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By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@thecitizennews.com

Ben J. Miller, the chief judge of the Griffin Judicial Circuit, doesn't like for divorce cases to linger.

Particularly when they're uncontested. Which explains why he allowed the final hearing of the Holyfield v. Holyfield divorce to be held Friday morning, although it wasn't officially on the court's calendar for the day.

Former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield was not in court to hear his former wife, Janice Marie Itson Holyfield, testify. She told the court that their marriage was irretrievably broken, and after a few moments on the stand Judge Miller approved the divorce and the ex-Mrs. Holyfield strode out of the courtroom wearing a smile.

The couple has one child together, a 21-month-old. The terms of the custody agreement were not mentioned during the brief hearing.

The terms of the divorce were undisclosed, as both parties agreed to have the final divorce agreement held by their attorneys instead of filed with the court. If either party breaches the contract, the agreement calls for the 19-page document to be filed in court.

The agreement between the two parties was reached June 2, according to the final judgment and decree.

Judge Miller said the attorneys contacted him Wednesday to ask the hearing be held Friday morning. Judge Miller also agreed to take on another unscheduled divorce, which was also uncontested, he said.

Speeding up uncontested divorce cases has been one of Miller's objectives since he took over as chief judge in the circuit.