Drug Court Sets Graduation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.