The Hall County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to apply for a grant that would assist with court case backlog.
The American Rescue Plan Act Grant came about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Brian Kemp allotted $110 million last year for use by courts across the state of Georgia. $1.7 million of that total was awarded to the Northeastern Judicial Circuit this year, which covers the Dawson and Hall County area. This year's application seeks $2 million for use in 2023.
Court Administrator Jason Stephenson said the grant would massively help with the heavy workload as the courts move past the pandemic.
“One of the challenges that we're still facing is that during the pandemic, jury trials were suspended—the courts never shut down, but we weren't able to close cases or take cases to trial like we normally would,” Stephenson said. “And what that did, unlike businesses that may have closed and just lost some business, our business doesn't go away, it just gets postponed. And so we've got several hundred cases of what we would call a COVID backlog.”
The grant will fund temporary court positions, along with other attending court fees, such as bailiffs and transportation costs. The temporary positions will include two judges, an associate probate judge and a juvenile court judge. Additionally, the circuit seeks to add three new positions with the District Attorney’s Office, some judicial assistance, a sheriff’s deputy and court interpreters. Stephenson said the strategy for catching up has been and will continue to be, more judges, more court.
With the commissioner's ratification of the 2023 application, they have agreed to act as the fiscal agent should the funds be awarded. The $2 million grant will act as a reimbursement.
Officials said the backlog of cases has prompted many delays in the judicial process for those involved. Although court workers and judges are working quickly to process cases, there still remains a need for additional help.
“We're closing cases and we're proud of that, but the human part of that of course is when cases are delayed or take time to close,” Stephenson said. “There's a human on the other side of that, whether it's a civil case or a criminal case, and those are defendants and parties that are asked to wait for justice.”
The grant committee plans to meet on November 4, with the announcement of the award coming one to two weeks later.
“What the $2 million will enable us to do is not take years to resolve cases and catch up so that folks can come into the justice system and know that in a timely manner, they can have their disputes heard, or their charges resolved,” Stephenson said
