The Atlanta City Council voted 9-5 on Monday to not fill two judgeship vacancies at the Atlanta Municipal Court

The move would eliminate one vacant position and one that will be vacant later this month and drops the number of judges from 10 to eight.

In March, a city audit suggested that the court could run with five judges for a projected savings of $2.3 million.

Bill sponsor Felicia Moore, along with Carla Smith, Cleta Winslow, Natalyn Archibong, Alex Wan, Howard Shook, Yolanda Adrean, Joyce Sheperd, and Michael Bond voted for the change. Ivory Young, C.T. Martin, Aaron Watson, Keisha Bottoms and Lamar Willis voted against it.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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