WPA) Picnic Shelter, Piedmont Park

When: 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Why: Because each of us benefits from a nation ruled by law

Directions to the WPA Picnic Shelter: http://www.piedmontpark.org/do/picnic.html

Click on the map to locate the shelter within the park.

Mental Health Professional Named to Head Fulton Drug Court

2010-02-24T13:34:00.001-05:00

For Immediate Release
ATLANTA – The Superior Court of Fulton County has selected an experienced mental health clinician and manager as Drug Court Director.

Kevin D. Larry, who has more than 20 years experience in the mental health field, was selected following an extensive search.

The Superior Court’s Drug and Mental Health accountability courts together supervise more than 400 felony offenders with addiction and mental health problems. These accountability courts are credited by police with drastically reducing their charges’ incidence of repeat offenses and increasing the quality of life and safety of Fulton communities.

Mr. Larry comes to the Drug Court from the Fulton County Mental Health Department where he was the manager of The Fulton County Center for Health and Rehabilitation programs since 2007. He will begin his new assignment on March 3, 2010.

Previously, Mr. Larry worked as a psychiatric social worker at Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Medical Center; as a behavioral manager at HealthPlus of Michigan; a therapist at the Mott Children’s Health Center in Flint Michigan; and a transplant social worker at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan.

Mr. Larry obtained a bachelor’s degree at Eastern Michigan University and a master’s degree in Social Work at Wayne State University in Detroit. He also has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

The Superior Court of Fulton County is one of the top-performing urban courts in America. Our innovative programs, nationally recognized best practices and excellent judges and staff reflect our commitment to ensuring that all find justice in our court.

For additional information about our court, please visit our Web site at http://www.fultoncourt.org/.

No program reductions despite $1 million cut

2010-02-22T15:51:00.000-05:00

The judges of the Superior Court of Fulton County have approved a final budget for 2010 that is $984,090 less than 2009 expenditures. The $24.3 million 2010 Superior Court budget does not include reductions in Court progerams, nor staff layoffs, said Court Administrator Judy Cramer.
"We will be tightening our belts throughout the courthouse," Ms. Cramer said. "But due to the excellent work of our business office we will not lose any employees."
Among the cost-saving measures employed to reduce this year's budget are not filling open positions and postponing the hiring of the support staff for the Court's 20th judge named in November by Gov. Perdue. Other savings in operating costs include savings on postage for juror summons, calling fewer prospective jurors, and tighter purchasing controls.
But the most important actions were those taken to avoid massive cuts that threatened to cripple the county's judicial system.
In November Fulton County officials notified the Superior Court that its 2010 budget would be reduced by $5.2 million from the 2009 budget of $24.5 million. Chief Judge Doris L. Downs said such a drastic cut would threaten public safety.
Her warning, echoed by Fulton District Attorney Paul Howard and other elected judicial officials, set off a public outcry aganst such cuts at subsequent Fulton Commission meetings that steadily mounted until Jan. 20 when Fulton Commissioners approved a Court budget that is approximately $1 million less than the prior year.
"While we were cut almost $1 million from last year after having five positions eliminated at mid-year 2009, we have adjusted and will continue to provide good public service," Cramer said in announcing the cuts to staff.
"Thanks to all of you for your patience and support during the period of budget uncertainty we experienced in 2009."

Thank You!

2010-02-18T16:21:00.000-05:00

Thank you to the hundreds who signed the Court’s petition to save the Fulton Justice System and to those who stood before the Fulton County Commission to urge full funding of vital public safety and judicial services.
On Wednesday Jan. 20, 2010 Fulton Commissioners reinstated $1.3 million to Justice System agencies and court programs.
Among the funds restored to the 2010 budget on Wednesday is $150,000.00 for Drug Court, $800,000.00 to Pretrial Services for State and Superior Courts and $426,000.00 for the Circuit Public Defender’s office.
While there are cuts to the 2010 Justice System budget they are much less than what they would have if each of you had not added your voice to those who stood up for programs that make Fulton a safer county.

Doris L. Downs

Chief Judge

Superior Court of Fulton County

Fulton Superior Court Judge Westmoreland Moves to Business Court

2010-01-26T17:29:00.004-05:00

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

2010-01-20T19:38:00.000-05:00

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

2010-01-08T14:53:00.009-05:00

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

2010-01-08T12:05:00.002-05:00

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

2010-01-05T11:55:00.000-05:00

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

2010-01-05T10:59:00.002-05:00

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

Keep The Courts Open

2009-12-17T15:58:00.002-05:00

Funding cuts threaten public safety and access to the courts for businesses, families and children

Keep The Courts Open: Protect public safety for Fulton County Georgia residents and businesses who use our courts!
Sign the petition: http://bit.ly/KeepCourtsOpen

Justice Plan Would Slash Jail Population

2009-12-15T15:04:00.000-05:00

Faster Case Processing Key to 54 Percent Reduction

ATLANTA – The Chief Judge of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit has proposed that Fulton County Commissioners approve a cost-saving plan that would greatly reduce the population of the overcrowded Fulton County Jail.

“Our strategy is to dramatically reduce the jail population from 2606 (outsourcing and main jail population) to 1200 by July 1st of 2010,” Chief Superior Court Judge Doris L. Downs wrote in an email sent Tuesday to Fulton Commissioners.

The Fulton County Jail, which is under federal court order to reduce the jail’s population to some 2200, is the largest single item in the Fulton County Justice System budget. Each day an inmate is held at the jail costs the county a minimum of $72. The county also must pay to house excess inmates above the court-ordered maximum in other Georgia jails.

Fulton justice system officials were notified on Nov. 18 that their portion of the county’s 2010 budget, which begins Jan. 1, would have to be cut by 25 percent or some $55 million. Chief Judge Downs and Fulton County District Attorney Paul L Howard Jr. and other justice system officials responded by saying that absorbing cuts of that magnitude would devastate each agency individually and have unacceptable systemic repercussions.

On Dec. 9, County budget officials returned with a proposal that the criminal justice system be cut by 11.7% or $25.4 million. Meeting almost daily since then justice system officials fashioned a plan that Judge Downs said will meet the county’s goal, if the justice system is allowed to retain current funding levels.

“We are proposing expediting the processing of the criminal cases in the next 6 months so that the jail population is reduced to 1200 inmates by July 1st of 2010. We believe that this goal is attainable but only if we are able to retain our employees and re-engineer the way we work together,” she wrote. “In short, we are prepared to run a marathon to achieve the savings needed through the jail budget. This is the only way we see to achieve savings without crippling our justice system. We cannot run the marathon without our legs---our employees!”

Fulton Commissioners are expected to consider the justice system proposal at a 10 a.m. Wednesday meeting.

Following is the full text of Chief Judge Down’s letter to Commissioners and the justice system’s jail reduction strategy:

As the Administrative Judge of this State's Fifth Judicial District as well as the Chief Judge of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, I am proposing on behalf of the Fulton County Justice System that we be allowed to present a plan for achieving the budget cuts required of our justice system. Our plan is attached. Our strategy is to dramatically reduce the jail population from 2606 (outsourcing and main jail population) to 1200 by July 1st of 2010.

We are aware that Fulton County is facing a serious budget shortfall. At present, it is my understanding that all County budgets are facing a cut of approximately 1.7% consisting of the unpaid holidays for all employees in 2010. At present, the justice system partners have been asked to cut an additional 10% from their budgets.

The Clerk of the Superior Court will have to eliminate 33 temporary positions and 18 permanent positions ($1.5 million). The District Attorney will have to eliminate 20 temporary positions and 30 permanent positions OR take 48 furlough days (one day each week) which amounts to a 25% pay cut for all DA employees. ($2.2 million) The Public Defender will have to eliminate 15 positions ($1.57 million).The Superior Court will have to eliminate at least 15 employees and as of yet an undetermined number of additional layoffs. We will lose employees in programs that save the county money such as Pretrial, Drug Court, Mental Health Court ($2.475 million).

As you are aware each of the justice agencies are closely connected in that an impact on any one of our budgets impacts our ability as a whole to move the business. We are truly all part of the same pipeline with no control over the numbers of cases coming in. If the 10 percent cuts are taken from each budget in January of 2010, our ability to process the criminal, domestic and civil cases will be significantly affected. This will no doubt result in a sharp increase in the jail population and a sharp increase in costs to the taxpayer. This will certainly not achieve the savings that are needed in the coming year's budget.

We have been meeting non-stop since we learned of the budget shortfall in order to present a plan that will save the county significant money without dismantling our justice system. We are proposing expediting the processing of the criminal cases in the next 6 months so that the jail population is reduced to 1200 inmates by July 1st of 2010. We believe that this goal is attainable but only if we are able to retain our employees and re-engineer the way we work together. If we are forced to eliminate critical employees, the cost to the County will increase with the resulting increase in the jail population.

In short, we are prepared to run a marathon to achieve the savings needed through the jail budget. This is the only way we see to achieve savings without crippling our justice system. We cannot run the marathon without our legs---our employees! Please carefully consider our proposal. We are continuing to meet to improve the proposal. All of us are available if you should have any questions.

Jail Reduction Strategy Guiding Principles

 The Fulton County Jail, when built, was widely criticized as being too small for the Fulton County criminal population.

 Overcrowding at the jail has led to several lawsuits including the current consent decree.

 The inability of the system to dispose of cases has exacerbated the jail overcrowding problem.

 The Justice Management Institute, a leading criminal justice system consultant, identified as one of the key elements to lasting system improvement, the need to set goals regarding the Fulton County jail population and composition.

 On November 18, 2009, the Fulton County Budget Commission announced that for FY2010 it was expected that current expenditures would drastically exceed expected revenue (-$146 million) requiring an across-the-board 25% reduction in county budgets.

 Collectively, the Criminal Justice System was asked to reduce budgetary expenditures by $55 million — translating to 980 positions.

 Absorbing cuts of this magnitude would devastate each department individually and have systemic repercussions.

 Through exploring other cost-saving mechanisms, the Budget Commission announced on December 9, 2009, the criminal justice system portion of budget reductions would amount to 11.7% or $25.4 million.

 This current financial crisis has inspired a willingness among all Fulton County criminal justice agencies to identify systemic ways to save money without adversely impacting individual departments and the criminal justice system.

 What follows are the Fulton County Criminal Justice System cost-saving recommendations and strategies.

Jail Reduction Strategy

 Remove inmates convicted of state crimes from the Fulton County Jail after a maximum period of ten (10) days.

 Eliminate the outsourcing of inmates by February 1, 2010 (savings of $8 million).

 Establish jail case processing standards such that each category of inmate has a time frame for housing which cannot be exceeded (see Case Processing Standards).

 Implement a Temporary Emergency Court to reduce the jail population by 1,300 inmates by July 1, 2010 (savings of $15 million through food/health contracts and the elimination of vacant positions).

 Support the acquisition of the City of Atlanta Jail so that the facility can be used as the initial screening location for defendants and a portion of the facility can be used to create a restitution center where all low-risk Fulton County Jail inmates could be transferred.

 Establish a multi-departmental jail reduction team to work with the Sheriff’s staff to monitor the jail population on a daily basis in order to maintain the jail population at 1,200 inmates.

 Failure to reduce the jail population as outlined will result in a 10% across-the-board budget reduction for all Fulton County criminal justice agencies beginning July 1, 2010.

Jail Case Processing Standards

 Death penalty – 2 years

 Maximum Complex Felony Cases – 365 days

 Medium Complex Felony Cases – 280 days

 Mildly Complex Felony Cases – 120 days

 Non Complex Felony Cases – 60 days

 Misdemeanor Maximum Complex Violent Cases – 60 days

 Misdemeanor Medium Complex Cases – 30 days

 All other Misdemeanor cases – 48 hours

Fulton County Criminal Justice Agencies

Doris (Dee) Downs
Chief Judge, Superior Court

Ted Jackson
Sheriff, Fulton County

Cathelene “Tina” Robinson
Clerk, Superior Court

Paul L. Howard, Jr.
District Attorney

Vernon Pitts
Public Defender

Albert Thompson
Chief Judge, State Court

###

Think This Can't Happen?

2009-12-11T16:46:00.002-05:00

The Fulton County Justice System is under enormous stress to process tens of thousands of criminal and civil cases with its current employees and judges.
Criminal prosecutions and civil litigation will be delayed even further if hundreds of Justice System employees and staff are laid off as a result of further budget cuts.
The county’s latest budget proposal calls for 10 percent across the board cuts in addition to prior reductions in state and county support for the Justice System. But that approach just doesn’t add up.

Here are some examples that show reducing or eliminating court programs that safely remove defendants from the overcrowded Fulton Jail will only add to the budget:

Jailing pretrial defendants: Daily Cost - $72 x 1,300 = $93,600.
Supervised pretrial release: Daily Cost - $5 x 1,300 = $ 6,500.
Daily saving:                                                          $87,100.

Jailing pretrial defendants: Daily Cost - $72 x 500 = $36,000.
Drug/Mental Health Court: Daily Cost - $23 x    500 = $11,500.
Daily saving:                                                           $24,500.

What You Can Do:

Read the Fulton Justice leaders’ “Resolution to Declare an Economic State of Emergency” at http://bit.ly/JusticeEmergency.

Voice your opinion.

Thank the members of the Fulton County Commissioners for serving our community in these difficult times.

Ask Fulton Commissioners not to jeopardize your access to the courts in civil matters nor the efficient handling of criminal prosecutions by taking necessary resources and financial support from our justice system.

Demand that Commissioners vote to ensure the safety and welfare of Fulton County residents by not imposing further budget cuts on the Fulton County Justice System.

How?

Contact Fulton Commissioners directly:

Chairman John H. Eaves 404-612-8206 john.eaves@fultoncountyga.gov District 1 (At Large)

Robb Pitts 404-612-8210 robb.pitts@fultoncountyga.gov District 2 (At Large)

Lynne Riley 404-612-8213 lynne.riley@fultoncountyga.gov District 3

Tom Lowe 404-612-8218 tom.lowe@fultoncountyga.gov District 4

Emma L. Darnell 404-612-8222 Emma.Darnell@fultoncountyga.gov District 5

Nancy A. Boxill 404-612-8226 district6@fultoncountyga.gov District 6

Vice Chair Bill Edwards 404-612-8230 William.Edwards@fultoncountyga.gov District 7

Attend and speak during the public comment period at the next Commission meeting Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009 at 10 a.m. at 141 Pryor St. S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303.

Fulton County Juvenile Court Associate Judge Bradley Boyd to be Sworn in as Presiding Judge

2009-12-02T10:07:00.002-05:00

Fulton County Juvenile Court Associate Judge Bradley Boyd will be sworn-in as the Presiding Judge at 2 p.m. on Friday, December 4, 2009, in Assembly Hall at the Fulton County Government Center located at 141 Pryor Street in Atlanta.

Superior Court Chief Judge Doris L. Downs will administer the oath of office to Boyd.

Boyd has served as an Associate Judge for Fulton County Juvenile Court since 2006. He is a native of Holmes County in Ohio. Boyd graduated from Goshen College in Goshen, IN., attended Indiana State University’s graduate school and graduated from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law.

Boyd’s experience with juvenile court issues is extensive. His work history includes service as Director of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Project. Boyd also performed in numerous past roles for the Fulton County Juvenile Court, including probation officer, intake attorney, referee, child advocate, Chief Probation Officer and Director of Management Planning.

In 1993, he joined the office of the Fulton County District Attorney as Senior Assistant District Attorney in Juvenile Court. Before becoming an Associate Judge, Boyd served as Deputy Director for the Juvenile Court Division of the office of the Fulton County Conflict Defender.

Boyd replaces Presiding Judge Sanford Jones who died in a May 15, 2009, plane crash.

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Fulton Superior Court Elects Chief Judge

2009-11-23T15:17:00.004-05:00

Judge Cynthia D. Wright has been elected Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County. She will assume office in May 2010 following a transition period during which she will work closely with current Chief Judge Doris L. Downs.

Judge Wright has been a Superior Court Judge since 1996. She is currently one of three Family Court judges who hear all domestic litigation filed in Fulton Superior Court, Georgia’s largest trial court.

Judge Wright said her priorities as Chief Judge will include working with the Fulton Board of Commissioners and the State Legislature “as we address the pressing fiscal needs of the County and the State and to develop a better working relationship with all of our Fulton Justice System Partners.”

“If we join hands with each other we can’t point fingers,” Judge Wright said.

The Fulton Superior Court’s Chief Judge chairs meetings of the Court’s judges and is in charge of all administrative functions. The Chief Judge also represents the Court on the 24-member Judicial Council of Georgia, the state-level judicial agency charged with developing policies for administering and improving the courts.

Lawdragon, a guide to the nation’s best lawyers and judges, selected Judge Wright as one of the 500 Leading Judges in America. The Family Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia presented the 2006 Jack P. Turner Award to Judge Wright for her outstanding contributions and achievement in family law in Georgia. In 2000, Judge Wright also received the Joseph T. Tuggle, Jr. Professionalism Award from the Family Law Section of the State Bar Association of Georgia.
She is Budget Chair and Ethics Chair of the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution, a board member of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation and a former Board Member of the Georgia Women of Achievement.

Judge Wright was appointed to her position on the Fulton Superior Court by then Governor Zell Miller on November 1, 1996. She has since been elected to three terms without opposition. Prior to assuming her current judgeship, she served as a Judge of the State Court of Fulton County.
She also served as chief legal counsel to Governor Zell Miller for his first term (1991-1995). During that period of time, she authored the legislation and constitutional amendment which established the Lottery for Education. Prior to working with Governor Miller, earlier in her career, she was assistant legal counsel to Governor George Busbee (1978-1980).

Judge Wright’s private practice of law included work as an associate with the law firm of Troutman Sanders and as a partner in the law firm of Corlew, Smith and Wright. Judge Wright also served as corporate counsel to the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority. Upon first graduating from law school, Judge Wright served as a research associate with the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. As a law student, Judge Wright pursued her interest in politics, public policy and law by interning with U.S. Senator Sam Nunn.

Judge Wright graduated magna cum laude from Wesleyan College, Macon, Georgia in 1974 and received her juris doctorate in law from the University of Georgia in 1977.

The Fulton Superior Court serves the county’s almost 1 million residents. It comprises both the Atlanta Judicial Circuit and the 5th Judicial District, Georgia’s only single-county Judicial Circuit and District.

Fulton Superior Court's 19 Judges hear administrative appeals and preside over civil, major criminal and domestic relations cases. And, because Fulton County includes the state’s capitol of Atlanta, by law the Court hears all lawsuits filed against state government.

To meet the challenges of these special circumstances the Fulton Superior Court has created a variety of innovative programs and services to provide meaningful access to justice for all. Other programs innovated by the Fulton Superior Court are one-jury or one-day juror service and specialized courts including Family Court, Business Court and Drug Court.

(end)

Resolution to Declare an Economic State of Emergency

2009-11-18T14:24:00.005-05:00

The following statement is issued by the Fulton County Justice System elected officials:

Less than one month ago, the criminal justice departments met with the Budget Commission and were informed that the 2010 budgets would be fully funded. Last week, we unexpectedly received word from the County Manager and his staff that this is no longer true. Because of a severe reduction in both the commercial and residential tax digests, Fulton County will be forced to reduce expenditures by at least $146 million. The County Manager also informed us that every county department must participate in the reductions--the criminal justice system’s share being $55 million with individual criminal justice departments asked to reduce budgets by around 25%.Today, the County Manager informed us that a new proposal would place the criminal justice departments’ share closer to $25 million.

At this time, the Board of Commissioners has made no final decision regarding the size of budget cuts that will need to be made. However, it is certain that the large decrease in revenue will result in a drastic reduction to Fulton County department budgets and the criminal justice departments will not be exempt. After careful considerations of the impact to the criminal justice system were a drastic budget reduction enacted, we the members of the criminal justice system have determined that the results would be disastrous. Not only would it result in the immediate loss of between 445 and 980 jobs, it would also, in our opinion, raise serious questions regarding public safety. Over the past decade, working together as a system, we have achieved numerous accomplishments such as:

• The jail population has been reduced from 4,300 to 2,500;
• We are now able to charge defendants within 30 minutes of arrest;
• The number of criminal cases pending in Superior Court has been reduced by 61%;
• As a result, although the Fulton County’s population has increased, and continues to increase, the violent crime rate has declined by 43%;

Despite these significant system improvements, there is more to be done. Not only does the proposed budget reduction threaten every system improvement made to date, if implemented as outlined, it could slow criminal court case processing to a near halt and eliminate all existing treatment court alternatives. This is not an acceptable outcome for our community. Therefore, we, the below signed criminal justice agencies, have decided to declare an Economic State of Emergency within the Fulton County criminal justice system. As a part of this Economic State of Emergency, our plan is to work together to implement system wide strategies that take into account our precarious financial situation while focusing all our attention and resources upon the primary tasks of maintaining public safety, i.e., the protection of citizens and the Fulton County community. Furthermore, our goal is to do so while maintaining employees and the integrity of the criminal justice system.

Signed by:
Doris L. Downs, Chief Judge, Superior Court
Albert Thompson, Chief Judge, State Court
Paul L. Howard, Jr., District Attorney
Vernon Pitts, Public Defender
Cathelene Tina Robinson, Clerk, Superior Court
Ted Jackson, Sheriff

Fulton Judicial System Budget Response

2009-11-18T09:42:00.002-05:00

The Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County and the Fulton County District Attorney will present the response of the Fulton County Justice System elected officials to the proposed Fulton County 2010 budget at a news briefing on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

The briefing will be held at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 7F of the Fulton Justice Center Tower, 185 Central Ave., S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303.

News media wishing to record sound or pictures at the briefing must submit a Rule 22 request via fax to: 404-335-2828 prior to noon Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Please email pio@fultoncourt.org if you plan to cover this event so your personnel can receive any assistance they may need to enter and set up prior to the briefing.

(end)

Chief Judge leads Dubai Judicial Training

2009-11-10T15:33:00.007-05:00

The following article appeared in the Nov. 10, 2009 edition of TradeArabia News Service

DJI hosts judicial training program

The Dubai Judicial Institute (DJI), a leading centre of law studies and judicial training in Dubai, is organising a three-day judicial training program in co-ordination with University of Georgia for aspiring judges, lawyers and district attorneys.

The International Judiciary Training Program (IJTP) is being held at the Institute’s Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hasher Hall and will run up to November 12.

To be held under the theme ‘Caseflow Management – USA Experience,’ the training sessions mark the first time that IJTP is partnering with a foreign organisation (DJI) and providing training outside the US.

The program will share the US experience in caseflow management and judicial leadership to assist in the development of the Emirates’ judiciary.

Prominent speakers will include judge Doris Downs, chief judge, Fulton County Superior Court, Atlanta Judicial Circuit; judge David Emerson, current member of the Georgia Supreme Court Technology Advisory Committee and member of the Judicial Counsel of Georgia; and Mark Beer, registrar of the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts.

"This landmark event will usher in a new age in the UAE’s judicial system, bringing to the fore the best technologies and techniques for optimising and expediting the dispensation of justice."
"Our partnership with the University of Georgia brings us a step closer to establishing the DJI as a premier regional and international education and training institution for aspiring judges and public prosecutors. We have seen rapid growth in our judicature over the years, so IJTP provides us with the perfect opportunity to properly direct our efforts in our field," said Dr Jamal Alsumaiti, director general of Dubai Judicial Institute (pictured above).

"Organising this training program is in line with our vision and strategy to implement the best judicial practices and reinforce the position of Dubai Judicial Institute as a regional center for excellence in judicial and legal studies."

"DJI is the first institute in Middle East to offer such a specialised training program in judicial studies, and the participation of director generals of UAE courts and the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs in Bahrain reflects the significance of this training program to further enhance the quality of judiciary in the region," Dr Alsumaiti added.

Speakers at the training program will explain the management of routine and complex civil or criminal cases; particular considerations when handling the routine criminal case and implementing knowledge economy principles through judicial practices.

They will also discuss the use of case count data in trial case management and judicial administration; building and managing the finances for local court operations; and the role of the chief administrative judge.

Other topics to be discussed include the integration of technology into the judicial practice; the judge’s ethical duties; judicial values; and caseflow management and policies.- TradeArabia News Service

Copyright © 2007 TradeArabia.com All rights reserved

Superior Court names new Juvenile Court Judge

2009-11-05T17:22:00.010-05:00

ATANTA - Fulton County Associate Juvenile Court Judge Bradley J. Boyd has been selected to be Presiding Judge of the Fulton Juvenile Court.

Judge Boyd, who has served as an Associate Judge for the Fulton Juvenile Court since 2006, fills the seat left open by the death of longtime Judge Sanford J. Jones.

He joins Chief Juvenile Court Judge Belinda E. Edwards and five Associate Judges at the state's largest Juvenile Court.

Judge Boyd, who began work at the Fulton Juvenile Court in 1973 as a probation officer, was chosen Wednesday by vote of the 19 Judges of the Superior Court of Fulton County. He was among five finalists for the position recommended by an independent selection committee.

Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Doris L. Downs praised Judge Boyd for having dedicated his life to the welfare of children.

"Brad Boyd is a truly dedicated public servant who has toiled in the trenches day after day and remains a spark of innovation that helps create systems that support the restoration of young lives," said Judge Downs. "We are truly fortunate to have Brad and all the other finalists for this position, each of whom would have been worthy choices."

Other finalists chosen from among 34 candidates for the Judgeship were attorneys: Jim Barfield, Angela Davis, Phillip Jackson and Juliette Scales.

Judge Boyd said the appointment is the opportunity of a lifetime and provides a challenge to continue the great work begun by Judge Jones and other predecessor judges of the Fulton Juvenile Court.

"In the years I have spent working in the Juvenile Court I have come to understand and appreciate the contributions and legacies of the Judges, other leaders in the courts, and the enormous contributions by hundreds of community members in building what is our Juvenile Court today," Judge Boyd said. "I am both honored and humbled that the Judges of the Superior Court have appointed me to help care for that legacy and carry it forward."

The Fulton County Juvenile Court is one of the oldest in the country. In 2008 there were 9,620 cases filed in the court, including 5,010 delinquency cases and 2,329 deprivation cases. The court conducted 23,848 hearings which were heard by six full time judges and several part time judges. The court employs a staff of 157.

Court is New Location for Continuing Education Classes

2009-10-21T18:09:00.003-04:00

Beginning November 6, 2009 the Fulton County Law Library will host satellite broadcasts of continuing education classes produced by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia.

Topics of the classes, which continue through March 2010, include such topics as adoption law, trial advocacy, drivers license law, license revocation and suspension, basic fiduciary practice, premises liability and advanced debt collection. Please refer to the ICLE website; www.iclega.org for confirmed program information including agenda, CLE Hours, registration and fees.

The Law Library is on the 7th floor, Fulton Justice Center Tower, 185 Central Ave., S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303, one block west of the State Capitol. Telephone: 404-730-4544.

Directions at http://www.fultoncourt.org/sca200807/185-central-avenue-sw.html

Fulton County Juvenile Court Judge Finalists Announced

2009-10-21T17:50:00.005-04:00

Five finalists have been selected for the position of a full time circuit-wide Judge of the Fulton County Juvenile Court.

Those chosen from among 33 candidates are: Jim Barfield, Brad Boyd, Angela Davis, Phillip Jackson and Juliette Scales.

Applications were solicited by publication of notice in accordance with O.C.G.A. § 15-11-18(d). The statutory qualifications for appointment to this position are established by O.C.G.A. § 15-11-18(e). Applications were due to the Court by August 30, 2009.

The finalists are scheduled to be interviewed Oct. 26, 2009 by the Judges of the Superior Court of Fulton County. The 19 elected Fulton Superior Court Judges will make the final selection.

The Court appointed an independent Commission to interview and recommend finalists for the position vacated earlier this year by the tragic death of Judge Sanford J. Jones in an aviation crash.

The new Juvenile Court Judge is expected to be named prior to the end of 2009.

King v. King case public comment order

2009-10-21T10:08:00.000-04:00

An order regarding public comments by attorneys and parties has been issued in the case of King v. King, 2008CV408153.

The order by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville is posted on the Court’s website at http://www.fultoncourt.org/sca200807/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=42&Itemid=118

King v. King case resolution

2009-10-13T00:05:00.002-04:00

Parties in the case of King v. King 2008 CV 153409 agreed Oct. 12, 2009 to a settlement of the litigation.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville approved the final order submitted by the parties and issued a summary judgment order in the case.

These orders can be viewed at http://www.fultoncourt.org/sca200807/documents-and-forms/cat_view/42-superior-court-cases.html

Extension granted in King v. King negotiations

2009-10-01T18:15:00.008-04:00

Parties in King v. King, case number 2008CV153409, have been granted until Wednesday, Oct. 7 to reach an agreement by Superior Court of Fulton County Judge Ural Glanville.

Judge Glanville cancelled a previously set pretrial motions hearings in the case on Friday, Oct. 2.
Absent an agreement by the deadline set by the judge parties are instructed to appear at 9 a.m. on Oct. 12, 2009 in Courtroom 5F of the Fulton Justice Tower, 185 Central Ave., Atlanta, GA 30303 for the beginning of jury selection in trial of the case.

Superior Court Uniform Rule 22 request for recording in courtroom must be faxed to Judge Glanville’s chambers by 3 p.m. on Oct. 9. Fax number: 404-302-8595. Please request a return fax of an approved Rule 22 for presentation to security deputies at the 185 Central Ave. entrance to facilitate entry.

11 Alive news and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution have been designated by Judge Glanville as pool for the trial of this case.

King v. King case update

2009-09-28T11:00:00.002-04:00

Parties in King v. King, case number 208CV153409, met today and fulfilled the requirements of an order issued by Superior Court of Fulton County Judge Ural Glanville that a shareholders meeting be held. Parties to the case are continuing to negotiate differences in an effort to resolve the litigation, Judge Glanville said.

Motions hearings in the case are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 2, 2009 in Courtroom 5F of the Fulton Justice Tower, 185 Central Ave., Atlanta, GA 30303. Jury selection in trial of the case is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Oct. 12, 2009 in Courtroom 5F.

Superior Court Uniform Rule 22 request for recording in courtroom must be faxed to Judge Glanville’s chambers 24 hours prior to the next hearing. Fax number: 404-302-8595. Please request a return fax of an approved Rule 22 for presentation to security deputies at the 185 Central Ave. entrance to facilitate entry.

Judges vote to work without pay to keep court open

2009-09-25T17:28:00.004-04:00

ATLANTA -- Fulton County Superior Court judges have voted to work three days without pay in response to the state’s fiscal crisis.

Chief Judge Doris Downs said the court’s judges will voluntarily reduce their salary by one day each month for the rest of this year.

“This is not a furlough, it is a voluntary reduction in pay” explained Chief Judge Downs. The Courts will remain open for business as usual.

“It is important to this bench that the public see no cuts in service,” she said. “The only cut will be in the judges’ salaries.”

The Fulton Superior Court bench adopted this cost-saving measure because the Georgia Constitution forbids judges’ salaries from being cut, but it does not prevent them from returning a portion of their pay.

Downs said that the Fulton Superior Court judges hope their action will prevent further cuts which will impact the Court’s ability to hear and decide cases.

The days that the judges are forfeiting their pay are October 9; November 25 and December 23.

Those days were selected because they coincide with furlough days adopted by some other jurisdictions.

Fulton Superior Court is the state’s largest and busiest trial court with more than 30,000 cases filed annually.

Mental Health Court graduates seven

2009-08-28T15:52:00.001-04:00

Five men and two women, caught for years in a revolving door of arrests for criminal behaviors fueled by mental illnesses, graduated Aug. 28 from the Fulton County Mental Health Court.
The seven graduates had been arrested a total of 123 times resulting in jail terms and even prison time. However, since entering Mental Health Court up to 28 months ago none has been arrested.

Commencement speaker DeKalb County Superior Court Chief Judge Cynthia Becker congratulated the graduates on their success and lauded the Fulton Superior Court accountability program supervised by Fulton Superior Chief Judge Doris L. Downs.

The Mental Health Court, in operation since 2006, provides mentally ill offenders with support services in the community -- housing, medicine, treatment, jobs and community case managers -- to keep them on track. Mental Health Court staff and partner organizations work to get SSI or disability payments started so Court clients can become self sufficient financially, including paying for their housing.

Nationwide, the mentally ill comprise 16 percent of jail populations. In Fulton County the mentally ill are 26 percent of the jail population. That makes Fulton County’s Jail the largest mental health care provider in the Southeast. More than 600 Fulton Jail inmates on psychotropic medications.

State Department of Corrections data shows that Georgia is releasing more than 300 mentally ill inmates per year to live in Fulton County. These inmates are released with little or no support. Cobb County receives the state’s the next highest number; fewer than 150.

Severely mentally ill felony offenders are the most difficult population to supervise in a community setting. Their mental and developmental difficulties alone require a myriad of services and supports, often in excess of what they or their respective family and other support systems can provide.

Even in the rare situation where there may be adequate supports they fail to adhere to proscribed treatment regimes either because of their cognitive capacity or mental health deficits. Public safety is compromised when mentally ill felons are released without an appropriate discharge plan that can be supervised by the Court and managed by court representatives working within the community.

To address these issues the Superior Court of Fulton County began a pilot Mental Health Court project in the last quarter of 2006. Resources dedicated to this project included one full-time social worker and one grant-funded case manager who worked under the general Accountability Courts umbrella which includes the Drug Court. Working together with social workers from the Public Defender’s Office, they supervised 45 mentally ill offenders. Collectively, these individuals had been arrested more than 800 times with one-third of them having a criminal history which included spending time in prison.

In 2008, Fulton County’s Department of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases (MHDDAD) agreed to be responsible for the therapeutic portions of the Mental Health Court program allowing a doubling of the number of defendants in the program.
Fulton Superior Court remains responsible for defendant compliance monitoring, quality control and oversight for the Mental Health Court program.

Fulton County’s Superior Court serves the county’s almost 1 million residents. It comprises both the Atlanta Judicial Circuit and the 5th Judicial District, Georgia’s only single-county Judicial Circuit and District.

Fulton Superior Court Judges hear administrative appeals and preside over civil, major criminal and domestic relations cases. And, because Fulton County includes the state’s capitol of Atlanta, by law the Court hears all lawsuits filed against state government.

To meet the challenges of these special circumstances the Fulton Superior Court has created a variety of innovative programs and services to provide meaningful access to justice for all. Other programs innovated by the Fulton Superior Court are one-jury or one-day juror service and specialized courts including Family Court, Business Court and Drug Court.

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County Launches Towards the Future with E-Filing

2009-06-26T13:01:00.001-04:00

Guarantees of Financial Savings, Increased Efficiency and Production

The process of filing new child support claims in Fulton County has been upgraded as the Fulton County Superior Court and the Fulton County Office of Child Support Services have begun using the Georgia Department of Human Resources and the Administrative Office of the Court’s electronic filing system.
Fulton Superior Court joins an ever growing list of courts that have converted to electronically filing their new child support cases and claims, adding the largest county in Georgia as well as the largest in child support case claims to the increasingly popular filing system.
The Georgia DHR funded development of the Electronic Filing of Court Documents program, also referred to as the Georgia Judicial Exchange (GAJE), in response to the increasing number of child support claims across Georgia in an effort to improve delivery of service and reduce cost. It is administered and maintained by the AOC. The program is specifically for child support cases, which make up over 50 percent of most civil cases statewide and could potentially be used for other case types in the future.
Vince Harris, Associate Director at the AOC and head of the Information Technologies Division that oversees GAJE, believes bringing Fulton County onto the state's e-filing system will show other counties and child support offices in Georgia the benefits of the system.
“It’s a huge success for the clerk’s office, for the child support office and for the AOC (the cooperation of e-filing). It will certainly help put it (GAJE) on the map,” says Harris.
Through e-filing, the Fulton County OCSS, which currently processes in excess of 30,000 child support claims a year, will now be able to offer more efficient filing of important documents as well as increase production of its case loads a streamlined system that allows every step of submitting a new case to be done electronically instead of manually.
Bobbie Hilbun, Regional Manager over the Fulton County OCSS, was a leading advocate for bringing e-filing to Fulton because of the potential savings in personnel hours.
“The time saving is the number#1 reason I wanted to bring e-filing to Fulton, which is the largest legal filing office in the region…the legal secretaries now are able to pull petitions more quickly and move them to the attorney who in turn moves them to the (court) clerk, all from the computer where with manual (filing) it was a longer series of steps,” says Hilbun.
Chief Assistant District Attorney over the Child Support Unit, Regina Mincey, has experienced noticeable benefits from the new e-filing system.
“Due to the volume (of new child support cases and claims), e-filing helps with the efficiency of processing claims as well as it frees up other functions of OCSS to collect payments,” says Mincey.
With the OCSS’s more timely electronic delivery of cases to Fulton County Superior Court instead of manual deliveries, increased and faster service on issued claims is achieved as well as resolutions for the cases and their participants.
E-filing saves money for all parties involved through eliminating the need for multiple physical storage locations of papers and documents vital to any given case and the cost of maintaining such places, in addition to personnel hours used in transport of documents. It also cuts back on human error and saves time on corrections of documents that could otherwise hold up the process of having the case filed.
“The court and the OCSS will now be more efficient, timely and better able to provide more concern and time to those that use the OCSS’s services. Taxpayers can also feel better in knowing that this new system saves money and that different state agencies are working together to bring an improved quality of customer care,” says Harris.
The GAJE e-filing program started in 2007 with pilot launches in Bibb and Washington counties and has since been picked up by Chatham, Douglas, Jefferson and Oglethorpe due to its proven track record of increasing the efficiency and timeliness of child support case claims.
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If you would like more information about E-Filing, contact Vince Harris. In order to schedule an interview with Mr. Harris, please contact Mrs. Ann Batchan at 404-656-5169 or batchana@gaaoc.us

Fulton’s Business Court nationally recognized

2009-06-18T16:02:00.002-04:00

ATLANTA – The Fulton County Business Court has been named Best in Category of innovative court programs for 2009 by the National Association of Counties.

The Fulton Business Court, created by the Superior Court of Fulton County, hears cases involving damages in excess of $1 million, with multiple litigants, large amounts of documentary evidence, complex commercial or business claims and extensive discovery.

Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves said the award indicates the caliber of legal services available to local businesses.

“This recognition speaks well for the entire team at the Fulton County Superior Court, and their dedicated service to Fulton County businesses and residents,” Eaves said. “Innovation in justice is a high priority for Fulton County Government, and we are pleased to see that we are among the nation’s best.”

Since 2006 the Fulton Business Court has provided cost-effective resolution for complex commercial and business cases. In addition to retaining legal business in Atlanta the Business Court has begun to grow a robust body of business law in Georgia.

Community partnerships were critical to forming and sustaining the specialty court, said Superior Court Chief Judge Doris L. Downs.

“With the support of the Atlanta business community and funding from the Fulton County Commission we have been able to build a Business Court that is making Atlanta a Mecca for commercial litigation,” said Judge Downs. “The State Bar also is to be commended for having the vision to promote the creation of this Court by the Supreme Court of Georgia.”

The National Association of Counties Achievement Award Program recognizes programs that improve the management of services by county government. This year’s winners represent 30 states and 123 counties.

Since the program’s inception in 1970, the Achievement Award Program has honored hundreds of county government initiatives that have improved service delivery, achieved greater cost efficiency, provided finer customer service, and helped to develop a better-trained work force.
Fulton’s Business Court is one of 17 innovative programs cited in Georgia and one of only two cited as Best in Category in the national NACo Achievement Awards.

For more information on the NACo Achievement Awards, visit www.naco.org.

Court Program to Save Fulton $5.5 Million

2009-04-01T13:12:00.000-04:00

A tough new pretrial release supervision program that begins April 1 is expected to save Fulton County taxpayers more than $5.5 million a year in jail costs.

The new Intensive Supervision Program (ISP) which was recently funded by the Fulton County Commission will provide rigorous supervision of defendants who don’t qualify for release under existing criteria.

The Superior Court of Fulton County’s Pretrial Services will operate the new program. Over the past decade the Court’s Pretrial Services program has racked up an impressive record of reducing jail costs while ensuring that more than 95 percent of program defendants show up for all scheduled court hearings.

The new ISP will supervise about 150 additional defendants per month.

Candidates for the program are:

 Youthful defendants charged with non-violent crimes that the Judiciary deem appropriate for release if heightened supervision is available.
 Defendants whose community ties cannot be “verified” or those who have not established a six month residency in the Atlanta metropolitan area
 Defendants, with little or no criminal history, charged with property crimes who do not meet normal pretrial release criteria.
 Defendants referred to the ISP by a judge

ISP release requirements may include:

 In-person office contact twice a week
 Weekly field visits to defendant’s home/employer
 Curfew
 Electronic Monitoring
 Seek full-time employment if not already employed.
 Attend in-house life skills programs or community service programs.
 Be employed or actively seeking employment or school
 Defendants without high school diploma must enter GED program
 Social service agency referrals where appropriate
 Immediate sanctions in response to program infractions

The ISP will immediately notify the Court, District Attorney, and Defense Counsel of any violations of release conditions.