Wednesday, June 13, 2001
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Wednesday, June 13, 2001 |
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Discussion of separate judicial circuit continues By MONROE
ROARK
Talk of trying to make Fayette County into its own judicial circuit has, so far, not progressed beyond the discussion stage. But while no official move has been made, interest seems to be growing and a more concentrated study on the issue is forthcoming, according to members of Fayette's legislative delegation. The Griffin Judicial Circuit now consists of four counties Fayette, Pike, Spalding and Upson. Fayette is one of only a few counties in the metro Atlanta area that does not comprise such a district on its own. State Sen. Greg Hecht told the audience at last week's Fayette County Bar Association luncheon that the county's four legislators Hecht, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, Rep. Kathy Cox and Sen. Mitch Seabaugh had gotten together just before the May deadline to make a recommendation to the state's Judicial Council. But that recommendation was never sent, according to Westmoreland, because of a desire to look more closely into how much a move like this would cost before going forward with it. "The string was just too short," Westmoreland said, referring to the limited amount of time the group had before the submission deadline given by the Judicial Council. Also, because of the increase in judicial resources in Fayette the past six years, Westmoreland said he has not heard as much of an outcry for the creation of a separate circuit. "Before the State Court was formed [in 1997] and we got our fourth [Superior Court] judge [in 1999], I heard a lot of complaints about delays at the courthouse," said Westmoreland. "But not now. State Court has taken a lot of the pressure off, and we've got four good judges." Both Hecht and Westmoreland said that discussions with county commissioners and other officials, along with the judges and members of the local judiciary, need to take place before moving forward at the state level. A judicial circuit is created by state legislation which must be unanimously introduced by the county's legislative delegation. Then a vote is taken by the General Assembly and funds are allocated two steps that can take place a year apart, Hecht said. Since the recent deadline has passed, it would take a year before another recommendation could be made, so any possible change is obviously a few years away. But with Fayette climbing toward the 100,000 mark in population, demographics could be on the county's side if a formal request is made. After Hecht's remarks last week, Mike Hofrichter, the current president of the Fayette County Bar Association, said that group would definitely be in favor of a separate circuit. "The timing is right," said Hofrichter, citing the county's population level and the ever-busier local court system as the two biggest reasons. But Westmoreland wants to know the costs involved before taking that step. "We probably could have submitted a recommendation without knowing, then found out what we needed to know later," he said. "But I'd rather know everything first."
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