Retired judges may be asked to fill in on city courts

By Eric Stirgus

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Atlanta City Council is poised today to approve a step city officials say will help its court system run better, but at least one councilman says he still has concerns about the plan.

Councilman H. Lamar Willis fears the idea to have retired judges fill in, if necessary, to hear misdemeanor cases could result in “double dipping” because the jurists would still receive their city pensions.

“It allows our judges to double-dip and double-dip in perpetuity,” Willis, an attorney, said in an interview last week.

Councilwoman Cleta Winslow, head of the council’s public safety committee, said the concerns are unwarranted because there’s no money in the budget to pay the jurists, who would be called “senior judges.” There’s been talk that the judges could work pro bono for the city.

The resistance reflects the continuing debate between the council and the administration of Mayor Shirley Franklin over the city’s court system. Franklin recommended that the council cut the number of judges from 11 to seven before voters go to polls in November to elect a slate of judges for the next four years. The council instead adopted a budget in June with nine judges.

“We passed the budget and this issue still isn’t resolved,” said Councilman Howard Shook, chairman of the council’s finance/executive committee.

City officials say it costs about $650,000 a year to staff and operate a courtroom. With nine judges instead of seven, the city would spend an additional $5.2 million over the next four years.

Like most governments, Atlanta is in the midst of severe budget troubles. The council voted 8-7 in June to raise property taxes to help fill a $56 million budget gap. The city’s leading mayoral candidates have made finances a central theme in their campaigns.

Willis believes the two extra judges may be a benefit because the city expects to deal with more traffic cases after hiring a business to run its ticket-collection program.

Franklin’s staff made the recommendation of seven judges based, in part, on a 2003 study by consultants they hired who recommended that each judge should be able to handle about 25,000 to 35,000 cases a year. About 155,000 cases were heard in municipal court during the 12-month period that ended June 30, 2008, city records show. By that count, the city needs five judges.

Some council members counter that the 2003 study, done by the Boston Consulting Group, is outdated.

City officials say two judges, Deborah S. Greene and Howard R. Johnson, have agreed to retire at the end of the year, which would bring the number of judges from 11 to nine. The council has been reluctant to cut two more judges, largely because they are elected.

“It’s very tricky how you deal with elected officials,” Shook said.

Other matters scheduled to be addressed by the council today include legislation by Councilman Ceasar Mitchell to keep children under 16 from loitering on city streets during school hours. Mitchell, a candidate for City Council president, pushed the idea last year, but it has picked up momentum in recent weeks with the public outcry about crime in the city.