0 2 State of the Judiciary
0 3 Statement of the Judicial Council/AOC Director
0 4 Judicial Council of Georgia Strategic Plan Judicial Council Actions FY 2017 Year in Review Budget

1 8 Commission on Dispute Reso lution
1 9 Training Councils
2 0 Highlights for FY 2017

0 8 Judicial Council/AOC Director's Division Financia l Administration Division Communications, Children, Families, and the Courts Division Information Technology Division Judicial Services Division

21 Jud icial Appointments and Elections

The Judicial Council of Georgia was created in 1945 to develop policies for administering and improving Georgia courts. Judicial Counci l members and committees meet throughout the year to addr ess specific aspects of court administration and improvement. The Judicial Council is made up of 27 members w ho represent every class of court, plus the President of the State Bar of Georgia, who serves as a non-voting member.

The Adm inistrative Office of the Courts (AOC) was created in 1973. As staff to the Judicial Council, the AOC provides subject-matter expertise on policy, court innovation, legislation, and court administration to all Georgia courts. Published by theJudicial Counci l of Georgia and the Administrative Office of the Courts in compliance w ith O.C.G.A. 15-5-24 and by Order of the Supreme Court of Georgia dated June 12, 1978.

Director., Cyn th ia H. Clanton Cha ir, Chief Justice P. Harris Hines Judicial Counci l of Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts 244 Washington Street SW Su ite 300 Atla nta, GA 30334
www.georgiacourts.gov

State of the Judiciary
Speaking to a joint session of the Georgia General Assembly, ChiefJustice P. Harris Hines delivered his first State ofthe Judiciary address onJanuary 25, 201 7.

02
"Forty years ago, at the Invitation ofthen House Speaker Tom Murphy, Chief Justice H.E. Nichols stood most likely where I stand today and for the first time reported to aJoint session ofthe General Assembly on the State ofGeorgia's Judiciary. But Georgia Is a much different state than when ChiefJustice Nichols stood here, and Georgia'sJud/dory must keep up with a growing population, growing caseloads, andgrowing technological advances."

Chief Justice P. Harris Hines Ju d icia l Co u ncil Chair
Many of the Chiefs remarks highlighted the great changes that have come to Georgia in 2017:
Hist oric Changes for the Judicial Branch
Since 1945, the number ofjustices on the Supreme Court has been seven. The GA Legislature funded two additional justices, which allowed the Supreme Court bench to grow to nine Supreme Court Justices in 2017.
Justice Michael P. Boggs was appointed upon the retirement of Justice Hugh P. Thompson; Justice Nels S.D. Peterson and Justice Britt Grant were appointed on January 1, 2017 with the expansion of the Supreme Court.
The Court of Appeals has also changed, from twelve to fifteen judges.
The three newest judges in 2017 are:Judge Clyde Reese, Judge Charlie Bethel, and Judge Tripp Self.

Ongoing Criminal Justice Reform
Georgia's ongoing criminal justice reform reflects the impact that can occur when all three branches of government work together. Other states now look to emulate this effort.
Georgia has enacted policies that hold criminal offenders accountable, improve public safety, and save taxpayer dollars.

139
accountability courts, including drug courts, mental health courts, DUI courts, and veteran courts, exist across Georgia today.

Improving Georgia's Court System
Georgia courts prioritized assisting people who simply cannot afford legal representation.
The growing use of technology, innovative self-help clinics, and kiosks have helped people fill out legal forms and petitions.
Georgia supports working toward hiring full-time juvenile court judges who serve on the front lines of crime prevention.
Georgia courts are continuously working to identify changes needed to guarantee ci tizens a timely resolution of their cases while meeting constitutional requiremen ts of due process.

800,000
civil cases involving self-represented litigants were heard by Georgia courts last year.

03
Statement of the Judicial Council/AOC Director
On behalf of the Judicial Council and the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) of Georgia, I am pleased to present the 44th annual report on our accomplishments during FY 2017. The AOC exists to serve the Judicial Council of Georgia, and that service is broad. Our charge from
theJudicial Council's strategic plan is to improve justice in all Georgia courts, which we continue
to do through collaboration, innovation, and information .
In the AOC, we have five divisions serving theJudicial Council: Financial Administration; Information Technology; Judicial Services; Communications, Children, Fam iiies, and the Courts; and the Director's Division. We create this annual report to take stock of our work for t he fiscal year from July 2016 throughJune 201 7. This past yea r, the AOC has staffed five Judicial Council meetings, multiple planning meetings, and 29 Judicial Council committee meetings.
Work within the committees this year includes: supporting the Criminal Justice E-filing Initiative with a number of Executive Branch agencies; the Tax Refund Intercept Program (TRIP) in partnership with t he Department of Revenue to obtain court fines from income tax retu rns; staffing the National Center Workload Project with the Superior and State Court Judges; enlisting SeniorJudge Jim Bodiford as the first ever Judicial Council Fellow to serve as a mentor and lead a Georgia team of judges Qudge Ben Studda rd, Judge Jack Parta in, and Judge Ann Harris) to assist the U.S. State Department in providing tra ining on jury trials to judges in t he Republic of Georgia; supporting the creation of a Misdemeanor Probation Bench Card; launching a new online child support calculator and expa nding ou r e-filing services for child support; working with judges to hold two "Twitter Town Hall" meetings, on September 15, 2016 and May 9, 2017, to celebrate Constitution Day and Law Day; and much more.
This year marked an unusual amount of change for the Jud icial Bra nch. As ChiefJustice P. Harris Hines said in his State of the Judiciary address in January, we have more than 30 new superior court j udges as well as many new j udges in every class of court. January 2017 also brought three new justices onto t he Supreme Court of Georgia, which has expanded from seven to nine justices. January allowed us to witness the investiture of Chief Justice Hines and Presiding Justice Harold Melton, who also serve as Chair and Vice Chair of theJudicial Council. After the swearing in, Chief Justice Hines spoke about the love and support from his family, and he serenaded his wife Helen from the podium with a spoken word version of Rod Stewart's song, "You're in My Hea rt." A video of the swearing in may be seen on theJC/AOC website at www.georgiacourts.gov.
I officially became the Director in December 2015, and I've lea rned it is essential for a leader to surround herself with really smart and focused people. One should ma ke sure that "the people we try to lead are better t han we are." This is certainly true within t he AOC. It is truly a privilege to work with my staff to serve the judges and citizens of Georgia with the goal of improving justice.
Cynthia H. Clanton
www.georgiacourts.gov

Chief Justice P. Harris Hines Chair Supreme Court of Georgia
PresidingJustice Harold D. Melton Vice Chair Supreme Court of Georgia
Chief Judge Stephen Louis A. Dillard Court of Appea ls
Vice Chief Judge Christopher J. McFadden Court of Appea ls
Chief Judge Kathy S. Palmer Council of Superior Court Judges
Judge Stephen D. Kelley Council of Superior Court Judges
Chief Judge H. Gregory Fowler Council of State CourtJudges

Judge Nancy N. Bills Council of State Court Judges
Judge James R. Whitfield Counci l of Juvenile Court Judges
Judge Philip B. Spivey Council of Juvenile Court Judges
Judge Rooney Bowen Ill Counci l of Probate Cou rt Judges
Judge Sarah S. Harris Council of Probat e Court Judges
Chief Judge James M. Griner, Jr. Counci l of Magistrate Court Judges
Chief Judge Glenda Dowling Council of Magistrate Court Judges
Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson Counci l of Munici pal Court Judges
Judge Matthew M. McCord Council of Munici pal Court Judges
Mr. Brian D. "Buck" Rogers President, State Bar of Georgia Ex Officio

Chief Judge Stephen G. Scarlett First District
Judge Stephen S. Goss Second District
Judge Arthur Lee Smith Ill Third District
Chief Judge Courtney Lynn Johnson Fourth District Chief Judge Gail S. Tusan Fifth District
Judge BrianJ. Amero Sixth District
Judge Jack 0. Partain Ill Seventh District
Chief Judge Donald W. Gillis Eighth District
Judge Bonnie Chessher Oliver Ninth District
Chief Judge Carl C. Brown, Jr. Tenth District

Strategic Plan

05
In October of 2016, the Judicial Council adopted a new strategic plan for FY 2017 through FY 2019. This plan continues the vision, mission, guiding principles, and strategic objectives of the prior strategic plan.

Vision
To improve justice in all Georgia courts t hrough collaboration, innovation, and information
Mission
The Judicial Cou ncil and AOC lead collaboration on policy across Georgia's courts to improve the administration of justice in Georgia.
Guiding Principles
Uphold the independence and integrity of the judiciary Promote efficient and effective administration of justice
Su pport informed, fact-based decisions that affect the courts
Colla borate with key stakeholders inJudicial, Executive, and Legislative branches
Key Initiatives 1. Promote public accessibility and transparency in the courts
2. Promote the use of technology as an effective communication tool
3. Encourage ongoing use of CourTools measu res to promote access and fairness in courts
4. Encourage ongoing Executive and Legislative Branch com munications and~initiatives of mutual interest
5. Modernize court information collection and workload assessment to accurately reflect the work of the courts
6. Promote effective mult i-disciplinary jud icial education practices across multiple councils and groups
7. Enhance the professional and ethical image of the judiciary in the community 8. Monitor and share trends and best practices of interest to the judiciary
9. Assist the judiciary in business continuity and leadership succession planning

Strategic Objectives
Improve Citizen Experience With Georgia Courts

D
r0v0-0n

Improve Collaboration and Planning

Build Thought Leadership

Judicial Council/AOC Strat egic Planning Meeting, July 2016

To see the latest progress, go to www.georgiacourts.gov.

Judicial Council Actions

06
The Judicial Council convened five times in 2017 to consider action items and to review or listen to reports from the Access, Fairness, Public Trust and Confidence Committee; the Budget Committee; the Committee on Court Reporting Matters; Committee on Grants; the Judicial Workload Assessment Committee; the Policy and Legislative Committee; the Strategic Plan Committee; the Committee on Technology; the Committee on Records Retention and the Committee on Process Servers.

December 9, 2016 was ChiefJustice Thompson's last meeting as Chair of the Judicial Council. February 24, 2017 was ChiefJustice Hines' first meeting as Chair.

This year, the Judicial Council came together to:
Recommend an additional superior court judgeship for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit

-- Review and approve amended FY 201 7 and FY 2018 budget requests
~ Adopt a strategic plan for FY 201 7 to FY 2019

Approve an amendment to Rule 2.3(A) ofJudicial Council Policies and Fees for Court Reporting Services in Criminal Cases

Hear and vote on items reported by the Pol icy and Legislative Committee, which recomm ended posit ions of support for several items of legislat ion. Informational reports are also provided by this committee throughout the year.
FY 2017 Year in Review
Legislative Session
This year, the Judicial Council successful ly supported legislation which passed, notably:
SB 132: Authorized theJud icial Council to create and maintain civil and domestic filing forms, with final approval by the Supreme Court.
HB 370: Supported the Council of Mu nicipal Court Judges' request for authorization to create a savings plan for its members.
Budget
$130,925,792 was appropriated to the entire Judicial Bra nch for FY 2018 during the 201 7 legislative session. This accounts for less than 1% of the budget for the State of Georgia.
En hanced funding was received for the Court Process Reporting System, the Council of Accountability Court Judges, the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education, and the Judicial Qualifications Commission. Funding supported certification and peer review programs, education and training, and additional staff su pport. Adjustments were received for statewide changes, judicial retirement needs, and other administrative changes unique to the Judicial Council.
The amended FY 2017 budget included a reduction of funds to reflect savings in personal services and align budget expenditures and adjustments listed above.
www.georgiacourts.gov

07
Judicial Council Budget
The total FY 2017 budget for t he Judicial Council totaled 14,728,939.
Amended FY 2017 Budget: Enhancements to Funding

Merit System Assessments

I $1.327

Georgia Building Authority

-$22,879

Judicial Qualifications Commission -$40,000

FY 2018 Budget Enhancements
Institute for ContinuingJudicial Education Council of Accountability Court Judges Judicial Council Judicial Quali fications Commission Total

$132,361
$44,961
$104,024 $104,024

Adjustments

-$49,749 *-$45,758

$3,919 $25,966

-$1,094

$116,756

perJC/AOC request

$278,989

Requested Funded
$467,974

$317,083

Council of State CourtJudges Retirement Department of Administrative Services Employees Retirement System Georgia Building Authority Georgia Technology Authority Merit-Based Pay Adjustments Merit System Assessments
Total

$367,123

www.georgiacourts.gov

08
Judicial Council/AOC
The Judicial Council/AOC provides subject-matter expertise on policy, court innovation, legislation, and court administration to all classes of courts. The agency also offers a full range of information technology, budget, and financial services to theJudicial Branch.

Director's Division
In FY 2017, the AOC:

The Director's Division includes the Office of the General Counsel, Office of Govern mental and Trial Court Liaison, and Human Resources.

Drafted 553 documents
~ 230 letters prepared by HR to include offer letters, regret letters, and other benefit c o rr es p o ndence
181 269 let ters
~ 25 agendas
r.'\25
\::::J sets of Minutes
i: member guides

Staffed 29 meetings
..- meetings
.,~ .:. 2days on the bench
~ ~anels
1
legislative reception
Twitt er Town Halls

Human Resource Services
~ 113 AOC policies and procedures were updated and reviewed
~ 6e5xternal judiciary job vacancies
were posted
CI) 13 staff meetings and informational sessions were held
JiE] 3 employee discrim ination t r ain ings
Talent Acquisition Services

General Counsel Successes
140 contracts were drafted and executed. Developed internal grant compliance officer expertise. $2.4 million in grant funds were appropriated to eight non-profits by che Civil Legal Assistance Project.
The grant funds assisted with:
Providing more than 6,300 families with civil legal services Safeguarding 2,400 children Obtaining nearly 3,500 temporary protective orders Providing 680 clients with housing assistance

A6
TTTT GA jud icial agencies/entit ies
- 5 posit ions
www.georgiacourts.gov

Governmental and Trial Court Liaison
In FY 2017, the Governmental and Trial Court Liaison (GTCL) provided services to trial cou rt councils, collaborated with Judicial Branch stakeholders, and supported the Judicial Council in its strategic goals and mission.
Liaison Function
Staff provided policy, technica l, and/or administrative support to the Council of Municipa l Court Judges, the Municipal Courts Tra ining Council, the Council of Mun icipa l Court Clerks, the Magistrate Courts Tra ining Council, and the Council of Magistrate Court Clerks. Working in conjunction with the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education, staff continued to support the annual certification processes for the training councils. Liaison staff also began the development of a Felony Probation Bench Card for judges, in partnersh ip with Justice Michael P. Boggs.
Legislative Function
Staff supported the Judicial Council Policy and Legislative Committee and theJudicial Council's legislative package. Staff conducted legislative tracking of al l legislation affecting the judiciary, produced twice-weekly legislative reports, and facilitated weekly legislative teleconference updates with all council leadership and staff. Additionally, legislative staff worked to successfully pass the Judicial Council's Senate Bill 132 and worked closely with the Counci l of Munici pal Court Judges on the passage of House Bill 370.

09

Staffed 5 Jud icial Council meetings
I )I Staffed 47 meetings

r-, '7"<

Presented at 13
conferences

~ Tracked 255 bills

f

Facilitated 34 com munication

, reports and meetings by

conference call

Financial Administration Division
A tota l of 103 projects were mainta ined over FY 2017, including state, federal, and other funded programs. All program s are continuously monitored for budgetary compl iance and available for the annual independent inspection and aud it.
In 2017, the Tax Refund Intercept Program became a permanent program, serving as the clearinghouse to aggregate intercept requests for unpaid court fines and fees and managing transactions with the Department of Revenue. More t han $100,000 was col lected on behalf of 19 courts, with these additional dollars paid to courts with tax refund intercept notices. The Judicial Council/AOC will continue to expa nd the program to interested courts.

The Financial Administration Division processes all financial transactions for seventeen judicial agencies.

10

Communications, Children, Families, and the Courts Division

The Communicat ions, Children, Fam ilies, and the Cou rts Division serves as a hu b for all com mun ications a nd provides st affing services for select comm ittees a nd com missions.

Committee on Justice for Children U4C)
To improve t he process of civil child abuse and neglect cases, t he Supreme Court of Georgia received a Court Improvement Grant in 1995. As a result, the Committee onJustice for Children was formed. It is current ly chaired by Just ice David E. Nahmias. The focus of t he Committee is t o administ er federal grants and improve just ice for children in dependency cases.
In January, a former juvenile court judge vvas hired to staff the J4C. Work cont inues on several exist ing projects including t he Cold Case Project and the Court Process Reporting System, among ot her partnerships. A nevv Supreme Court order direct ing the vvork, mission, and members of t he Committ ee vvill be issued in September 2017.
Communications
Improving communications remains a priority under the Judicial Council St rategic Plan. Promot ing t he work of t heJudicial Council improves justice by maintaining t he public's t rust and confidence in t heir state's judiciary.
Communicat ions includes vvrit ing and publishing t he an nual report; publishing t he Georgia CourtsJournal; distribut ing press releases; updat ing social media, and maintaining t he Courts Directory. This year, the primary focus has been to create content vvith videos and images. VVe've profiled and livest reamed mult iple events of judges part icipating in panels, speeches, and projects to improve just ice: "Reflect ions on Ferguson," "Day on t he Bench in t he South Georgia Circuit," and "Fairy Tale Trial" in t he Bell Forsyth Judicial Circuit. As a result, we've been able t o steadily grow our social media follovving.

Child Support
The Georgia Child Support Project is a collaborat ive effort betvveen theJudicial Council/AOC and the Department of Hu man Services, Division of Child Support Services.
The primary duty of the project is to staff t he Georgia Commission on Child Support, vvhich is chaired byJudge R. Michael Key. The Commission is engaged in several projects to improve collaborat ion, plann ing, and cit izen experience in Georgia courts, along vvit h building thought leadership.
Child Support Commission Initiatives for FY 2017
The Commission approved and developed a nevv online child support calculator vvhich makes calculating child support more int uit ive and allovvs for t he phasing out of Excel-based calculators.
The staff conducts ongoing t raining regarding use of t he calculator and respond to inquiries on a daily basis.They also take part in ongoing collaborat ive vvork vvit h t he Division of Child Support Services. This vvork includes training, efiling wit h the IT division, and supporting the DCSS Parental Account ability Courts (PAC).
The AOC developed a databa se using collected data to provide stat ist ical evidence of the efficacy of these courts.
The Child Support Commission provides t raining to attorneys, judges, and mediat ors t hroughout t he state, conducts research pertaining to child support, and sponsors legislation .

w w w . g e o rgia cou rts.gov

Access, Fairness, Public Trust, and Confidence Committee (AFPTCC)
Contract Attorney Karl ise Grier continued her service to this Committee, which is co-chaired by Justice Carol W. Hunstein and Justice Robert Benham. Justice Britt Gra nt and Justice Michael P. Boggs have become liaisons to this Committee.
During FY 2017: Four committ ee meetings were held.
The Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Handbook for the Georgia cou rts was complet ed and distributed through relevant partnerships.
A summit on Human Trafficking and the Courts was held with support fro m a State Justice Institute grant.
An educational event ent itled "Georgia Reflections on Ferguson: The Role of the Courts" was held in December of 2016.

11


Information Technology Division
The Information Technology Division has made updates and transitions during FY 2017 to improve the quality and stability of services provided to Georgia's judicial stakeholders.
Currently our network has: 128 server environment (hosts) with 1,124 monitored services 99.89% uptime, on average
The help desk has: 1,714 support calls logged 1,659 closed/resolved issues
The five core services to the JC/AOC staff are:
~ Email
Ct, Network infrastructure (including security)
L'.j Applications (development, versioning, maintenance, and
reporting)
I@ File/folder access
~ Mobility/remote access

The five core services for judges, clerks, and court administrators are:

LJ Case management

~ Data exchange

~ Reporting

0
.::::::\

Consu lt ing

~ Training

The Information Technology Division is guided by the Judicial Council's Committee on Technology.
The Information Technology division was involved in 12 project initiatives throughou t FY 2017, in addition to a range of technologica l services to the courts, including software, data backups, resiliency, and mobile access security. The IT division provides installation, training, and support for standards-compliant software to courts and ancillary judicial agencies across Georgia at reduced and no-cost options. It leverages the cost advantages of a larger user base by partnering with any of the classes of court across 159 counties and hundreds of municipalities. It supports justice partners in their constitutional mandate for the provision of effective, efficient and timely access to the courts by all their citizens. By providing case management systems, it enables justice partners in small courts access to technological resources otherwise only avai lable to larger jurisdictions while maintaining local discretion.
Notable projects included:
Criminal justice E-Filing Project (CJEP) With the Executive Branch
The Technical Workgroup is comprised of IT representatives from GBI, GTA, DCS, GPDC, DOC, AOC, and PAC. The workgroup supports defining standards, evaluating technica l implementations, and providing recommendations regarding the deployment of the CJEP.
Infrastructure Updates for Capacity and Security
The Infrastructure Team is preparing for additional capacity demands as req uired.
At the moment, we now support: Intranet with hundreds of external customers Hardware installation for e-courts, with 300+ users already identified Supporting development of single sign-on portal Accountability Courts Web service via theJC Tech Committ ee Caseload updates

www.georgiacourts.gov

12

Judicial Services Division

Through its two sections, the Judicial Services Division provides data-driven analysis of the state's trial courts and oversees the policy and regu latory matters of Georgia's court professionals.

Research and Data Analysis
The Office of Research and Data Analysis provides valuable insight to Georgia's Judicial Branch with thorough, data-driven ana lysis.
Record Reporting in all Classes of Court Caseload data from 1,000+ courts are collected annually by the AOC. FY 201 7 was a record reporting year for Georgia cou rtsparticularly among the state's municipal courts with a 16% increase in reporting rate. Additionally, the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, su perior, state, juvenile, and magistrate courts submitted 100% of their caseload reports.
New Probate Form The Council of Probate CourtJudges began efforts to improve case dat a collection in 2015. Developing a new caseload reporting form was a major milestone within the proj ect. In CY 2016, this form was used to allow the probate courts to better align with national reporting standards and reflect the ongoing nature of probate cases. The change did not hinder reporting97% of reports were filed.
Probate Forms Filed From 2014-2016
SM

4M

3M
Vl
bO C
u.. 2M

1M

0

2014

2015

2016

Year

Council of Accountability Court Judges Full-Time Research Support To consol idate resources and work efficiently, the Council of Account ability Court Judges (CACJ), Criminal Justice Coordinat ing Council (CJCC), and t he AOC partnered to deliver technical and resea rch services to the council. The AOC's Office of Research and Data Analysis now has a fullt ime res earch analyst, and the IT Division is hosting a new database to serve as t he data repository for the information utilized for analysis.

www.georgiacourts.gov

13
New Project: Superior and State Court Workload Assessments Underway
In January of 2017, t he National Center for State Courts (NCSC), Council of Superior Court Judges, and the Council of State Court Judges, along with the AOC, launched a collective effort called the Georgia Judicial Workload Assessment Proj ect. The proj ect sim plifies Georgia's case categories, aligns the state's caseload reporting to NCSC standards, evaluates current caseload r eporting methods, and allocates j udicial resources. The project is set to conclude in October of 2018.
Trial Court Caseload*
In 2016, Georgia courts received over t hree m illion incom ing cases. Of t hat , 89% of the filings were generated by the limited jurisdiction courts (state, juvenile, p robate, magist rate, and municipal courts). The largest portion of cases filed in 201 5 were traffic cases, which com prised 52% of the caseload. The municipal courts provided t he largest number of incom ing cases at 38% of the total caseload.
CY 2015-2016 Georgia Caseload by Case Type Limited: (State, Juvenile, Probate, Magistrate, Municipal) General: (Superior)

2015 limited

1,728,664

2016 limited

1,995,338

2015 general 2016 general

172,175
145,786 366,203
169,921
150,303 369,730

CY 2015-2016 Totals and Percent Change by Case Type

2,943,846
Criminal Traffic 3,239,763 General Civil Domestic Relations Juvenile
Total

2015

81,256

628,311

2016

687,010

1,728,664 1,995,339

3,310,049

Criminal 9.34% Traffic 15.43% General Civil -3.62% Domestic Relations 3.10% Juvenile -5.11%
Total 9.05%

3,609,493

*Data are accurate as of the date retrieved and may net match previousor iUtur-e publicaticnsdue to acdicicr.al reports andior corrections m previous reporting. Only courts that have self-repcrtec data are includeo in these figures. Tr.is repcrt likely ur.cerestimatesGeorgia's total caseloao. Reporting levels vary by class of court.

www.georgiacourts.gov

14
CY 2016 Georgia Caseload Totals and Percentage Change by Court Class

369,757

710,310

81,256

2015

315,164 587,238

1,257,751

369,730

3,321,476

Superior -0.01 State -4.37% Juvenile -5.11% Probate -0.22% Magistrate-1.15% Municipal +26.29%
Total +8.67%

679,263

77,106

2016

314,475 580,483

1,588,436

3,609,493

www.georgiacourts.gov

15
2015-2016 Georgia Case Characteristics
Over CY 2016, Georgia courts saw a rise in cases involving self-represented lit igants and parties with limited English proficiency. In tota l, t he courts hea rd 1,1 40,085 cases involving self-represented litigants and 16,963 cases involving persons with limited English proficiency. In both instances, the municipa l courts provided t he greatest num ber of cases for each category.
Cases with Self-Represented Litigants (SRL) and Parties With Limited English Proficiency (LEP)

2015 SRL Total: 882,141

164,088

237,323

403,425

2016 SRL Total: 1,140,085

2015 LEP Total: 16,307

1,861 4,792 2,710
0
914 6,030

2016 LEP Total: 16,963

2,301 4,000 2,725 615 778 6,544

123,068

305,549

263,687

358,793

2015 - 2016 Georgia Case Characteristics Percent Change

Superior State Juvenile Probate Magistrate
Municipal

-8% SRL
-12%
-20%
LEP
-17%

22%
23%
19% 1%
8%

38%
Superior State . Juvenile Probate Magistrate Municipal
Total

www.georgiacourts.gov

16
Judicial Demographics
Demographic information for Georgia's current judicial population is listed below.

Supreme Court (9 Justices)
5 White Male 2 White Female
2 Black Male

Juvenile Court (130 Judges)
69 White Ma le 29 White Female 8 Black Male 7 Black Female 1 Asian Male 16 Unknown

Court of Appeals (15 Justices)
8 White Male 4 White Fema le 1 Black Male 1 Black Fema le 1 Asian Female

Probate Court (174 Judges)
72 White Ma le 89 White Female 4 Black Male
9 Black Female

Superior Court (212 Judges)
150 White Male 31 White Female 11 Black Female 9 Black Male 1 Asian Ma le 10 Unknown
State Court (129 Judges)
88 White Ma le 24 White Female 7 Black Male 7 Black Fema le 1 Asian Ma le 1 Native American Male 1 Unknown

Magistrate Court (515 Judges)
234 Whit e Male 158 Whit e Female 40 Black Male 27 Black Female 2 Asian Female 2 Native American Male 1 Native American Female 1 Two or More Races Male 50 Unknown
Municipal Court (343 Judges)
242 White Male 30 White Female 23 Black Male 15 Black Female 2 Asian Male 1 Native American Male 1 Two or More Races Female 1 Two or More Races Male 28 Unknown

www.georgiacourts.gov

17

Office of Court Professionals

The registrar team assisted in new certification, registration, and licensure of:

The Office of Court Professiona ls consists of
two teams: the Georgia Courts Registrar team, ta sked with processing court
professionals' applications, testing, certification, and continuing education, and
the Policy and Regulatory team assigned
to staff j udicial branch regulatory bodies, including the Supreme Court Commission on Interpreters, the Judicial Counci l's Board of Cou rt Reporting, and the Georgia Certified Process Server Program .
The Georgia Courts Registrar team spent the year offering external t raining to various groups includ ing municipal court judges and clerks, newly certified Georgia court reporters, and registered neut rals.

444
New Court Professionals
385
Georgia Registered Neutrals
Georgia Certified Court Reporters
Georgia Licensed Interpreters

This year, the Office of Court Professionals made strides in streamlining processes and procedures to make the courts more accessible. For example:

A single sign-on login system

Im plemented by the Georgia Courts Registrar System, t his allows court

I

professionals, regardless of what role they play (interpreter, neutral, court

reporter, or j udge) to use one login for the registrar system. Staff has been

traveling to conferences to help people with t he new registration system.

ID cards and certification
In response to demand, court professionals can request a plastic ID ca rd refl ecting their certificat ion, for a small fee.
In-house tracking of court reporting
Tracking of court reporting and continuing education is now managed inhouse with positive customer satisfaction feedback for services received.

www.georgiacourts.gov

Related Agency Reports

18

Commission on Dispute Resolution

Currently, there are 45 programs in Georgia offering ADR services to 93 of the 159 counties. As ofJu ne 30, 2017, there were 2,200 registered neutrals in Georgia.

The Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution is a policymaking body appointed by the Supreme Court of Georgia, charged with the following duties:
Administering a statewide comprehensive Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program
Overseeing the development and ensuring the quality of all court programs
Approving court programs

Year Highlights
The Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Dispute Resolution and the Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Georgia awarded the 2016 ChiefJustice Harold G. Clarke Award to Douglas Hurt Yarn, Professor, Georgia State University College of Law and Executive Director, Consortium on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of alternative dispute resolution in Georgia.

Developing guidelines for court ADR programs
Developing criteria for training and qualifications of neu t ra ls
Establishing and enforcing standards of conduct for neu t ra ls
The Commission, supported by the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, has created a statewide plan for ADR in Georgia. This enables any superior, state, juvenile, probate, or magistrate court in Georgia to offer litigants alternatives to traditional litigation. Those alternatives- mediation, nonbinding arbitration, and case evaluation- give litigants lower-cost choices for resolving their differences compared to going to trial, helping conserve scarce court resources for high-conflict cases.
To conduct an ADR session in a court program, neutrals must be registered in the appropriate category with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution. Ca tegories for registration include general civil mediation, domestic relations mediation, specia Iized domestic violence mediation, arbitra tion, early neutral evaluation, juvenile dependency, and juvenile delinquency.

The 23rd Annua l ADRInstitute and 2016 Neutrals' Conference was held Friday, December 9, 2016, at the State Bar of Georgia. There were 228 attendees in total. New this year was the web streaming option.
The Commission on Dispute Resolution and Georgia Commission on Family Violence continue their collaborative work on mediation guidelines used by local ADR programs to screen domestic relations cases and other civil cases to determine if intimate partner violence/abuse (domestic violence) is a factor between the part ies. The safety of victims of domestic violence is a Commission on Dispute Resolution priority and the current guidelines will be reviewed to ensure best practices are used based upon the latest research and practices in the fields of mediation and intimate partner violence/abuse.
The 2016 ADR Program Directors Conference was held November 30 to December 2, at Lake Lanier Island Resort. There were 22 program directors/coordinators present for the two-day retreat. The agenda featured structured presentations on data collection, mediating cases with domestic violence, and the online child support calculator. Facilitated discussions were also helpful in identifying areas where the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution could provide further support to existing court programs. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and the next conference is scheduled for November 2017 .

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Training Councils

19

The Georgia Magistrate Courts Training Council
The Georgia Magistrate Courts Training Council which was created by statute in 1983, consists of six members, and oversees the training and certification of Magistrate Judges. O.C.G.A. 15-10-130, et seq. The Council, chai red by Chief Judge Mary Kathryn Moss (Magistrate Court of Chat ham County), met six times in FY 201 7:
September 8, 2016 -via GoTo Meeting October 2, 2016 - during the biannual recertification training held in Savannah, GA December 15, 2016-via GoTo Meeting March 9, 2017 - via GoTo Meeting April 23, 2017 - during the biannual recertification tra ining held in Augusta, GA June 15, 2017 -via GoTo Meeting
The Council developed and approved the training curriculum for mandatory annual magistrate training, focusing on such topics as first appearances, bonds, social media, arrest warrants, menta l health, probation, and JQC opinions. In add ition, the Counci l created new tra ining offerings including a boot camp for new chief magistrates and various webinars. The Council also administered a mentor program for new magistrates. The Council issued certification to magistrate court judges meeting the annual training requirement for CY 2016.
The Georgia Magistrate Courts Training Council submits this report pursuant to O.C.G.A. 15-10-134(e).

The Georgia Municipal Courts Training Council
Created pursuant to O.C.G.A. 36-32-22, consists of six members and oversees the training and certification of municipal court judges and ch ief clerks. The Council, cha ired by Chief Judge Margaret Washburn (Municipal Court of Sugar Hill), met five times in FY 201 7:
September 16, 2016 - Duluth, GA October 14, 2016 - Athens, GA January 20, 2017 - Athens, GA March 31, 2017 - Greensboro, GA June 20, 2017 - Savanna h, GA
The Council developed and approved the training curriculum for mandatory annual municipal court judges training, focusing on such topics asJudicial Ethics; Collaborat ing with the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA); Fees, Fines, and Surcharges in the Adult Probation System; Caseloads: Trends and Reporting Requirements; Mental Health Indicators from a Clinical Standpoint; Legislative and Case Law Updates; Human Trafficking Indicators; a procedural Contempt Panel; and updates from the Department of Driver Services. A revamped New Judges Only track was also offered on the Fundamentals of Cou rtroom Management; Uniform Rules and Court Security; and Workplace Violence. The Council issued certification to municipal court judges meeting the annual trai ning requirement for CY 2016 and reported delinquencies to t he Judicial Qualificat ions Commission as prescribed by statute.
Additionally, per statutory requirement, the Council also oversaw the training and certifi cation of chief municipal court clerks. The tra ining curriculum for chief clerks focused on such topics as Caseload Reporting; retention schedules; the Open Records Act; eth ics; Tolling Orders; Fines and Fees; Ferguson; Technology; and updates from the Department of Driver Services and the Georgia Crime Information Center. The Counci l issued certification to chief municipa l court clerks meeting the annual training requi rement for CY 2016. The Georgia Municipa l Courts Training Council submits this report pu rsuant to O.C.G.A. 36-32-24.

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Judicial Appointments and Elections

Superior Court - Appointments

Judge William F. Sparks Judge Don W. Tho,mpson Judge Aaron B. Mason Judge Rebecca Ashley Wright Judge Cynthia C.Adams Judge Paige Reese Whitaker Juidge David L. Mincey, Ill

10/06/16 11/03/16 01 /01/ 17 02/0 1/ 17 02/13/17 02/27/17 02/27/17

Superior Court - Elect ions January 1, 2017
Judge G. E. Bo Adams Judge Scott L. Ballard Judge Jimmie H. Brown Judge Kimberly A. Childs Judge Thomas A. Cox,Jr. Judge Eric K. Dunaway Judge Belinda E. Edwards Judge Denise D. Fachini Judge EdwardJohn Flythe Judge Judson L. Green, IV Judge Robert W. Guy,Jr. Judge Thomas Brittan Hammond Judge Heather Hendricks Lanier Judge Thomas David Lyles Judge Robert L. Mack, Jr. Judge Barry Scott Minter Judge Michael T. Muldrew Judge Amanda S. Petty Judge Shana M. Rooks Judge Andrew C. Spivey Judge Clayton A. Tomlinson

State Court - Appointments

Judge Kathryn L. Powers Judge Jeffery N. Osteen

01 /04/17 04/1 1/17

Ro me Lookout Mounta in Clayton Augusta Douglas Atlanta
Houston Gr iffi n Southwestern Cobb Atlanta Atlanta Atlanta Cordele Augusta Dublin Bru nswick Toombs South Georgia Paulding Clayton Conasauga Ogeechee Ocmulgee Clayton Waycross Ala pa ha
Liberty Clayton

State Court - Elections
January 1, 2017
Judge John G. Breakfield Judge David A. Kendrick Judge Jane Pyron Manning Judge Kellie Kenner McIntyre Judge Joseph Luke Mitchell Judge John S. Morgan Judge Allison Ba rnes Salter Judge Josh W. Thacker

Hall Decatur Cobb Richmond Brooks Cobb Cobb Spalding

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