FACT CHECK:
During a semi-contentious back and forth at a Fulton County Board of Commissioners meeting, Alton Adams, the Fulton County Chief Operating Officer Justice, Public Safety and Technology (COO), claimed if Fulton County granted authority back to Fulton County Chief Magistrate Judge Cassandra Kirk to appoint a clerk of her choosing, then the clerks would go back to State Court because “The Magistrate Court never had these positions.”
After The Fulton Watch fact-checked this claim, which has been echoed in a similar fashion by Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts, The Fulton Watch determined their assessment and conclusion to be FALSE.
Editor’s Note: Tina Robinson is currently the Clerk of the Superior Court by way of her constitutional authority but serves as Magistrate Court Clerk by appointment for Chief Magistrate Judge Cassandra Kirk.
Fulton Watch spoke to magistrate judges off record. None expressed confidence in Clerk Robinson and plan to make their voices heard publicly on the matter if Fulton County refuses to “fix the problem that cripples Court functions and harms Fulton citizens.”
Clerk Robinson was not available for comment, and Chief Judge Kirk did not wish to provide a statement.
The Claim: At a March 1, 2023, Fulton County Board of Commissioners meeting, COO Alton Adams told the Fulton County Board of Commissioners that the Magistrate Court and its Chief Magistrate Judge “never had these positions.” This was in reference to the positions for which the Magistrate Court now seeks return.
As the Board of Commissioners questioned its public affairs/communications team about pending legislation, Adams offered the above statement to counter pending legislation that would allow the Chief Magistrate Judge to appoint a clerk to serve only the Magistrate Court and to allocate associated employees and costs to the Magistrate Court as one entity.
Our Rating: FALSE
Fact Check: The statement was made to explain the genesis of the positions in question. The original positions were generated from State Court and transferred directly to the Chief Magistrate Judge, the only appointing authority for the Magistrate Court at the time of the transfer in 2015.
The employees, now and then, operate out of TG-100 in the Justice Tower in Atlanta, Ga.
According to records, additional employees have been added to the clerk to support Magistrate Court functions.
FACT: The Magistrate Court of Fulton County was created by local legislation in 2013-2014 with the primary goal to “restructure magistrate court to mirror all other magistrate courts in Georgia,” according to a 2012 Task Force report.
Additionally, the 2012 Task Force, composed of respected members of the bench, bar, and other stakeholders, including the current Clerk of the Superior Court, recommended that the chief magistrate be a non-partisan elected position with the authority to appoint other judges.
No organization chart and no budget exited for this new version of the independent Magistrate Court when contemplated.
To build the Magistrate Court, all operating positions, judicial, clerical, financial, and administrative, were separated from the State Court where they had been housed since approximately 1980. The State Court gave these positions and employees directly to Chief Magistrate Judge Cassandra Kirk, the only appointing authority for the Magistrate Court in 2015.
Fulton Watch has obtained the official list of 39 employees, ranging from administrative, accounting, information technology, clerks, and judicial support, along with the list of nine full-time judges and a Judicial assistant directly transferred to the Magistrate Court from the State Court. State Court transferred to Magistrate Court all it needed to begin to become an independent Court.
The change for these employees has been in the supervision, not their positions or responsibility to the Magistrate Court work.
This proposed shift aligns with the current legislation and consolidates all magistrate staff under one elected leader, as originally intended.
In 2016, The Chief Magistrate appointed Tina Robinson, Clerk of Superior Court, to also serve under appointment as the Clerk of Magistrate Court.
This experiment has failed. This dual model of supervision has not served the Court for which only the Chief Magistrate Judge is elected and stands accountable to the people.
Since 2018, it has been clear that the elected Chief Magistrate Judge is working to remedy a mistake she made in the early stage of the implementation of the court – the decision to appoint the Superior Court clerk as the Clerk of the Magistrate Court. The elected Chief Magistrate Judge has tried mediation, a Board resolution, a lawsuit, an MOU, and now relies on local legislation.
The guiding principle for the creation of the Magistrate Court of Fulton County was that “the state and magistrate courts should improve and clarify their individual accountability to the county, residents, and court users through the creation of the office of the chief magistrate as a nonpartisan, elected position,” according to the 2012 Task Force report. The drafters and framers of this Court posited one entity, not the existing multiple divisions.
As the Fulton County Board of Commissioners struggle with the question of how to best support the citizens and the Magistrate Court of Fulton County, Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts turned to his chief liaison and person assigned to monitor and support the Justice Agencies.
Adams has extensive consulting experience but does not seem to fully grasp the policy and statutory dynamics involved.
The Fulton Watch report contributed and written by K.C. Cobbler.
Cobbler is a journalist, thought leader, and most importantly, a father. He believes in government transparency and the dynamic good of each citizen.
