In the chaotic Fulton County court system, Judge Jerry Baxter’s impatience can be a virtue.
From his Superior Court bench, he often views a courtroom packed with defendants charged with anything from murder to mayhem. His job is to dispense justice. But in a more practical sense, it is to move his cases. And Baxter, who has one of the lowest numbers of pending cases, moves them.
In Courtroom 4D, the rule is simple: Get to the point. When attorneys meander, his face takes on a tortured grimace. When cases stall, he calls in both sides and prods them toward a resolution.
But Baxter was recently assigned a case for which there is no judicial road map: the Atlanta test cheating scandal in which 35 administrators and educators are charged in a sweeping racketeering conspiracy.
» COMPLETE COVERAGE: Interactives, stories, photos and more on our AJC Investigates: Cheating Our Children page
The judge, himself a product of the Atlanta Public Schools system, where his parents taught for decades, quickly took control during initial hearings. He set schedules for motions and hearings, a deadline for defendants to negotiate plea deals and a trial date for May 5, 2014.
At a May 16 hearing, Baxter expressed dismay that Fulton prosecutors had given defense attorneys a list of 2,440 potential witnesses for the trial. He told prosecutors to begin winnowing down the list and to not dump on the defense more than 1 million pages of documents amassed so far in the investigation.
“We need to hone this list down,” Baxter said. “You’re not going to call 2,500 witnesses. I mean, that’s crazy. You need to get real.”
If defense lawyers can easily determine if there is credible evidence against their clients, “It will help people decide whether to stay in the case or get out,” Baxter said. “It will help them determine their future.”
At a prior hearing, the judge caused a stir when he suggested the case may be too big for the courthouse.
“We may have to rent an abandoned Kroger to fit everybody,” he said, perhaps in jest.
Baxter, 63, often dishes out quips, adding levity to somber proceedings. But his fuse can be short, particularly when he sees dithering.
“He’ll call you out if he sees you’re going down some rabbit hole and wasting the court’s time,” said Atlanta lawyer David Wolfe. “He can be short-tempered. He can be gruff. But he also has compassion and an understanding of what’s going on.”
Years ago, as a Fulton assistant district attorney, Baxter was regarded for his preparation and knack for knowing which cases should go to trial and which ones shouldn’t. He worked at a time when line prosecutors were given the autonomy to resolve cases the best way they saw fit. Now, however, assistant district attorneys must often get permission from supervisors before reaching a negotiated plea deal.
It’s no secret how Baxter feels about the DA’s office today, said Marietta lawyer Ashleigh Merchant, a former Fulton public defender.
“He used to be an assistant DA and was known for being very efficient,” Merchant said. “He simply gets frustrated with the way that office works.”
As for Baxter being assigned the APS case, she said, “He’ll keep both the defense and the state on track. He’s going to press them when the case isn’t moving. He won’t let them delay the case, unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
Baxter, who is divorced with one son and two daughters, often rides his bicycle to the courthouse. The 6-foot-4, bow tie-sporting jurist is a vegetarian with a solid golf game. Last year, over an eight-day span, Baxter had two holes-in-one.
Baxter grew up in Virginia-Highland and attended Inman Elementary and Grady High School. Baxter’s father, Neil, worked for the school system for a half century, mostly as a high school principal. His mother, Louise, worked for 30 years as an elementary school teacher.
Baxter, the youngest of three boys, had tough acts to follow. Both his brothers were high school class presidents. The oldest, James, would attend Yale University, get his law degree from Harvard Law School and work on Wall Street. The next in line, Don, would become a renowned orthopedic surgeon in Houston.
Their parents said, “Don’t do what the whole crowd does. Do what you think is right,” Don Baxter recalled.
“It would be so upsetting to my parents if they were still alive,” Don Baxter said of the APS allegations. “But I think those teachers are lucky to have Jerry as the judge. He’ll make sure everyone gets treated fairly.”
Jerry Baxter, who declined to comment for this article, earned his undergraduate and law school degrees at the University of Georgia.
After law school, Baxter joined the Fulton Solicitor’s Office and worked for the smut-fighting solicitor, Hinson McAuliffe. One of young Baxter’s assignments was to go watch X-rated movies at local theaters to determine whether they should be prosecuted for pornography.
After less than two years in the Solicitor’s Office, Baxter took a job with the Fulton District Attorney’s Office under then-DA Lewis Slaton. He worked there a dozen years before Gov. Joe Frank Harris appointed Baxter to the State Court bench. In 2000, Gov. Zell Miller appointed Baxter to be a Superior Court judge.
Since taking the bench, Baxter has had his share of high-profile cases.
A decade ago, Aaron Price was convicted at trial of attacking a fellow Morehouse College student with a baseball bat in a dorm shower, but was acquitted of a hate crime. Prosecutors had argued Price was motivated by anti-gay feelings.
As Baxter imposed a sentence of 10 years in prison, Price, speaking softly, accepted responsibility for the assault. Clearly irritated, Baxter asked, “Then what was the trial about?”
Over the past decade, Baxter has issued rulings that dismissed charges against several defendants, including some accused of murder, because it took too long to get their cases to trial. Sometimes, Baxter faulted prosecutors and other times he blamed all involved, including his fellow judges.
In 2010, calling the right to counsel “unqualified and unconditional,” Baxter ordered the state to provide lawyers for indigent inmates, some of whom had been waiting years to file their appeals.
“He strongly believes in a defendant’s rights,” Atlanta lawyer David Botts said. “He also always values somebody else’s time and opinion. That’s what makes him a good judge. It’s not all about him.”
Botts and Baxter were roommates on a farm outside Athens when they attended law school. Because of the parties they threw, their house was a magnet for fellow students.
Botts said he witnessed an example of Baxter’s impartiality a few years ago when he saw a man plead guilty before the judge for stealing a car. Knowing Baxter has had the misfortune of having his car stolen nine times, Botts said he braced himself for the sentence.
But Baxter gave the defendant probation, warning the man not to do anything that would cause him to appear before the judge again, Botts said.
Baxter’s patience may get the ultimate test over the months to come as he tries to keep the massive APS case from spinning out of his control. During a May 2 hearing, he expressed frustration when Senior Assistant District Attorney Fani Willis said it’s possible even more educators could be indicted.
“I mean, I didn’t volunteer for this,” Baxter said from the bench. “It’s been given to me. I’m going to do the best I can.”
The prospect of getting new defendants “is going to be pretty upsetting to me,” he said. “Because it will cause … my meager attempt to keep this orderly and dispose of this case efficiently — it is going to throw a monkey wrench into all that.”
About the Author
