ATLANTA - Sen. Mitch Seabaugh is proposing cutting 19 superior court judges - a move he says could save the state up to $14 million.
Seabaugh says S.B. 485 would reduce the number of superior court judges from 205 to 186.
Lawmakers have been hard-pressed to find further ways to cut costs to address Georgia's $1.1 billion budget shortfall. Seabaugh says the superior court system has not been carrying its weight during the state's budget crisis and has made far fewer cuts than many other departments.
The Sharpsburg Republican also pointed out that the state has added a few judges to the system each year since 2006 and that under the state constitution, the General Assembly can eliminate judgeships.
"I'm asking for input from the courts to ensure that the right judgeships are eliminated," Seabaugh said, adding that the proposal was not personal. "I do not want major interruptions in the court system."
Seabaugh, the lone sponsor of the bill, acknowledged that he faces an uphill battle, but he said the cuts are a viable solution given the volume of cases currently being handled by some jurisdictions.
According to data compiled by the Senate Research Office, Atlanta had the heaviest caseload in 2008, with 30,951 dockets filed - an average of 1,629 among its 19 judges. The jurisdiction would lose three judges under the proposal.
Rockdale had the smallest docket, with 3,177 cases filed between its two judges but would lose no judges under the proposal because jurisdictions with two judges were not considered for cuts.
"I've talked to my lawyer colleagues, and I've gotten a lot of caution on this," he said. "This will be different, and in no way am I not aware of the consequences."
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melvin Westmoreland, the head of Georgia's Council of Superior Court Judges, called it "ridiculous."
"The likelihood of this getting any traction in the House is slim to none," he said. "It's mindboggling to me."
He said the most recent count of caseloads throughout the state, which was completed in 2008, showed a need for 275 Superior Court judges. Georgia has 205 judges, including three new positions allocated by state lawmakers last year. And the caseload is only growing amid the Great Recession, with more filings in child support cases, foreclosures and a range of other areas, he said.
"When the state is 70 judges short on the documented need, thinking that somehow cutting 19 is going to play a significant part in the billion-dollar budget shortfall just doesn't make any sense," he said.
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Some judges have made surprising comments about the amount of work prosecutors and state public defenders are doing recently in a negative way. If we are going to use studies that show the number of judges needed, the same studies are showing prosecutors and public defenders are vastly under manned. Certain judges have brought this examination of their positions on themselves.
They need to get rid of the Judges who retire and after retirement continue to hear cases at an astronomical cost to the taxpayer.
Elimination of state and superior court judges to help the budget is a superb idea. Judges in this county are only on the bench a limited amount of time during the week due to not enough courtrooms. The judges that are not eliminated will have to pick up the extra caseload and spend more time in the court rooms. Public service is the name of this game. You the judges are working for the people of this judicial circuit. I am also a proponent of eliminating indigent defense except in cases involving capital crimes. We should go back to a set rate (reasonable compensation) with every lawyer in a revolving pool selected for the indigent defense cases involving capital offenses. All of the support staff (office workers & investigators) associated with indigent defense should be eliminated. The indigent criminal defendants in the State of Georgia are only entitled to an attorney to give him/her representation.
Judges should start Court about 7:00AM instead of 9:00 AM, them they might get something done. They keep bankers hours.
Never happen. Judges will never reduce their salaries. They might cut hours, but not pay.
If you believe lawyers in counties can handle these cases, you don't realize how many clients the state public defenders handle. They handle hundreds of clients, way beyond what the state bar recommends. It is impossible for private attorneys to pick up that many defendants without literally bankrupting the state.
One more point, the only reason the State Public Defenders Office was created was to help small counties with the cost of hiring lawyers. They save by pooling resources. Richmond, Columbia, etc. counties do pay their own county public defenders.
Ask Columbia County Commission Chairman Ron Cross about all this. He is on the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council and understands the situation well.
Bout time somebody recommended cutting back on something instead of raising taxes.
This is another example of problems associated with The War On Drugs. It's an embarrassment to our country to have the highest incarceration rate in the industrialized world. In addition, we have the lengthiest sentences. War on Corruption would solve all of our country's' problems. Which of our brave public servants wants to propose that legislation? Prison should be for serious, violent crimes and public corruption. Find an alternative solution to petty offences and civil child support cases. Tough doesn't equate with wise.
I am Ayetidiosi, and I approve Reader54's 12.56 message.
Well done.
Following up on Reader54's post, when Judge David Roper (from here, but working in another region) asked the chief of the state public defenders why there were more cases waiting, he was told it was because of the increased drug cases.
So what does Roper say? He said the public defenders office needs more supervision and implied they weren't telling the truth. But realize, public defenders are handling hundreds of cases beyond what the Bar Association recommends each attorney should handle. It's time for Roper to talk with Ron Cross.
Aye: No grudges? Cool! Stay on em b/c we need it.
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