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
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