DeKalb judge to CEO: Fund courts or face legal action

By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

DeKalb County's judges, sheriff and prosecutors are threatening to sue CEO Burrell Ellis if he fails to adequately fund the court system.

On Monday afternoon, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained a copy of a letter Chief Superior Court Judge Cynthia J. Becker sent to the CEO ordering him to fully fund all constitutional offices, including the courts.

“Your complete lack of direct communication with constitutional officers and apparent disregard for the Constitution mandates placed upon the entire system of justice will force my hand as chief judge to issue a certificate of need this week,” the judge wrote. “I cannot and will not allow an unfunding of the court system which will harm irreparably the citizens of this county.”

The judge -- who is representing all DeKalb judges, the sheriff, the district attorney and public defender -- ordered Ellis to respond by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

On Friday, Ellis issued an amended budget proposal that calls for the constitutional officers to make deep cuts in response to a 2 percent to 3 percent decline in the county’s tax digest.

The County Commission is scheduled to approve the cuts June 22.

Becker said she was told last month that she would need to cut $86,500 from the Superior Court budget. On Friday, she was told that the cuts would now need to be $704,300.

“From a business standpoint, the timing and lack of notice has compounded the problem,” she told the AJC on Monday. “I thought we were in good shape, but then three weeks later he increases that cut more than eight times.”

Around 8 p.m. Monday, Ellis sent a letter to the judge offering to meet with the constitutional officers on Tuesday morning, but he said he could not "guarantee any outcome."

"After weighing many alternatives, I decided that the principle of shared sacrifice among all of our county government institutions was the most reasonable and equitable way to address these stark financial realities while preserving our most critical public safety priorities," Ellis wrote.

If the CEO does not restore the funding, Becker said she will issue a certificate of need, which is similar to a subpoena. The next step will be to issue an order forcing the county to fully fund the courts.

“There is a legal process where the court says you must fund this, and this is why,” she said. “I’m hopeful I don’t have to go there.”

Becker said it is rare that the budget battle could reach this point. But several years ago DeKalb Superior Court Judge Clarence Seeliger had to issue a similar order after the county refused to install sprinklers in the old courthouse.

Officials said the CEO’s proposed cuts could violate basic constitutional rights, including the defendant’s right to appear before a judge within 48 hours of an arrest and the right to have an attorney appointed if a person cannot afford one.

“A budget cut of the size proposed would drastically impair our ability to perform our constitutional mandate to pursue justice,” District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming said in a statement.

In February, the commission cut about $50 million from this year’s budget to help offset a decline in revenue and to prevent raising taxes. Part of that cut included an early retirement program to trim county staff.

After complaints from the courts and the AJC reporting that the cuts would violate residents’ constitutional rights, the commission voted to exclude the constitutional officers from those cuts.

“I was under the impression that we were safe after this,” Becker said Monday. “This in my view is a unilateral move by the CEO without any discussion or any rational analysis.”

Under the proposed cuts, the Superior Court would lose about 20 workers, Becker said. Other cuts include the sheriff, public defender and other branches of the court system.

Becker said she was told two weeks ago that she could refill those positions. She has already begun interviews to replace clerks, the director of the dispute resolution center and other positions.

“All of the other courts are also getting cut. That’s the real problem: We don’t function in isolation. The cuts to Magistrate Court impact Superior Court,” Becker said. “We’re all dependent in a way he should understand as a lawyer.”

Commissioners ordered the CEO to trim staff after a study by Georgia State University found the county is bloated and recommended cutting 909 workers. That study, however, did not include the court system.

Commissioner Connie Stokes, chairwoman of the commission’s budget committee, said she had not seen the judge’s letter nor the CEO’s proposed cuts.