Georgia Judge Was a Hard Working Lawyer, Maybe Too Hard Working--Update

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting Monday evening that the Gwinnett County District Attorney is investigating whether Judge Rodney Harris (pic) was exaggerating when he claimed to have been working astonishing hours for his indigent defendants.  The judge, a former private attorney who was working in the Georgia indigent public defense program was able to work these eye-popping hours, year after year billing the Georgia taxpayers over a million dollars under this indigent criminals program.  Randomly sampled bills that Judge Harris submitted while he was a private lawyer claims that on several occasions he worked 24-hour days, others 21 hours.

He's in trouble.

Georgia's No Guns In Pews Law, OK, for Now

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that Georgia's oppressive ban on firearms in pews can stand till further review of a lawsuit file by pro-gun groups and a local pro-gun Baptist minister are heard on the merits by the Court.  That's right friends, some of my homeboys want the right to pack a piece, (not pass the peace) in Church.  This is reporter Rhonda Cook's account:

"A [U.S. District] judge on Monday declined to block enforcement of a new Georgia law that bans guns in places of worship, but he also rejected a request to dismiss the suit brought last month by a group seeking to make the law less restrictive.

'It's not at all discouraging,'  said John Monroe, the attorney who filed a lawsuit on behalf of a minister at a Thomaston church and GeorgiaCarry.org, gun-rights advocacy group.

U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal, in a 30-minute hearing, said he would base his final decision on the outcome of the lawsuit only on the writings submitted by Monroe and the attorney for the state and Upson County, where Thomaston is the county seat.

[Judge] Royal's ruling on the case likely won't occur this summer. Whatever his decision, legal analysts expect it to be taken to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawsuit was filed in early July, almost two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Second Amendment's guarantee of an individual right to bear arms applied to state and local gun-control laws. The court said the Bill of Rights ensured a person could have a gun in the home for protection. The justices, however, left open to state and local governments as to where the lines could be drawn beyond the home.

GeorgiaCarry.org; the Baptist Tabernacle of Thomaston; GeorgiaCarry.org former president Ed Stone and the Rev. Jonathan Wilkins filed suit against Georgia's exemption for churches, saying church employees and worshipers should be allowed to arm themselves for safety.

They are citing the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion and the Second Amendment promise of a right to bear arms.  The case is believed to be the first in the country to be filed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Groups on both sides of the debate had predicted the next court fight over guns would center on the issue of bringing firearms into churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship.

'My major concern here is ... about the implication that a person cannot take a gun to work,'  [Judge] Royal said.  [BL:  What!!!!]

According to the suit, the new Georgia law -- called the 'church carry statute' -- prohibits Wilkins from having a weapon for protection when he is working alone at the church or when he is on the pulpit. In filings, the minister said he was having  'to choose between two constitutional rights.' 'The handgun is the quintessential self-defense weapon in the United States,'  the suit said.

Firearms in places of worship moved to the front of the fight over more restrictive and less restrictive gun laws when the 2010 Georgia Legislature attempted to replace the prohibition of guns in 'public places' with language that was more specific. The revised law says guns are not allowed in places of worship, government buildings, schools, nuclear power plants and bars without the owner’s permission.

The judge said the 'places of worship'  reference in the law is vague. 'A very plausible argument can be made ... [that] this statute deprived this man of being able to protect himself at work,' Royal said.

The complaint was initially filed in Upson County Superior Court but the case was moved to the U.S. District Court in nearby Macon.  According to the suit, Stone, Wilkins and others want to be able to arm themselves while worshiping  'for the protection of their families and themselves'  without fear of arrest and prosecution. The suit also said Wilkins needed to have a gun for his own protection while working alone at the Baptist Tabernacle and during services 'for the protection of his flock, his family and himself.'

But he is afraid he will be arrested and prosecuted if he brings a gun into the church, the suit said. 'The Tabernacle would like to have members armed for the protection of its members attending worship services and other events at the Tabernacle's place of worship,' [according to the law suit.]"
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You'd think that Reverend Wilkins would be little less concerned about his Second Amendment rights and a little more concerned with the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:5,9--would be a good start.

Georgia's Problem Judges

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has this feature on what it calls the "rash" of Judges stepping down following at least the appearance of impropriety.  This is Bill Tropy and Bill Rankin's story:

"One [Judge] sent a message over Facebook to a criminal defendant, saying he’d give her behind-the-scenes advice on her case. Another was caught having sex in a parked car with the public defender assigned to his courtroom. Another inappropriately touched a prosecutor and investigator after they sat in his lap posing for a photo.

These were not defendants. All three were chief judges in their circuits with decades on the bench.  Since 2008, at least 16 judges across the state have resigned under duress, most recently two veteran chief judges from Cobb and Fulton counties. Some stepped down under a cloud of suspicion. Others left amid scandal or even outright criminality.

Allegations include sexual improprieties, harassment, voter fraud, giving state computers to family members and gross intemperance on the bench.  Why is there so much disorder in the courts?

'This is the worst rash of judicial misconduct I’ve ever seen,' said former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher.  'There have been far too many, and it doesn’t reflect well on the judiciary. You can’t explain some of this conduct.'

Judges haven’t just started misbehaving, court watchers say. The news of one sensational case after another has created a snowball effect, prompting more complaints being filed with the Judicial Qualifications Commission [the JCQ] to quicker resolutions.

This month, Cobb County Superior Court Chief Judge Kenneth Nix abruptly announced he would leave Oct. 6 and admitted he had 'flicked' the two women’s bottoms while they sat in his lap for a photo. The women countered in a public statement that it was no playful touch, it was a 'sex crime.'

In Fulton, State Court Chief Judge A.L. Thompson, on the bench 30 years, notified the governor by letter Aug. 5 that 'it is time to move on.'  Thompson insists he was not being investigated for malfeasance. But judges have long complained about Thompson’s absences, and electronic parking garage records provided to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution showed he came to the courthouse just 56 days in a seven-month period. Last week, Thompson issued a statement saying the JQC had not 'interviewed'  him nor had the JQC disciplined him. He declined to say whether he had met with a JQC investigator before announcing he would step down on Sept. 6. The judge, in an interview, noted health issues have long bedeviled him.

Superior Court Judge Frank Mills III, chief of the Cherokee County circuit, said judges have noticed the resignations. 'I think we’re all bewildered by it; we all talk about it,' he said. 'But most of these cases are not similar, so it’s hard to say there’s any trend.'

It’s not unusual for judges to make enemies, given the gravity of their decisions, such as assigning child custody and sentencing people to prison. Because judges are so powerful, few people are willing to file complaints against them.

'Think about the inherent nature of a judge; how many people will be critical of you?' asked Habersham County District Attorney Brian Rickman, who investigated one judge in his circuit and watched as another’s career disintegrated. 'Most people, like lawyers and court employees, try to keep you happy. There’s a danger of too many people trying to kiss your butt.'

But increased efforts by the JQC seem to be getting results.

'The recent spate of resignations is a radical difference from what happened five years ago,' said John Mrosek, a Fayetteville lawyer who twice ran unsuccessfully against Judge Johnnie Caldwell. The judge resigned this year following allegations he repeatedly sexually harassed a female attorney.

'How many people witnessed Caldwell and [Chief Superior Court Judge Paschal] English doing what they did and turned a blind eye?'  Mrosek asked. 'Once there’s a psychology of not following the rules, it pervades everything.'  English resigned abruptly in April amid revelations he was having an affair with then-public defender Kim Cornwell, who had hundreds of cases before the judge.

Both Caldwell and English resigned soon after meeting with JQC investigator Richard Hyde.

A year ago, Hyde, a former Atlanta police detective, was given authority by the JQC board to confront judges with allegations and his investigative findings and negotiate a quick resignation if warranted.   That was the case in the resignations of Caldwell and English, Mrosek said. '[The JQC] came in, pointed a pistol at them and said, ‘Easy way or hard way.’

Hyde, he added, 'is traveling around the state collecting scalps.' Hyde declined comment.

Most judges choose to resign when confronted rather than go through the embarrassing process of having the commission bring formal, and public, charges against them. If they resign, the allegations often remain secret, which has brought criticism of the agency.  Some judges fight the charges and go to trial, with the Georgia Supreme Court issuing a final opinion. In the case of Twiggs County Probate Judge Kenneth Fowler, witnesses at his trial said Fowler swore at defendants, ordered parties to 'shut up,' referred to African-Americans as 'colored'  and required defendants to prove their innocence.

'His ignorance of the law is inexcusable, and his abuse of his judicial office unacceptable,' the state Supreme Court said in June, removing Fowler.  The commission has been increasingly aggressive since 2008, when South Georgia judges Brooks E. Blitch III and Berrien Sutton resigned after the JQC brought corruption charges against them.

'That has heightened the interest in the role of the JQC,' said Robert Ingram, a lawyer and one of the JQC’s seven commissioners. 'I think that leads to more cases being filed. People who may have had a complaint may have thought the JQC would [now] take it seriously.'

Some complain the JQC acts too slowly. Joe Hendricks, a district attorney in North Georgia, said that it took almost 10 months for the agency to bring formal counts of misconduct against Superior Court Judge Oliver Harris 'Harry' Doss Jr. He was accused of taking state computers for his family, insulting and threatening court staff and repeatedly failing to rule on cases, backlogging the system.

JQC probes are secret, “but a lot of people at the courthouse were aware of the investigation because several people were questioned,” Hendricks said. 'This hung over our heads for nine of 10 months. Those months were very difficult. ... There’s kids awaiting a decision on their custody, defendants waiting for a trial. There’s too many lives hanging.'

The judge resigned in December. Hendricks said that, with Doss no longer on the bench, senior judges closed 1,314 cases the first half of 2010, 302 more than the same time last year with Doss on the bench.

Ingram acknowledged the system can be slow, but noted the JQC has an annual budget of about $250,000 and a state judiciary with more than 1,800 members. 'I think Georgia’s budget is the smallest of all 50 states when compared to the number of judges,' he said.

Muscogee Superior Court Judge John D. Allen, the JQC’s vice chair, expects the number of judges leaving abruptly will 'play out for a period of time.'  But the publicity might prompt some wayward judges to clean up their act.  'It’s not a message we’re trying to send. But, yeah, it’s a deterrent.'"
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List of judges stepping down since 2008

● Clinch County Superior Court Judge Brooks Blitch, who resigned after being accused of overseeing illegal payments to employees and ordering the early release of inmates.

● Woodstock and Marietta municipal Judge Diane Busch, who resigned after being charged with furnishing alcohol to teenagers, stemming from a Christmas party at her home.

● Fayette County Superior Court Judge Johnnie Caldwell, who resigned after being accused of making rude, sexually suggestive comments to an attorney.

● Superior Court Judge James Cornwell Jr. of the Mountain Judicial Circuit, who resigned after allegations he went to Las Vegas with a woman whose divorce he signed; took his underage son to a strip club; and waited three hours before reporting he wrecked his SUV.

● Fayette County Chief Superior Court Judge Paschal English, who resigned amid disclosures he was having an affair with a public defender assigned to his court. A deputy found them having sex in a parked car.

● Twiggs County Probate Judge Kenneth Fowler, who was removed for requiring criminal defendants to prove their innocence and having defendants “buy out” of their community service by making deposits into a bank account he controlled.

● Cobb County Chief Superior Court Judge Kenneth Nix, who resigned after being accused by a county prosecutor and investigator of inappropriately touching their bottoms.

● Chattooga County State Court Judge Carlton Vines, who resigned after being indicted for voter fraud. He already had been suspended after a DUI arrest.

● Chief Superior Court Judge Ernest “Bucky” Woods of the Mountain Judicial Circuit, who resigned after being accused of contacting a female criminal defendant through Facebook.
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I was born in Valdosta, Georgia.  Naturally, I've been defensive about the South throughout my education.  I strongly admired Judge Griffin Bell who served as attorney general under President Carter.  Recently I had the pleasure of cycling with a diabetes researcher from Savannah and we talked about beautiful Georgia. My travels throughout the South in my lifetime are some of my most cherished memories.  But there is also this ridiculous aspect to the South and its jurisprudence like the flamboyant Dickie Scruggs corruption scandal in Mississippi; the law makers in Tennessee who aren't going to be happy until every yahoo in a bar is armed, and of course the Georgia judges.

In reality, none of this has anything to do with the South as such, the problem of bad judges is something you read about on Bad Lawyer week in and week out.  Being a good judge is a magnificent thing--there is no doubt that throughout Judeo-Christian history the story of Judges, good and bad, supply content for the Torah, Talmud, New Testament, all  of western literature including great Operas and film.  A judge has tremendous power and commands great respect, consequently, there is a zone of artificiality around a man or woman occupying the position as even people who know better act in ways that are ingratiating.  A humble person in the position of Judge is able to transcend this bubble in their normal affairs and put persons at ease. 

The larger problem is the one that can simply be traced back to ego run wild.  A person referred to as "your honor," both expressly and in myriad subtle ways can unconsciously fall victim to the illusion that this status lifts them apart from humanity.  There was a former OurCounty Judge, Judge Full O Self, with an office in the suite of offices that I shared in my first couple of years in private practice.  This "Judge" never abandoned the title of "Judge" going so far as to advertise in giant font in the Yellow Pages as:  Judge Full O Self.  In the decades before the cell phone,by prearrangement with his secretary, Judge Full O Self would have himself paged at casinos in Vegas and Atlantic City during various Bar Association junkets.  According to friends who were there, he thrilled to hear, "paging Judge Self" over the casino public address system. 

None of this matters, in reality if the person with the power and glory of Judge is a a wise and merciful jurist.  Where this breaks down is when as we see in Georgia, petty tyrants have the power to take and grant liberty, property, and dignity from others.  That , of course, is when the rubber meets the road.  God bless, the judge with ego in check and the capacity for genuine wisdom--it matters not one whit to me whether that judge arrived at the exalted place by election or merit selection, by accident or destiny.