There is no definitive end in sight for the problems plaguing the Cobb County courthouse.
Gregory Poole, chief judge for the Cobb Judicial Circuit, on Wednesday extended the emergency order he issued last month after it became clear that paperwork is still not being processed properly by the Superior Court Clerk’s Office.
The order, extended 30 days until Oct. 6, suspends filing deadlines and other administrative requirements in civil and criminal cases. The issues affect nearly all court functions, from defense attorneys who can’t access client records to police officers who can’t access information about protective orders.
Poole said in an interview Wednesday that the situation has improved, but there are still enough issues to warrant the extension.
“There are still other things in that first judicial notice that are still ongoing — vacancies in the office, problems with indexing, problems with calendaring, problems with hearing notices,” Poole said. “They are better, but they are still there. And in my opinion, we are still in an emergency situation.”
The original order was issued after Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor unsuccessfully tried to transfer the court’s online filing service to a new provider on June 24, which led to “a severe disruption in access to records and other critical functions of the court,” according to the initial order.
Poole said the issues are “not the result of a computer glitch.”
“They still have files that go back to November of 2023 that have yet to be inputted into the system, (they are) not even in the old system,” he said.
Beyond technical problems, the judge’s initial emergency order also cited personnel issues in the clerk’s office, where staff have turned people away and refused to accept documents; lost original documents; charged fees to individuals who shouldn’t be charged; marked case files closed when they are not; and created filings and schedules “grossly erroneous such that neither judges nor litigants or their attorneys understand what cases have been scheduled and for what date and time.”
Taylor has not responded to repeated requests for comment by multiple AJC reporters since the order was issued Aug. 7. Nor has she issued a statement or made any public comments about the order or her office’s work to rectify the problem.
The superior court clerk is an elected constitutional officer, responsible for maintaining county property records and court documents. Poole said while he has been in close communication with people in her office, he has not recently talked directly with Taylor.
Taylor, a Democrat, is up for reelection this year, and faces former Cobb County Attorney Deborah Dance in November. Dance said the clerk should “be accountable to the public, available to the public, responsive and responsible.”
“I think it’s time to restore the superior court clerk’s office to the premier office that it was prior to the current administration,” Dance said. “Not to be available is to fail in your job.”
Defense attorney David Gastley called the ongoing situation a “nightmare” and said defendants are in a “complete information disadvantage” because they cannot properly access necessary documents for their cases, while prosecuting attorneys can.
“It’s just getting worse, right?” Gastley said. “It’s not like the filings have stopped. I have no confidence that anything will improve, because there’s been no communication. I mean, it’s just radio silence” from the clerk.
Poole also criticized the clerk’s silence and said elected officials “have a duty to maintain contact with the public.”
While attorneys and their defendants make up most of the individuals impacted, there are other vulnerable populations affected.
LiveSafe Resources operates the legal advocacy program for domestic violence and sexual assault victims in Cobb, and leads the county’s temporary protective order program.
Fernando Zapien Ramirez, the legal advocacy manager, said breakdowns in the clerk’s office have hindered the efficacy of temporary protective orders, which are sought most often by victims of domestic and family violence or stalking.
Once a judge grants the order, the clerk’s office must file it into a database law enforcement uses to verify the order and notify the individuals to abide by it, Zapien Ramirez said. Until they have been notified, no one can enforce the order.
“The fastest and strongest remedy is intervention by law enforcement. That’s the purpose of these orders,” he said.
Poole said he hopes the filing system will be up to date in September but is concerned about the office’s ability to maintain it going forward with the staffing issues in the clerk’s office.
Since Taylor took office in January 2021, the office has hired 109 employees and lost 110, most of which resigned, according to county data. The office’s current vacancy rate is 38%.
“I think that there have been so many people that have been fired and who have left because of the working conditions, it just makes it very difficult to work for that office, and everyone in the courthouse knows it,” Poole said. “There’s no way around it. It is a leadership issue.”
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