Columbia County officials are already working on preparations for its new judicial circuit to begin work on July 1.
“The District Attorney’s Office has been preparing for the potential circuit split since the start of the year. We have a plan to ensure that this community’s needs are served. Until the split becomes official in July, the citizens of Columbia County can still expect the highest level of service from this District Attorney’s Office, and we will work with the governor’s appointee to ensure a smooth transition.”
MORE: Judicial Split is Complete
Back in October, Columbia County officials were so optimistic the split would occur that they spent $6.5 million to purchase the former TaxSlayer building which is adjacent to the Courthouse. Improvements are being made to the building to house both the District Attorney and Public Defender’s offices.
Columbia County has sought for years to split off from the Augusta Judicial Circuit and now that Gov. Brian Kemp has given the okay, officials are preparing for what they hope is a painless transition.
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Meanwhile, over in Richmond County, newly elected District Attorney Jared Williams said in a statement that his office is doing everything needed to help move the process along..
According to District 121 Representative Barry Fleming, who sponsored the legislation creating the new Columbia County circuit, the court clerks and judges have plenty of time to sort through and reassign cases where needed.
“This has happened numerous times in Georgia history,” Fleming says. “When a county reaches a certain level of growth, they need to establish their own judicial circuit.”
The last time a circuit split in Georgia was 24 years ago.
Columbia County will not need to hold any elections because three judges, Sheryl Jolly, Wade Padgett and James Blanchard, all reside in the county.
It is up to Kemp to appoint a new district attorney, and if Columbia County follows precedent, then the chief judge will appoint the public defender.
Unlike appointments for superior court judges, a formal application process does not exist for the district attorney appointment. Former U.S. Attorney and U.S. Army National Guard Brigadier General Bobby Christine and former Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Natalie Paine have expressed interest in the job.
Sources tell The Augusta Press that Christine likely has an edge over Paine for the appointment both because of his long legal resume and that appointing Paine might resurrect the controversy that many people believe occurred when Williams, a Democrat and former defense attorney, was elected district attorney in November.
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For his part, the governor has not yet made any indication of his preference.
Cases that originate in Columbia County and are already in the system will simply be reassigned to a Columbia County judge, according to sitting Judge Danny Craig. He said fears that a case might have to start back from scratch are unfounded.
“No one will have to start over if a new judge is appointed,” Craig says. “My understanding is that the cases will go onto an assignment wheel, and we may have to go back to random assignments instead of bulk assignments like we do now.”
One small issue is the “one case, one judge” rule in Georgia. This means if a judge presides over and rules in a case, for example a custody dispute, should the case come back before the court in the future, it would go to the original presiding judge.
Judge Craig says that rule might be the only speed bump encountered in the transition.
MORE: Opinion: Splitting the Augusta Judicial Circuit Is A Good Idea for Columbia County
“I am writing a letter now to the (Georgia) Supreme Court asking for clarification on the matter,” Craig says.
The judicial split only affects the superior court, which is the only state court of original jurisdiction in Georgia. There is a state court in Richmond County; however, it is actually a municipal court. It is unclear if Columbia County will create its own state court, but that is unlikely because Columbia County is not a municipality.
Scott Hudson is the Editorial Page Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com.
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