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Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Judge gets tough on code violators as commissioner watches
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last week, a special guest visited Recorder’s Court.
She was Lorraine Green, Gwinnett’s District 1 commissioner. She took a day off from work to see the outcome of some specific code violation cases. She had another purpose, too: To see how Judge Patricia H. Muise handled cases that deal with junk cars, overgrown lots and other upkeep issues.
See, Muise has a reputation for being super lenient to residents who fail to maintain their property.
I wrote about this tendency late last year after observing two sessions of Recorder’s Court. And AJC Gwinnett News has gotten a slew of letters from residents disgusted at how fines get waived, cleanup deadlines get extended and testimony about code-scoffers falls on tin ears.
So there was Green Thursday, wearing no disguise, observing the proceedings. A woman who looked like Muise presided over more than 100 cases. It must have been a look-alike.
“She was handing out $300 and $400 fines,” Green told me. “One gentleman was given a $2,500 fine! From what I understand, it was very atypical. I had heard that everything was suspended, that it was a joke.
“I was blown away.”
So were code enforcement officers on hand. During a break, they chatted up Green like she was a rock star. They thanked her, too. Muise, they explained, had never ruled so punitively.
“They were giddy,” said Green, the undisputed elected leader when it comes to fighting neighborhood blight. “They’ve been so demoralized. Our officers believe in what they are doing, and they do a good job. But they see all of their work for naught.”
My attempts to interview Muise for this column were unsuccessful. But I’d like to recycle what she’s told me in the past about her well-known practice of suspending fines and extending deadlines:
“It’s in the best interest of our citizens for those defendants to put their funds toward fixing the problem, rather than paying fines. I impose fines which will be partially suspended if they fix the problem within a specified time period. I find that giving the defendants an incentive to come into compliance gets better results than punishing them.”
So why the about-face?
Perhaps Muise has grown tired of homeowners harping about her being too soft on serial code violators. Maybe a come-to-Jesus meeting she had recently with Commissioner Michael Beaudreau, County Administrator Jock Connell and Green struck a chord. Maybe she wants the county’s $3 million expenditure on a 30-officer Quality of Life enforcement unit to be well spent.
Then again, maybe Muise’s performance on Thursday was to placate Green — for a day, at least.
“I can’t say that she saw me,” Green said. “But the [code enforcement] officers felt that she must have. I would really hope that her behavior was not influenced by my being there. I would hope that she’s had a change of heart. We need her help. If we don’t have a big stick. …”
Code compliance cases are heard in Recorder’s Court every Thursday beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Maybe Green can sit in every week.
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