Judiciary
Court docket backlogs persist on this state due to scarcity of attorneys; ‘the wheels of justice rely upon legal professionals’
Picture from Shutterstock.
Georgia courts are having hassle addressing case backlogs as a result of the state has a scarcity of legal professionals, together with prosecutors and public defenders, the state’s chief justice stated this week.
Georgia Supreme Court docket Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs stated he appreciated extra funding by the state to assist courts get well from the COVID-19 pandemic. However a lawyer scarcity is inflicting issues.
“As you nicely know, the wheels of justice rely upon legal professionals,” he stated.
The Associated Press and Law360 lined Boggs’s remarks, delivered to lawmakers as a part of his State of the Judiciary deal with in Atlanta.
Prison instances are impacted by the scarcity, resulting in extra folks being held in jail as they await trials, he stated.
As of December, the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council, which helps district lawyer’s places of work all through Georgia, counted 43 unfilled positions. In July 2020, there have been solely 11 vacant prosecution positions.
Public defender’s officers are additionally understaffed, regardless of a brand new regulation that places their pay on par with that of prosecutors, Boggs stated. In Gwinnett County, Georgia, about 80 legal professionals had been obtainable to symbolize indigent defendants, in comparison with about 130 in the beginning of the pandemic.
The lawyer scarcity can be affecting civil instances, akin to divorce and youngster custody issues, Boggs stated. He famous that 67 of the state’s 159 counties have 10 or fewer working towards legal professionals. Seven rural counties haven’t any legal professionals.
