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'Senior judges are needed more than ever' | Fulton County is working to battle case backlog with retired judges

COVID relief funds will pay the judges who help tackle the backlog.

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The backlog of criminal cases in Fulton County has stacked up over the last two years because of the spike in violent crime, records show. Meantime, the coronavirus pandemic shut down the courts and helped make the backlog worse. Now the county is looking at senior judges to move through these cases.

"Everything I've ever known about the courts and the justice system -- I've had to take a whole new look because of this case and the way it's being handled," said Jenny Pitcher, whose friend, Kelly Huber, was murdered in Fulton County in January 2021.

More than a year later, a trial date has still not been set for the accused shooter who is out on bond, leaving Huber's family and friends frustrated.

"It just makes me feel like you can commit a crime in Fulton County and get away with it," said Pitcher.

Huber's case is one of the 20,000 criminal cases still awaiting trial in Fulton County.

Executive District Attorney, Mike Carlson said they are addressing the cases as quickly as they can with the resources they have on hand.

Carlson said the strategy right now is to resolve cases that shouldn't go to trial and make sure cases that need to go to trial get in front of a judge. But he said he needs more judges and there's where Fulton County Superior Court's plan comes in.

"A retired judge who is still willing and able to hear cases and is brought in by request," said Carlson, about the court's plan to call back senior judges.

Carlson said there are regional restrictions but the judges don't have to be retired from Fulton County to serve there. More than $75 million dollars of COVID-19 relief money was allocated to the effort over the summer and retired judges will begin presiding over trials as part of this effort next month.

It's a move Carlson said they need to make.

"We got a situation where senior judges are needed more than ever, not just in Fulton County but across the state," said Carlson.

The first of these senior judge cases will start on March 2 in Fulton County Superior Court. The District Attorney's office said this funding will support this effort for the next three years.

    

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