Court Digest

Georgia
Judge: Splitting up a judicial district would be expensive
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Splitting up a three-county judicial district in Georgia could cost millions of dollars, according to a cost analysis done by a judge.

Columbia County commissioners voted this month to pursue splitting from the Augusta Judicial Circuit so Columbia County could form its own district, the Augusta Chronicle reported. The current district has Columbia, Richmond and Burke counties.

“The issue needs to be studied,” saidRepublican state Sen. Lee Anderson of Grovetown, who has requested the most recent study of the workload of the circuit’s Superior Court judges.

Three of the current Superior Court judges live in Columbia County. According to the Dec. 4 report from the Judicial Council of Georgia to Anderson, the 2019 caseload of cases in Columbia County is within the range of accepted policy for three judges.

Splitting the district would require recommendation of the Judicial Council and approval of the General Assembly and governor.

An analysis prepared by Superior Court Judge Daniel J. Craig that concludes the split would cost additional millions for taxpayers. Craig holds a degree in accounting. Before becoming a judge, he was district attorney for 15 years and responsible for preparing budgets.

For every judge, there are public defenders, prosecutors, secretaries, administrative assistants, court reporters, law clerks, investigators, victim assistant professionals, courtroom security, clerks and coordinators. Costs include continuing education, license fees, computers and other electronic equipment and services, office space, fixtures, furniture and travel expenses.

The Augusta Chronicle sent a copy of Craig’s analysis to Columbia County Commission Chairman Doug Duncan.

“After a quick review of the analysis, we respectfully disagree with cost assumptions,” Duncan responded. “We believe there are many efficiencies that can be realized.”

New York
Older judges forced from NY bench sue for age discrimination
NEW YORK (AP) — A group of New York judges is suing for age discrimination after the state’s cash-strapped court system cracked down on a long-standing practice that had allowed them to continue serving past the mandatory retirement age of 70.

The New York Times reported Monday that nine older judges are involved in two lawsuits stemming from the court system’s decision to reject the applications of 46 of 49 judges who have sought to continue to working in their 70s. They must leave by Dec. 31.

The lawsuits name as defendants the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore, and an administrative board that approved the move.

Court rules allow judges who reach age 70 to apply for two-year extensions to remain on the bench until they are 76, as long as they receive necessary medical clearance. There is no requirement that the court system approve the applications, but the judges who are suing allege they were decided on en masse instead of individually, as rules require.

Because of revenue shortfalls related to the pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has asked the state judiciary to slash its budget by $300 million. By rejecting the applications of all but three judges who have specialized assignments, the court system will save $55 million over two years, a spokesperson said.

State trial judges earn about $210,000 and appellate judges about $222,000, the Times reported. If all 49 older judges who applied were retained, the courts would have been required to lay off more than 300 other staff members, such as court officers and clerks, courts spokesperson Lucian Chalfen told the Times.

Some lawmakers are concerned the forced retirements will leave courthouses undermanned. The Times reports that eight judges are set to depart in the Bronx, while six judges each are leaving courts in Queens and Manhattan.

Some judges say that with pension payments they’re due to receive in retirement nearly matching their salaries, the decision doesn’t make as much fiscal sense as the court system says it does. One older judge, who wasn’t part of the lawsuits, offered to keep working for free.

Missouri
Lawsuit alleges inhumane conditions at jail
O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — A prisoners rights group filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that a Missouri jail has been mistreating its inmates, saying deputies have taunted and tortured inmates and that the jail provided so little food that one detainee ate toothpaste and toilet paper to ward off hunger.

The lawsuit by the St. Louis-based civil rights law firm ArchCity Defenders was filed on behalf of Robert Hopple, Stefani Rudigier and Shawn Mesey, who recently were pretrial detainees at the Francois County Jail. The lawsuit names the eastern Missouri county, Sheriff Dan Bullock and the former jail administrator, along with the company providing medical care at the jail and a nurse. It seeks unspecified damages.

The lawsuit contends that the actions at the jail “violate basic standards of human decency as well as the United States Constitution.”

Bullock and St. Francois County Presiding Commissioner Harold Gallaher didn’t immediately reply to phone messages or emails seeking comment. The county is about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis.
The lawsuit cites concerns such as black mold on the walls, frequently overflowing toilets and other inhumane conditions. Hopple, 49, of Bonne Terre, recounts an instance in which his cell was so cold that sewage that had overflowed onto the floor froze.

The lawsuit alleges that food rations were tiny and lacking in nutrients. Rudigier says she lost more than 100 pounds during her nearly two years of incarceration. The lawsuit says deputies would sometimes taunt the hungry inmates by bringing out extra meal packs and offering them up to anyone who could answer a trivia question. If no one answered correctly, the deputies would allegedly throw out the food.

“Mr. Hopple resorted to eating toothpaste and toilet paper to curb his hunger,” the lawsuit states.

Hopple alleges that deputies organized “Friday Night Fights,” in which they arranged fights between the inmates.

The lawsuit also questions the medical care at the jail. Among other complaints, Rudigier, 27, of Maplewood, says she was denied mental illness medication for 21 of the nearly 24 months she was incarcerated.

The lawsuit accuses the jail of abusing inmates placed in a restraint chair. It says some restrained inmates were sprayed in the mouth with Mace or punched in the head.

Concerns have been raised before about the jail’s use of a restraint chair. An inmate, William Ames III, died after being strapped to the chair in November 2018.

A 2019 wrongful death lawsuit claimed that Ames was placed in the chair for more than 24 hours and missed several doses of anti-seizure medication. It also alleged that jail workers were told that Ames had swallowed a bag containing a combination of methamphetamine, cocaine and bath salts, but failed to act.