State’s top judge: Rural areas lack legal options

ATLANTA -- Georgia’s top judge says the judicial system is sound and strong, but that it faces challenges, especially for serving rural areas and elderly people.

“Too many hard-working Georgians believe that justice is out of their reach, either because it’s too expensive or because of where they live,” state Supreme Court Chief Justice Hugh Thompson told the state Legislature in an annual address Wednesday.

“As I said last year, our judges continue to see a growing number of people coming to court with no lawyer and trying to represent themselves, particularly in divorce and other domestic relations cases,” Thompson said.

Six counties have no practicing attorneys, and another 64 have fewer than 15, according to the State Bar of Georgia.

A total of 665 active attorneys are based in Bibb County. At the other extreme, Crawford and Twiggs each have four.

But Bar President Patrise Perkins-Hooker has traveled the state pitching a partial solution to the lack of lawyers that is part justice, part economic development.

“No one wants to live in a county where their rights are not protected,” said Perkins-Hooker, so she’s pushing an upcoming bill that would provide some college loan payment assistance to attorneys who are based for at least five years in an underserved community.

South Dakota does something similar and was a model for the proposal, she said.

When people do not have an attorney, “you don’t have a system that is fairly administered,” she said, and people who do not have an attorney are at a disadvantage.

As an example, domestic abuse survivors often first appear in court without an attorney, according to the Georgia Commission on Family Violence. That’s because one of the first steps to escape is a temporary restraining order. That’s a civil process, not a criminal process, so no one is guaranteed a state-appointed attorney.

Then if the alleged abuser controls the family money and appears with an attorney, the accuser’s case is not as well-presented to the judge.

In a simpler case, people can find it difficult to probate a will without a lawyer.

Perkins-Hooker said she hopes attorneys would stay in rural communities and build their businesses and homes there.

The bill is expected to be filed soon by state Rep. Alex Atwood, R-St. Simons Island.

Georgia already does something similar with doctors. Both Mercer University and Morehouse School of Medicine receive state payments to offset tuition for students who go on to work in underserved areas. Efforts to reach the Mercer School of Law for an opinion on the bill were not successful late Wednesday afternoon.

Thompson also said the graying of the population is a challenge on the judiciary’s horizon, especially in probate courts.

Probate courts finalize wills and the administration of estates, and they also can order involuntary hospitalization of incapacitated adults and formalize power-of-attorney agreements.

Those courts “lack the staff and resources they need to deal with more and more seniors who have no family to support them,” Thompson said.

He cited several judges’ complaints about their workload, including two in Bibb County. One of them, Probate Court Judge Sarah Harris, said she thinks the increase in the number of homeless people in her court is directly tied to the growing elderly population.

Thompson also pointed out some things that are going well, such as so-called specialty courts like DUI court, veterans court or mental health court. Those courts provide certain offenders, usually nonviolent first-timers, with a chance to erase their criminal record in exchange for intense supervision and any treatment.

Last year, more than 5,100 Georgians went through specialty courts, Thompson said, which saves taxpayers money by avoiding jailing people.

“Georgia’s specialty courts are yet another bargain for Georgia,” he said.

Gov. Nathan Deal proposes spending about $196 million on the judicial system -- including courts and prosecutors -- in the fiscal year that begins in July. Their spending this year will total about $178 million.

Thompson called for raises for state-paid judges. He said they have had no base pay raise in 15 years.

To contact writer Maggie Lee, e-mail mlee@macon.com.

This story was originally published February 4, 2015 at 7:43 PM with the headline "State’s top judge: Rural areas lack legal options ."