Fulton County budget cuts may add to county expenses

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final Order in Grady Hemodialysis Case

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

Keep The Courts Open

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

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

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Think This Can't Happen?

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:

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

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

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.

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