Judicial Council Administrative Office of the Courts ANNUAL REPORT FY 2020 The Judicial Council of Georgia was created in 1945 to develop policies for administering and improving Georgia courts. Judicial Council members and committees meet throughout the year to address specific aspects of court administration and improvement. The Judicial Council is made up of 28 members who represent every class of court, plus the President of the State Bar of Georgia, who serves as a non-voting member. The Administrative 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. This report is published by the Judicial Council of Georgia and the Administrative Office of the Courts in compliance with O.C.G.A. § 15-5-24. Chair, Chief Justice Harold D. Melton Director, Cynthia H. Clanton Judicial Council of Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts 244 Washington Street SW, Suite 300 Atlanta, GA 30334 Note: This report covers Fiscal Year 2020 (July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020). Names and titles listed in this report are as of those dates and do not reflect changes in leadership or titles before or after those dates. CONTENTS Overview 2 State of the Judiciary 4 Director’s Letter 8 About the AOC 10 Highlights 18 Budget 20 FY 2020 Legislation Judicial Council 22 Judicial Council and Standing 24 Access to Justice Committees 25 Budget 26 Court Reporting Matters 27 Education and Training 28 Grants 29 Judicial Workload Assessment 30 Legislation 31 Strategic Plan 34 Technology Ad Hoc 35 Improving Community Accecss to Legal Resources Committees 36 Judicial COVID-19 Task Force 38 Committee to Prevent Sexual Harassment in the Judicial Branch of Government Connected Boards, 40 Council of Accountability Court Judges Committees, 42 Commission on Dispute Resolution Commissions, and 44 Committee on Justice for Children Councils 46 Georgia Commission on Child Support 48 Georgia Commission on Interpreters 49 Board of Court Reporting Reports from 51 Supreme Court of Georgia Appellate Courts 54 Court of Appeals of Georgia and Trial Court 56 State-wide Business Court Councils 58 Council of Superior Court Judges 60 Council of State Court Judges 62 Council of Juvenile Court Judges 64 Council of Probate Court Judges 66 Council of Magistrate Court Judges 67 Georgia Magistrate Courts Training Council 68 Council of Municipal Court Judges 70 Georgia Municipal Courts Training Council Appendices 72 Appendix A: Judicial Demographics 73 Appendix B: Case Characteristics 2 JUDICIAL COUNCIL / ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS ANNUAL REPORT FY 2020 State of the Judiciary Chief Justice Harold D. Melton delivered the State of the Judiciary Address to the legislature on February 26, 2020. "We are not where we once were." On November 7, 2019, the Supreme Court of Georgia held its final oral argument in the courtroom on Mitchell Street. The appellate courts now reside in the Nathan Deal Judicial Center, a building which will serve the court for next 100 years. Chief Justice Melton revisited the 1956 dedication of the old courtroom to reveal a vastly different court in demographic and perspective. Chief Justice Melton pointed to the speeches at the 1956 dedication that railed against desegregation as a reminder "to remain vigilant, realizing that the divisions of the past could easily impede our efforts to move forward together. My friend and colleague on the Supreme Court, Justice Robert Benham, recently said, “We can’t let the evils of yesterday use up our tomorrows. As a people, we have more in common than things that separate us."" “We must continue to do better to ensure that all Georgians – rich and poor – have access to justice.” Legal representation is difficult to afford for low and middle income citizens. Legal research by judges and attorneys has shifted to digital technology, creating an opportunity for law libraries to also serve as self-help centers for self-represented litigants. Chief Justice Melton highlighted two pilot projects in Georgia that are leading the way: the Justice Resource Center in Fulton County, led by Chief Judge Christopher Brasher and Judge Robert McBurney, and the Dougherty County Law Library/Self-Help Center led by Chief Judge Willie Lockette. E-Filing Mandatory electronic filing went into effect in 2019. "I can report today that the sky did not fall. Other than daily hiccups, we are up and running all across this State without major difficulties. I’m not hearing any huge outcries, and I consider that good. We’ve made great progress, but we must not rest on our laurels or we could wind up generations behind. Technology changes so fast that we must continue to innovate and improve." STATE OF THE JUDICIARY 3 Mental Health "I want to applaud Governor Kemp and the Georgia legislature for creating the Behavioral Health Innovation and Reform Commission. We in the judiciary pledge our support and willingness to work diligently with the Governor, with you, and with this commission to reduce the numbers of people with behavioral health issues who wind up in our jails and prisons." Cybersecurity "In the last two years, we have seen a growing number of ransomware attacks on government agencies in Georgia." Attacks on the City of Atlanta and the Administrative Office of the Courts impacted the judicial branch in Georgia. Chief Justice Melton formed a cybersecurity committee, chaired by Judge Christian Coomer, to help mitigate and insure against risks and vulnerabilities in the state's judicial network. Honoring the Career of Justice Robert Benham "He often endured walking into rooms where people closely assessed whether they should take him seriously. He overcame doubts by employing two primary tools: 1) he was always nice; and 2) he was always bigger than the situation. He took the high road, never giving tit for tat, striving for common ground. He suffered slights gracefully, never lost his temper, never raised his voice, never took things personally. He remained singularly focused on his goal and always moved forward." 4 JUDICIAL COUNCIL / ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS ANNUAL REPORT FY 2020 From the Director n behalf of the Judicial Council of Georgia and the OAdministrative Office of the Courts (AOC), I am pleased to share our 47th Annual Report covering our work during Fiscal Year 2020. The AOC was created by statute in 1973 to serve the Judicial Council which is the statewide governing body for the judicial branch of Georgia. For the first time in 114 years, Georgia has a new class of court with the new State-wide Business Court officially opening for business on August 1, 2020. With that addition this year, the Judicial Council expanded to 28 judges representing all classes of court throughout the state; the only non-judge on the Judicial Council is the President of the State Bar of Georgia who serves a non- voting member and who brings the Judicial Council’s total membership to 29. As of this writing, the world is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, civil rights issues, and police reform efforts are at the forefront in the United States. All sectors of life from schools to courts to places of worship are shifting to technology to carry out their work. Government budgets and jobs were impacted and all of us are a little anxious. Nonetheless, we are encouraged because we know that throughout history huge upheavals are often accompanied by positive social change. The staff at the JC/ AOC remain hopeful and fully engaged to face the future. We remain a strong team joined by a central purpose to improve justice through our service and work. Since July 1, 2019, we have served the Judicial Council and the broader judiciary as a whole as we also work to improve the administration of justice in Georgia. In March, after the Chief Justice’s first emergency order, the entire AOC pivoted DIRECTOR'S LETTER 5 to working remotely except for a few staff members who came in to keep the office open. In June, we started a skeleton crew rotation requiring one representative from each division to be in the office each work day and have revisited this policy periodically as warranted by the data on COVID-19. Our goal is to keep all staff safe while simultaneously supporting all courts and judges in keeping their courts open. Also, in March, the AOC created the COVID-19 website to serve as the central repository for all local emergency orders and all pandemic-related information, including Guidelines for Re-Opening. On May 14, the Chief Justice created a Judicial COVID-19 Task Force led by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shawn LaGrua which will continue its work until it is no longer needed. Our services included four Judicial Council General Session meetings, numerous committee meetings (see page), and we re- collected our case count lost in 2019 due to a ransomware attack which we reposted here: research.georgiacourts.gov. An Ad Hoc Judicial Council Committee to Prevent Sexual Harassment in the Judicial Branch of Government concluded its work resulting in a report, recommendations and training videos. The Ad Hoc Committee on Improving Community Access to Legal Resources was created on June 9 chaired by Judge Robert McBurney and Justice Charlie Bethel. This was a new opportunity for our office to staff and support work on this important issue which is a priority for Chief Justice Melton. Our staff worked this year to shepherd legislation, judgeship requests, and budget cuts during a two-part legislative session which ended on June 26. The Judicial Council budget was reduced by 13.35%. The reduction included cuts to the grants 6 JUDICIAL COUNCIL / ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS ANNUAL REPORT FY 2020 DIRECTOR’S LETTER CONTINUED administered by the AOC for legal services for victims of domestic violence and legal services to divert children who are at risk for foster care into kinship care.