Criminal cases are moving through the Richmond County Superior Courts at the speed of light compared with a decade ago.
An Augusta Chronicle analysis of all people indicted for felony offenses shows the average time from indictment to completion dropped from an average of 494 days in 1997 to 161 days in 2008.
Last year was the second full year under a system that assigns each case to one of the five Superior Court judges who preside over criminal and civil cases.
Until the Georgia Supreme Court insisted the Augusta Judicial Circuit change its system, the judges used a master calendar. Cases were set for arraignment, trial and sentencing and judges presided over calendars in rotation. The new case assignment means the same judge presides over specific cases from beginning to completion. It also allows the prosecutor and public defender to assign teams for each judge.
Each judge is responsible for moving his assigned cases through the system. Judge Carl C. Brown Jr. started with the most -- 665 -- and Judge Michael N. Annis the least -- 579. Although the judges are randomly assigned an equal number of cases, they are also responsible for any cases not closed in previous years.
When 2008 began, 355 cases had been pending for at least a year. This year, only 183 cases will have been pending for a year or more.
Chief Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet said Friday afternoon that he is always concerned about the bottom line -- how much it costs. Moving cases through the system quicker is more economical.
There's also the intangible result: When people know cases go through the system without unnecessary delays, it builds confidence that the system works well, Judge Overstreet said.
In the late 1990s, Richmond County had one of the worst backlogs of criminal cases in Georgia, with about 2,700 cases languishing.
This year begins with 1,167 cases left over from last year. Unlike in the past, more than half of those cases are less than three months old.
The American Bar Association recommends state courts close 90 percent of all felony cases within three months, and all within a year.
That closure rate in Richmond County Superior Court in 2008 was only 73 percent.
Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or sandy.hodson@augustachronicle.com.
THE CRIMES
THE TOP 10 crimes in 2008 faced by people indicted in Richmond County Superior Court:
1. Theft 405
2. Possession of cocaine 390
3. Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute 301
4. Burglary 182
5. Obstruction of an officer 158
6. Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute 154
7. Aggravated assault 142
8. Armed robbery 121
9. Forgery 120
10. Shoplifting 107
THE MOST SERIOUS crimes for people with criminal cases pending in 2008:
Drugs 1,240
Property 1,085
Violent 742
Weapon 72
Other 47
Driving 39
Escape 31
THE OUTCOME
WHAT HAPPENED to the criminal cases pending or opened in Richmond County Superior Court in 2008:
OVERALL
Convictions 1,508
Dismissals, acquittals, etc. 229
Other * 29
Pending (including those in bench warrant status) 1,490
* incompetent, sent to juvenile or drug courts
BREAKDOWN
Plea 1,474
Pending 1,167
Bench warrant (failed to appear for court) 323
Dismissed 163
Placed in inactive status 55
Trial conviction 34
Trial acquittal 11
Drug court 21
Incompetent to stand trial 6
Sent to juvenile court 2
Total 3,256
THE SENTENCE
PRISON
Number 464
Average length 5.35 years
PROBATION
Number 990
Average length 4.29 years
By judge, the percentage of their cases that resulted in straight probation sentences:
Judge Carl C. Brown Jr. 72%
Chief Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet 66%
Judge Duncan D. Wheale 66%
Judge Michael N. Annis 62%
Judge James G. Blanchard Jr. 45%
THE TIMETABLE
Average time for cases to proceed through Richmond County Superior Court:
Defendant in jail 84.75 days
Defendant on bond 218 days
Average of all cases 161
Source: Richmond County Superior Court Clerk's records; database current through Dec. 22
What happened to the criminal cases pending or opened in Richmond County Superior Court in 2008:
Plea................1,474
Pending..........1,167
Bench warrant (failed to appear for court).....323
Dismissed .........163
Placed in inactive statue....55
Trial conviction........34
Trial acquittal............11
Drug court..................21
Incompetent to stand trial....6
Sent to juvenile court.......2
Total..............3,256
Overall outcome for criminal cases in 2008:
1,508 convictions
229 dismissed, acquitted, etc.
29 other -- incompetent, sent to juvenile or drug courts
1,490 pending (including those in bench warrant status)
Average time for cases to proceed through Richmond County Superior Court:
Defendant in jail........84.75 days
Defendant on bond.....218 days
Average of all cases....161
By judge, the percentage of their cases that resulted in straight probation sentences:
Judge Carl C. Brown Jr. 72 percent
Chief Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet 66 percent
Judge Duncan D. Wheale 66 percent
Judge Michael N. Annis 62 percent
Judge James G. Blanchard Jr. 45 percent
Average length of prison sentence: 5.35 years
Average length of probation sentence: 4.29 years
The most serious crimes facing people with criminal cases pending in 2008:
Drugs...................1,240
Property...............1,085
Violent....................742
Weapon.....................72
Other.........................47
Driving......................39
Escape........................31
BY THE NUMBERS
Sentenced in Richmond County Superior Courts in 2008:
17
People who were sentenced to prison for life for murder, armed robbery, rape or aggravated child molestation
97
People who were sentenced to spend 10 years or more in prison
350
People who were sentenced to spend at least three years in prison
990
People who received probation sentences
Comments
The drug possession cases are needlessly slowing the courts. If there's no obvious intent to redistribute, the case should be handled in magistrate's court like any other public nuisance misdemeanor case. It's good to see the new system of disposing of cases is so much more efficient then the "hit or miss" system used before.
They need to quit arresting Hookers to because you can't stop it so why try? There are no victims when arresting them, so why do it? The only one they hurt is themselves. It should be like Texas put them in a house & make them pay taxs & get regular medical checkups in order to keep the working license.
Who was "The Master" who developed the old calendar system under which the Augusta Judicial Circuit's superior courts operated so inefficiently for years before the GA Supreme Court insisted that the Augusta circuit's calendar system be changed?
The possession of drugs & herbs is different & should be re-codified & herbs decriminalized. Can I get an amen?
Lets face it, if a crime is so trivial that a person is placed on probation, then it shouldn't be a crime. It appears we have a lot of innocent people being held for no reason hence the 229 people who were not convicted. That is a serious number, if these people were in fact innocent. BTW is probation still a money maker for the state (use of extremely expensive civilian firms) and is that the reason for the inordinately long probation sentences?
@pofwe
Amen.
What a waste that prohibition causes us to spend so much time and effort "fighting drugs"
Legalize it, tax it if we must, then treat abuse as a health problem.
Just because something is wrong, doesn't mean it should be a crime. Think about that Grovetown woman who is a "sex offender" for life because as a teenager she gave her boyfriend a header. Do teenagers have sex? Yes. Is it wrong? Yes. Shameful? Yes. Criminal? Shouldn't be. Marijuana is the same way.
Save the courts and jails for those who prey on others.
Probation is all about MONEY !!!!!!
Why speed things up only to put the criminals back on the street. I agree that prostitution should be made "legal", make them have a license and pay taxes. Those found with STD's lose their licennse, jailed and treated there.
What does the American Bar Association recommend for criminal case loads for defense attorneys? Do the public defenders here have more than the recommended number of cases? What percentage more? Want to bet it is about three times the recommended case load? Lawyers can be disbarred from trying to handle too many cases. Sam Sibley deserves kudos for keeping the system moving. Strange there was no mention of Sibley's move a few months ago forcing the DA to bring defendants to trial.
When Sweden legalized drug use and paraphernalia, they opened a pandora's box. Now they have so many addicted people they can't even keep up with the health problems and criminal acts caused by this. If you want legalized drugs, suggest you travel to Sweden and look at the mess they are in. It isn't worth it. Law enforcement has the means to enforce the laws and they should do it--problem is, they allow too many to walk away for one or another reason. Instead of concentrating so much on the little guy on the street, they should actively go after the big suppliers and negotiators who bring this junk into our country. Quit prosecuting law enforcement agents for shooting the deadbeats coming across the US/Mexican border; Mexico makes no distinction, why should we? As for prostitutes, only Nevada has legalized this and they have done very well in controlling the situation; other states should follow suit. That would certainly reduce the criminal elements related to prostitution.
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