Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Representative Rob Teilhet takes the Gold Dome to YouTube
Representative Rob Teilhet from Cobb County has started a YouTube Channel to discuss the issues under the Gold Dome. Watch his videos and subscribe to his Channel HERE.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Day 1 of the Legislative Session
The first day of the legislative session was relatively brief in duration and decidedly uneventful. The Democrats in the House, having decided against putting up their own candidate for Speaker, joined the Republicans and declared Glenn Richardson the Speaker of the House by acclamation. Facing a significant budget short-fall, the Democrats joined the Republicans to show their commitment to putting the welfare of Georgians over partisan politics.
The halls were abuzz with the formal announcement by Secretary of State Karen Handel's bid for the Governor's mansion in 2010. The Political Insider reports today that past State Senator, Brian Kemp of Athens will make a bid for the vacated Secretary of State seat.
For information on various bills and legislators, please visit the Georgia General Assembly online HERE.
NOTE: Every day that the General Assembly is in session, GTLA will post on this blog. In addition to covering all the Capitol happenings related to the Civil Justice System, GTLA will blog about general business under the Gold Dome.
The halls were abuzz with the formal announcement by Secretary of State Karen Handel's bid for the Governor's mansion in 2010. The Political Insider reports today that past State Senator, Brian Kemp of Athens will make a bid for the vacated Secretary of State seat.
For information on various bills and legislators, please visit the Georgia General Assembly online HERE.
NOTE: Every day that the General Assembly is in session, GTLA will post on this blog. In addition to covering all the Capitol happenings related to the Civil Justice System, GTLA will blog about general business under the Gold Dome.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
State Budget Crisis Threatens Access to Civil Justice System
Budget shortfalls in Georgia have forced superior courts statewide to eliminate the use of senior judges, burdening already overloaded court dockets. Injured plaintiffs that rely on the civil justice system are likely to be victims of these cuts.
Senior judges are retired superior court judges who serve as needed to resolve backlogs of cases and preside over trials. They have been used with increasing frequency as caseloads around the state have increased.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melvin Westmoreland criticized the cuts: “It’s unfortunate the State’s mismanagement of funds has brought to a halt the most fiscally responsible way to deal with the shortage of full-time judges available to handle increased civil filings and criminal prosecutions. As a result the county jails will become even more crowded and cases will move slower through the system.”
While criminal litigants can often take advantage of speedy trial demands to move their cases through the court system, civil litigants have no such rights and cases can drag on for years before reaching trial. At least one judicial district has temporarily suspended all civil trials because of crowded dockets.
Injured plaintiffs are placed in a particularly difficult position when they are unable to have their day in court, especially when their injuries have prevented them from working. The insurance companies that are ultimately responsible for paying the plaintiff's damages, on the other hand, are likely to benefit from increasingly desperate injured parties who are willing to settle for less than the true value of their case because they cannot afford to face financial ruin while waiting years to present their case to a jury.
Contributed by John D. Hadden
Turkheimer & Hadden, LLC
Senior judges are retired superior court judges who serve as needed to resolve backlogs of cases and preside over trials. They have been used with increasing frequency as caseloads around the state have increased.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melvin Westmoreland criticized the cuts: “It’s unfortunate the State’s mismanagement of funds has brought to a halt the most fiscally responsible way to deal with the shortage of full-time judges available to handle increased civil filings and criminal prosecutions. As a result the county jails will become even more crowded and cases will move slower through the system.”
While criminal litigants can often take advantage of speedy trial demands to move their cases through the court system, civil litigants have no such rights and cases can drag on for years before reaching trial. At least one judicial district has temporarily suspended all civil trials because of crowded dockets.
Injured plaintiffs are placed in a particularly difficult position when they are unable to have their day in court, especially when their injuries have prevented them from working. The insurance companies that are ultimately responsible for paying the plaintiff's damages, on the other hand, are likely to benefit from increasingly desperate injured parties who are willing to settle for less than the true value of their case because they cannot afford to face financial ruin while waiting years to present their case to a jury.
Contributed by John D. Hadden
Turkheimer & Hadden, LLC
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