Race and Ethnic Fairness
State:
Committee/Report
Name: The Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the
Court System was established by the Supreme Court of Georgia on
Number of Committee Members: 36 Task Force Members
Number of Subcommittees: 5 Subcommittee Working Groups
a. Criminal Justice System
b. Juvenile Justice System
c. Minority and Non-Citizen Access to the Courts, Awareness of Criminal and Civil Procedures and Rights, and Language Barriers
d. Selection, Retention, Conduct and Discipline of Judges, Court Officers and Personnel, e. Jury System Considerations
Chairs/Co-Chairs: 2 Co-Chairs: Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr., Court of Appeals; and Mr. Paul Kilpatrick, Jr., Attorney-at-Law.
Methods
Used: The Commission collected information in a variety of ways--through
public hearings, forums, interviews, and statistical research. There
were six public hearings held in locations throughout the state. Forums were
sponsored by various organizations working with ethnic communities, such as the
Latin American Association,
Topics and Recommendations
Perception
Findings
1. Testimony from the Commission’s public hearings identified a significant discrepancy between the views of the court system’s judges and clerks, who generally believe that racial and ethnic bias is almost non-existent, and public witnesses, who believe that a significant bias continues to be a serious problem in the court system.
2. There is a need to foster trust in the legal system by minorities. Better communication with and cultural understanding of ethnic minorities is likewise needed.
Recommendations
1. Law enforcement agencies should be encouraged to increase their efforts at establishing trust and communication between minority communities and themselves.
Attorneys, Judges, and Court Staff
Findings
1. Most minority attorneys believe that racial and ethnic bias exists (91%) and is problematic, while non-minority attorneys (54%) believe that such a problem does not exist.
2. Over 40% of superior, state and juvenile court judges believe bias exists; only about 20 to 25% of probate and magistrate court judges have that view. Because there are so few minority judges as compared to the total number of judges in each class of court, the minority opinion is difficult to assess from these surveys.
Access
Findings
1. The number of attorneys which are of Hispanic, Asian, and other ethnic backgrounds who understand and can communicate in the language of many of the new immigrants to our state is very small, and most practice in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
2. Non-English speakers do not have the option of reading for themselves forms and documents generally provided to other litigants.
3. The lack of general information about and the understanding of the court system, so often seen among ethnic minorities for whom English is a second language, is exacerbated by the fact that there are very few bilingual court employees who could explain procedures and provide directions for ethnic minority court users. Furthermore, those who do not speak English are at an additional disadvantage in that the courthouses are not equipped with signs in languages other than English.
4. There are no
uniform procedures guiding the use of foreign language interpreters in
5. There is a lack of availability of “certified” interpreters. Also, the lack of interpreters for less commonly used languages is a problem.
6. There seems to be a general lack of awareness of the need for translation or interpretation services and what constitutes adequate and appropriate translation or interpretation.
7. The lack of correct and verbatim interpretation of court proceeding is a problem.
Recommendations
1. The Implementation Committee should be responsible for creating and updating general court information in a variety of formats (e.g., pamphlets, videotapes, etc.) within one year of its establishment. The chief judge of each court should be responsible for distributing these materials to diverse constituencies on an ongoing basis, as well as for having the information available at courthouses, legal clinics, etc. This information should be presented in an easily comprehensible fashion and should be provided (in those counties with significant populations) in Spanish, Vietnamese and Korean translations.
2. Commonly used forms and any other documents generally given to the public should be made available in the most frequently requested languages so that non-English speakers will not need the service of a translator to complete them.
3. The courts and associated agencies and departments should make efforts (in those counties dealing with a significant number of ethnic minorities) to hire bilingual employees, especially in positions involving a good deal of contact with the public.
4. In counties with significant concentrations of non-English speaking persons, courthouses should be equipped with either a designated information officer or adequate and appropriate signage in the relevant languages so that court users can easily be directed to specific locations and can be given pertinent information
5. A uniform system of standards for court interpreters should be established. The Supreme Court, with the councils of the trial court judges, should adopt standards for certification and devise standard instructions regarding the right to and use of interpreters in all levels of the courts. These standards should be implemented through the uniform rules of court.
6. A standard oath should be developed for foreign language interpreters for use in all courts.
7. A
process for certification of interpreters as to their understanding of legal
terminology and
8. Guidelines for determining the most adequate interpreter services according to the proceeding type, complexity, and the time constraints need to be established. The Implementation Committee should ensure that these guidelines address the issue of having different interpreter qualifications and requirements/options for each stage of the criminal case process in order to balance interpreter proficiency and availability (so as to minimize a defendant being unduly detained pending location of an interpreter).
9. The Implementation Committee should also ensure the guidelines address who is responsible for providing interpreters in different case types. The Commission strongly recommends that the court be responsible for providing interpreters in civil cases where a litigant cannot afford one. The court should also be responsible for paying for interpreters in all criminal cases where such services are required.
10. Video and/or audiotape records should be made to preserve the translations in critical proceedings in criminal actions.
11. A centralized resource center should be established to collect and provide information about the qualifications and availability of interpreters. A statewide registry of foreign language interpreters with at least an educational and training profile should be considered by the Implementation Committee.
12. The judiciary, attorneys, court personnel, and law enforcement officers should be better educated as to the need for and right to interpreter services and how to obtain and use these services. The fact that a person for whom English is a second language knows some English should not prohibit that individual from being allowed to have an interpreter.
13. Judges should ensure that trial proceedings are translated verbatim. Parties to court proceedings should have the right to the assistance of a private interpreter (provided by the party) to ensure the accurate interpretation and to preserve confidentiality of the attorney-client communications. Also, parties should have the right to provide private interpreters at court mandated sessions such as counseling, DUI schools, and parent education courses. The court should be aware of whether mandated programs will be accessible to non-English speaking persons.
Findings
1. Particularly in less serious cases, alien defendants seemed much more likely to remain incarcerated than other defendants charged with similar offences. Immigration status is often a significant factor in how cases are processed in the criminal justice system.
Recommendations
1. The Implementation Committee should continue to identify organizations that work with various segments of the immigrant or refugee community and develop programs (e.g., orientation, etc.) to reduce alienation from the system.
2. Steps should be taken to make other employees aware of the social mores of the cultures in their regions so that the employees may better identify and communicate with clients.
3. Establish guidelines to ensure that alien status alone is not an independent basis for delay in processing cases. Encourage court personnel to become knowledgeable about the effect of federal immigration status on court procedures.
4. Courts should be encouraged to inquire about a defendant's understanding of immigration and naturalization issues as an element of voluntariness when accessing the legal basis for a plea. The feasibility of adding an immigration question to the plea sheet to accommodate cases involving non-U.S. citizens should be considered.
Findings
1. Having to rely on indigent defense or pro bono attorneys automatically places poor litigants, a large proportion of whom are minorities, at a disadvantage in the system as compared to those who can hire their own attorney.
Recommendations
1. The support of the State Bar should be solicited to further encourage increased pro bono services.
2. All bar associations should encourage increased participation in Atlanta Legal Aid and Georgia Legal Services to provide pro bono or low cost legal assistance to persons otherwise unable to afford such counsel.
3. Resource networks composed of attorneys, academic institutions, and community organization to secure interns, volunteers, and other assistance should continue to be used to their fullest extent to aid in the delivery of legal services to racial and ethnic minorities with limited financial resources.
4. Indigent defense resource networks composed of academic institutions and community organizations should be established to secure interns, volunteers, and other assistance to aid in the delivery of services. The assistance of law schools should be actively sought to recruit interns and qualified volunteers.
5. The State Bar of
Juries
Findings
1. There is a perception in some judicial circuits that the minority citizens who are summoned for jury duty are “hand picked” rather than being randomly chosen. It is not usually feasible to “hand pick” thousands of jurors. Requiring minimum numbers of jurors in the box would ensure representative and inclusive jury panels.
2. The burden of jury services falls unevenly on black citizens in some counties.
3. Citizens
of
4. There is a perception among lawyers and lay persons alike that lawyers on occasion wrongfully use peremptory strikes to remove potential jurors from jury panels for racial reasons.
Recommendations
1. Judges should ensure that voir dire is conducted in a respectful manner to the juror with a goal of obtaining objective jurors.
2. The General Assembly should be urged to amend O.C.G.A. §15-12-40 to require that jury source lists contain at least 80% of the persons eligible for jury service and to amend O.C.G.A. §15-12-42 to require that county jury boxes contain at least 50% of the persons eligible for jury service.
3. O.C.G.A.
§
4. Trial judges should review local jury procedures to ensure that jury summons are enforced. In particular, excuses and deferrals should not be granted more frequently to white jurors than black jurors.
5. Jury summons should be enforced by "follow-up" when jurors do not appear. When a summons is ignored, a rule nisi should be served, a hearing held and penalties imposed, if warranted.
6. In order to encourage jury commissioners to include citizens of ethnic minorities on the jury source list and in the jury box, the Georgia Supreme Court should be encouraged to amend the traverse jury certificate required by Georgia Unified Superior Court Rule 34 (the "Unified Appeal Certificate") to require the trial judge to certify the number of male and female ethnic minority county residents and the number of male and female "others" on the traverse jury list.
7. The Commission feels that the legislature and the courts should consider four alternative recommendations as possible means of addressing peremptory challenges:
a. Peremptory strikes could be eliminated in civil and criminal cases.
b. De novo appellate review of trial court decisions on Batson motions could be provided.
c. Trial judges could conduct voir dire using questions submitted in advance in writing by counsel.
d. Trial judges could be encouraged to sustain Batson's objections when the questioned strike was made for frivolous, "hunch-type" reasons unrelated to the case at bar.
Findings
1. From the limited study conducted by the Commission it appears that biased behavior of judges, court personnel, attorneys or other jurors towards the persons actually serving on the Georgia trial jury panels is not widespread.
Recommendations
1. Jury orientation materials prepared by court personnel should include information about the duty of a juror to make decisions based on the tenet of equal treatment regardless of any individual's gender, race or ethnic background or their ability to speak English.
2. The judges should ensure that all court personnel treat all jurors with courtesy and respect and seek to accommodate the needs of jurors in a manner to encourage a positive experience with the court system.
3. Courts should set the length of juror service as short as possible, administratively, employing the concepts of one-day, one-trial, so as to reduce burdens of juror service relating to time away from jobs, care for dependents and other personal business.
Courtroom Experience
Findings
1. Judges play an important role in preventing bias. As the chief officials, they establish the tone of treatment of individuals within the courtroom and courthouse. They should be responsible for eliminating bias by officers, lawyers, parties, jurors and all others who enter their courtroom.
2. References to race and ethnicity are inappropriate and evoke detrimental stereotypes. (See also Courtroom Environment: Court Staff, Finding #1; Courtroom Environment: Lawyers/Jurors/Others, Finding #1)
Recommendations
1. Judges, district attorneys, court clerks, other court personnel, and attorneys should actively enforce appropriate decorum in their respective offices and throughout the courtrooms and courthouses. (See also Courtroom Environment: Court Staff, Recommendation #1; Courtroom Environment: Lawyers/Jurors/Others, Recommendation #1)
2. All judges, attorneys, and court personnel should not make any reference to race, ethnicity, religion, or other such factors unless directly relevant and necessary for the case at hand. (See also Courtroom Environment: Court Staff, Recommendation #3; Courtroom Environment: Lawyers/Jurors/Others, Recommendation #2)
Findings
1. References to race and ethnicity are inappropriate and evoke detrimental stereotypes. (See also Courtroom Environment: Judges, Finding #2; Courtroom Environment: Lawyers/Jurors/Others, Finding #1)
Recommendations
1. Judges, district attorneys, court clerks, other court personnel, and attorneys should actively enforce appropriate decorum in their respective offices and throughout the courtrooms and courthouses. (See also Courtroom Environment: Judges, Recommendation #1; Courtroom Environment: Lawyers/Jurors/Others, Recommendation #1)
2. The State Bar Committee on Involvement of Women and Minorities in the Profession has prepared a "Court Conduct Handbook" pamphlet which should continue to be widely circulated to new members of the bar and new employees of judicial and associated offices such as the district attorney, public defender, and clerk of court.
3. All judges, attorneys, and court personnel should not make any reference to race, ethnicity, religion, or other such factors unless directly relevant and necessary for the case at hand. (See also Courtroom Environment: Judges, Recommendation #2; Courtroom Environment: Lawyers/Jurors/Others, Recommendation #2)
4. The judges should ensure that all court personnel treat all jurors with courtesy and respect and seek to accommodate the needs of jurors in a manner to encourage a positive experience with the court system.
Findings
1. References to race and ethnicity are inappropriate and evoke detrimental stereotypes. (See also Courtroom Environment: Judges, Finding #2; Courtroom Environment: Court Staff, Finding #1)
Recommendations
1. Judges, district attorneys, court clerks, other court personnel, and attorneys should actively enforce appropriate decorum in their respective offices and throughout the courtrooms and courthouses. (See also Courtroom Environment: Judges, Recommendation #1; Courtroom Environment: Court Staff, Recommendation #1)
2. All judges, attorneys, and court personnel should not make any reference to race, ethnicity, religion, or other such factors unless directly relevant and necessary for the case at hand. (See also Courtroom Environment: Judges, Recommendation #2; Courtroom Environment: Court Staff, Recommendation #3)
3. Judges should ensure that attorneys treat all jurors in a professional manner in the courtroom.
Quality
of Legal Representation
Findings
1. In that minorities represent such a large proportion of defendants financially unable to afford legal representation, inadequacies in availability of qualified legal representation for persons of limited financial resources hold the potential for resulting indirectly in a differentially negative impact on minority court users.
2. The extremely high caseload along with inadequate funds and resources compromises the quality of representation provided to the indigent.
3. There are no specific uniform compensation standards systematically followed throughout the state. Consequently, attorney compensation methods and rate vary depending on the county, the type of indigent defense system, and available funds.
4. Court-appointed attorneys are sometimes assigned to cases outside or beyond their level of expertise.
5. Delays in the timely appointment of counsel in indigent cases, most of which involve minorities, could result in defendants being unduly detained and may impact on the individual’s ability to mount an adequate defense.
Recommendations
1. A statewide indigent defense system should be established requiring all counties to adopt uniform state indigent defense guidelines which provide adequate resources for the representation of the indigent. Steps should be taken to ensure that this system be suitably and equitably funded between state, county and other funds.
2. Funding for indigent defense (legislative and otherwise) should be increased so as to adequately compensate attorneys and to provide for support resources (e.g., investigators, paralegals, etc.).
3. The state's current funding and support for indigent defense should be increased. Alternative sources and/or methods of funding should be developed.
4. Establish and require adherence to guidelines concerning caps on caseload.
5. Require the establishment of and adherence to uniform and equitable statewide standards of compensation for indigent defense.
6. Flat fees can serve as disincentives and hold potential for abuse, especially where the rate is the same for pleading or going to trial. Consequently, flat fees should be abolished. Instead, payment should reasonably commensurate with work performed.
7. Each indigent defense program should establish a system which would appropriately match attorneys' qualifications with the cases they are being assigned. Specialized mandatory continuing legal education training should be required for attorneys providing indigent defense. Additionally, a mentor system whereby less experienced attorneys can work with seasoned counsel to develop practical experience should be encouraged.
8. Steps should be taken to ensure that defendants are always made aware of their right to counsel, that attorneys are appointed as early as possible to provide for possible pre-trial release or bail, and to have sufficient time to prepare an adequate defense. Further, when the defendant does not qualify for a court appointed attorney and proceeds pro se, the court should ensure that the defendant has the opportunity to request and obtain a bench trial.
9. Attorneys should be directed to make all efforts to carefully explain to their clients the consequences of pleading guilty, ensuring that prior to making a plea the defendant makes an intelligent calculation of actual risks and benefits. Also, defendants should be cautioned about the impact a guilty plea would have on any future convictions (e.g., if a defendant pleads guilty to DUI, the attorney should explain what will happen on a subsequent DUI conviction).
10. The state should provide adequate public funding for misdemeanor and felony defenses service so that individuals being charged with offenses receive competent representation and are fully aware of the consequences of pleading guilty to offenses with which they are charged.
11. Establish guidelines and standards governing the qualifications and training of attorneys (including prosecutors) involved in juvenile proceedings, including continuing legal education requirements in juvenile law and procedure.
Legal Profession
Recruitment/Acceptance
to law school
Findings
1. Only about 4 to 6% of recent bar admissions are African American. Unless the number of African Americans graduating and being admitted to the Bar increases, then it is likely that the number of African Americans participating in the Georgia court system as counsel, prosecutors, public defenders, law clerks, and judges will not change substantially.
2. About 50% of all attorneys were motivated by intellectual interest in the profession, but the factor rated second by non-minority individuals was “a friend’s or family member’s being a lawyer,” while minorities listed the “other” choice as a second factor. This seems to suggest the need for more role models in the legal profession for minorities and early encouragement to choose a legal career.
3. The number of African American students taking the required entrance examination for law school (LSAT) is still very small (5%) and in increasing at a rate slower than that of white women, Asians, and Hispanics.
4. Each of the four
Recommendations
1. The
law schools should be encouraged to continue in their efforts at recruiting and
supporting minority students. The law schools should also be urged to increase
efforts at developing innovative programs such as Emory's Presidential Scholar
connections with
2. The Implementation Committee should see that efforts are made at encouraging minority students, both at the college as well as high school level, to pursue legal careers. In addition to supporting the development of programs designed to get minority students interested in law, the Implementation Committee should strongly encourage majority and minority bar associations to take an active role in participating in these programs.
3. The Implementation Committee should strongly encourage minority bar associations (such as Georgia Alliance of African-American Attorneys, Gate City Bar, DeKalb Lawyers Association, and Port City Bar Association) to develop closer ties with law schools, urging them to actively participate in and support the schools and their programs.
4. In order to create an open law school environment for all students, the schools should be urged to make courses including cultural diversity issues a part of their curricula. Most particularly, the law schools should incorporate discussion of racial and ethnic fairness issues in professionalism, ethics courses, and in scholarly debates, writings and programs in such a manner as to allow open discussion.
5. The schools should annually prepare information about the number of minority admissions and successful graduates. This information should be reviewed each year by the Bar Admissions Office.
6. The
Implementation Committee should carefully evaluate the outcome of the Bar
Passage Study as soon as the information from
7. Faculty and mentors should encourage participation by minority students in journals, moot court activities, practical clinics, and involvement in opportunities to meet or work with experienced members of the bar, such as through school forums or temporary clerkships.
Findings
1. Fewer than 900 of over 21,000 active State Bar members were African American.
2. Minorities may be somewhat less likely to be in positions where networking opportunities, and therefore notice of job opportunities, would be readily available to them.
3. Directly after law school a greater percentage of minorities started their own practice: 21% of minority men as compared to 13% of non-minority men, and 11% of minority women versus 10% of non-minority women. This trend continued over the full career of all attorneys surveyed; minorities composed 30% of solo practitioners as compared to 24% of non-minority practitioners. 51% of minority versus 72% of non-minorities attorneys obtained their fist job in private practice versus a government legal aid or other field.
Recommendations
1. Minority attorneys should be encouraged and supported in starting practices in regions where there are large minority communities outside of the major urban areas of the state.
2. Minority lawyers should be encouraged to take a more active role in State Bar Association committee activities and to seek positions of responsibility with these organizations.
3. The State Bar should promote minority participation in bar activities and encourage minorities to serve as officers. This interaction would be healthy in that it would foster better communication among minority and non-minority lawyers and would also facilitate the exchange of information concerning the qualifications of minority attorneys who may seek judicial positions.
4. The minority bar associations and the State Bar should cooperate to identify and maintain an accurate, comprehensive list of minority attorneys which would include both African-American members and those of all prominent ethnic groups.
5. The law schools should be encouraged to continue active recruitment and employment of minority faculty members. All faculty should be encouraged to be active role models on issues concerning racial and ethnic fairness and to study cultural diversity issues.
6. The Implementation Committee should encourage the establishment and maintenance of better networking availabilities. The Committee should urge law schools, majority and minority bar associations, and mentors to aggressively urge and support networking efforts on the part of minority students and young attorneys. The Implementation Committee should urge judges, attorneys, and court personnel in hiring positions to build better lines of communication with minority attorneys, minority bar associations, and law schools so that they may be better able to reach potential minority job candidates.
7. The continuing legal and judicial education personnel should seek qualified minority faculty for continuing education courses for attorneys, judges and other court employees.
8. The State Bar should consider more encouragement of students to join as student members and consider a means to have greater involvement of these student members with an emphasis on involving minorities in the activities of the younger lawyers committee projects as feasible.
Education
Findings
1. Over 50% of the minority respondents believed
that a significant impact on racial and ethnic bias in
Recommendations
1. The Implementation Committee should work to devise settings in which judges and attorneys can be engaged with more culturally diverse audiences and groups. This might include programming that requires small group interaction between judges, attorneys, court personnel, and citizens, or as an alternative, require engaging in role-play. (See also Education: Lawyers, Recommendation #1)
Recommendations
1. Cultural diversity training of court officers and employees at all levels is strongly encouraged. Although cultural mores can be discussed, diversity training faculty should be careful to avoid using such information to create rigid group stereotypes.
Findings
1. Over 50% of the minority respondents believed
that a significant impact on racial and ethnic bias in
Recommendations
1. The Implementation Committee should work to devise settings in which judges and attorneys can be engaged with more culturally diverse audiences and groups. This might include programming that requires small group interaction between judges, attorneys, court personnel, and citizens, or as an alternative, require engaging in role-play. (See also Education: Judges, Recommendation #1)
2. In order to better ensure that defendants be adequately informed of all the consequences of guilty pleas, continuing legal education classes in criminal law and procedure addressing these issues should be part of the requirements for any attorney who makes criminal law a part of her/his practice, as is now the required for trial attorneys to participate in mandatory continuing legal education trial seminars.
3. Public defender's offices and firms contracting for indigent defense should be required have at least one of their attorneys receive training in immigration/naturalization laws and regulations as they pertain to criminal matters. Immigration and naturalization training should be added as an optional curriculum in accredited mandatory continuing legal education and Bridge the Gap training, and should be required of attorneys appointed by the court for indigent defense in counties/circuits with significant ethnic communities.
Findings
1. The lack of information and understanding of the court system, especially among the poor and recent immigrants, results in people being unaware of their rights, leading to fear and distrust of the legal system and ultimately to restricted access to the courts. A need exists to better education court users and potential court users as to the court system; what to expect in court proceedings; how to best make use of the legal system; and individual rights, etc.
2. Ethnic minorities very often avoid the court system despite being faced with legal problems.
Recommendations
1. Information reflecting the concerns of minority citizens and professionals should be widely distributed. Sensitivity to such concerns should be heightened systematically and should be reflected in planning for professional events for both legal and judicial professions, and substantive coverage of such issues should be reflected in professional publications.
2. Education about the legal and judicial system and their processes should be integrated into the public school curriculum early in children's school careers
3. Law enforcement agencies should encourage their officers to participate in cultural diversity courses, particularly in counties which have significant minority populations. Similarly, law enforcement agencies in counties having significant Hispanic communities should strongly encourage officers to take Spanish courses as well.
4. Law enforcement agencies should be encouraged to seek out local agencies and associations that provide services to minority groups and solicit their participation in seminars with the local population.
5. The Implementation Committee should be responsible for creating and updating general court information in a variety of formats (e.g., pamphlets, videotapes, etc.) within one year of its establishment. The Chief Judge of each court should be responsible for distributing these materials to diverse constituencies on an ongoing basis, as well as for having the information available at courthouses, legal clinics, etc. This information should be presented in an easily comprehensible fashion and should be provided (in those counties with significant populations) in Spanish, Vietnamese and Korean translations.
Criminal Justice
Findings
1. There is a need for improved pre-trial release policies to obviate potentially disparate effects for minorities.
2. Some anecdotal evidence suggested that racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to plead guilty (even though they may perceive they have a valid defense) without fully understanding the immediate and long-term consequences.
3. There appeared to be a general lack of knowledge concerning immigration and naturalization consequences of naturalized and non-U.S. citizens pleading guilty to state offenses.
Recommendations
1. Each circuit should be directed to develop and implement (pending the approval of the Supreme Court) a formal pre-trial release policy, specifying factors used in determining eligibility for bail. Additionally, the use of alternatives whenever possible should be strongly encouraged. These alternatives include (but are not limited to):
a. Posting to the court a refundable 10% of the face value of an unsecured bond;
b. Release on own recognizance (OR);
c. Bail based on financial resources ("ability to pay");
d. Pre-trial diversion;
e. Use of driver's license as bond for misdemeanors.
2. Where effective pre-trial release programs exist or are created, release on own recognizance (OR) or supervised OR should be the presumptive form of release for certain offenses as specified in the above-mentioned pre-trial release policy that each circuit should be directed to develop and implement.
Findings
1. The percentage of African American inmates service mandatory life sentences for a second drug conviction under O.C.G.A. §16-13-30(d) is extremely disproportionate relative to the percentage of white inmates sentenced to life imprisonment for drug offenses.
2. It is a concern of the Commission that the number of persons receiving a death sentence or charged with a death penalty offence are disproportionately African American.
Recommendations
1. The State has the ability to undertake additional objective testing of the perception of bias in mandatory sentencing. First, a complete and thorough study of the application of O.C.G.A.§16-13-30(d) should be conducted, breaking down data for each circuit. In order to achieve this, information of the criminal record of the defendant, the type of representation (private, public defender, or appointed indigent defense), the type of disposition (plea or trial), and the quantity of drugs should be developed, obtained and incorporated into the relevant databases.
2. The Implementation Committee with the assistance of such agencies as the Georgia Statistical Analysis Bureau (under the auspices of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council) and the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council, should see that these studies are conducted. Periodic analyses and assessments of other mandatory sentences should be conducted so as to detect potential racial disparity. If such studies do indicate racial bias in the court system, the Implementation Committee should pursue steps to rectify any problems.
3. O.C.G.A. §16-13-30(d) was passed to provide for a mandatory life sentence for all second convictions. In fact, only one out of six persons eligible to be charged under this section were so charged and sentenced to life imprisonment. Without specific criteria consistently applied to all of these cases, there is an opportunity for unequal and unfair application of the law. Therefore, the Commission believes that even without additional data, alternatives to the current process should be considered. Legislative alternatives could include changing O.C.G.A. §16-13-30(d) to provide that life imprisonment be a maximum rather than mandatory, or eliminating prosecutorial charging discretion regarding Code subsection (d). Another approach would be for the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council to develop explicit, race-neutral guidelines for use in these cases by district attorneys to safeguard against bias.
Findings
1. Better diversion and post-release programs are needed so that the large number of incarcerated minorities can improve their education/job skills and receive treatment for substance and alcohol abuse so as to help reduce the likelihood of reentering the court system.
Recommendations
1. Post-release "aftercare" programs, especially for drug offenders, should be developed. These programs should focus on factors such as employment training and placement so that offenders are not simply returned to the same situation they were in prior to arrest and conviction.
Court as
employer/appointer
Findings
1. The proportion of racial and ethnic minority employees is small in most courthouses in the state.
2. Sources show that agencies associated with the courts, although not a part of the judicial system, generally have better representation of African-American employees than do judicial agencies as a whole.
3. Regarding the state judicial branch, those agencies whose payrolls are administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts had a smaller minority representation than court associated executive branch departments. Racial distribution of non-judicial superior and state court personnel statewide was also not as diversified as the executive branch agencies. Overall there were 14% African-Americans and less than 1% other ethnicities or races. In part-time positions in these courts, only 9% were African-American. The largest percentage of African Americans in these two courts were in non-supervisory staff positions, which included investigators, bailiffs, probation officers, child support, and victim witness positions as opposed to chief clerks of court, legal, or supervisory positions. Only. 1.1% of black males and 2.3% of black females held managerial/professional positions, which included legal or supervisory positions. The 159 Superior Court clerks included only one female and one male African American. There are no black district attorneys or country-paid local court administrators. There was one African-American regional or district court administrators. Only 3% of the official court reports out of the 186 reported were identified as African-Americans.
4. The Supreme Court, as of April, 1995, had 57 positions other than the justices. Of these seven were held by African Americans. There was only one African American male. About one-half of the positions are secretarial, clerical or editorial staff, which were held mostly by females. Twenty-six of the 57 positions could by Classified as professional or supervisory, two of which were held by African Americans.
5. The
Court of Appeals, as of
6. For
the 81 counties returning information on employees in
7. In order to increase the differentially small number of minorities in the court work force, steps must bet taken to increase the educational qualifications of minorities, foster experience building systems, and increase the openness of the recruitment process.
8. Perceptions of the equality of the justice system are affected by the lack of diversity in district attorney, solicitor, and public defender offices.
Recommendations
1. All classes of courts should encourage the increased hiring of African- Americans throughout all employment levels.
2. All employers within the judicial system and associated agencies should be strongly encouraged to increase the diversity of their staffs by utilizing qualified employees from racial and ethnic minority groups and by creating positive employment environments for their present minority employees. Performance evaluations for these employers should be based in part on their ability to increase the diversity of their staffs. Incumbent elected, and appointed officials should also be encouraged to diversify their staffs.
3. All judges, attorneys, and court personnel in the position of making hiring decisions should not make any references to race, ethnicity, religion, or other such factors when interviewing job applicants. Nor should applicants be treated differentially based upon race, ethnicity or religion in the application process.
4. All classes of courts should encourage recruitment of minority employees in counties having significant ethnic communities, such as Hispanics and Asians. For those counties, the courts should also seek bilingual employees wherever possible.
5. Judges, as well as attorneys, should be encouraged to diversify their professional affiliations and networks so as to include communities which have significant minority and ethnic populations. They should inspire members of these communities to consider careers in the judicial system as clerks, court administrators, lawyers, law clerks, and judges. Such affiliations should also improve acquaintances of judges with qualified minority applicants for judicial system employment.
6. All levels of courts should seek applications from qualified minority candidates for all positions in the judicial system, and should encourage county governments to require that notice of all job openings be advertised so as to reach potential minority applicants. Such notification could be accomplished through including announcements in minority news media and by sending notice to various minority and ethnic organizations.
7. District Attorneys' and solicitors' offices, as well as public defenders' offices, should be encouraged to increase efforts at hiring racial and ethnic minority personnel throughout all employment levels in their offices. The Implementation Committee, in conjunction with the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council and the Georgia Indigent Defense Council, should periodically collect data concerning the composition of the workforce of these offices to determine if its moving toward a closer reflection of the demographics of the state.
Recommendations
1. Regarding persons selected to serve as judges of special courts, such as magistrates, municipal or county recorders court judges, juvenile court judges, and administrative law judges, the various appointing designating authorities throughout the state are requested to observe the same values relating to racial and ethnic diversity as that recommended for the Judicial Nominating Committee.
Findings
1. The
proportion of racial and ethnic minorities in
2. The number of minorities being nominated for the bench was relatively small in comparison to the number of minority attorneys in that community who may be qualified to fill the vacancies.
Recommendations
1. The
procedure used by the State of
2. The entire process, with particular emphasis on the appointive process, should be open and explained, including how the Judicial Nominating Committee evaluates candidates, how it receives and evaluates input from bar associations, and how bar associations arrive at their recommendations to the JNC regarding judicial applicants.
3. The
State Bar of
4. To ensure the continued existence and function of the Judicial Nominating Commission, the Implementation Committee should suggest that the Judicial Nominating Committee be a permanent body. Appropriate provisions should be made to ensure that racial and ethnic minorities are adequately represented on the JNC, using the demographics of the state's population as a guide.
5. All judicial candidates should be able to demonstrate sensitivity to and respect for persons of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. In evaluating judicial applicants, the Judicial Nominating Committee and the bar associations that have input into selecting judges and reviewing judicial applicants should be aware that the racial and ethnic diversity of applicants and the bench is a strength. Demonstrated sensitivity to and respect for persons from all racial and ethnic backgrounds should be a consideration in determining whether an applicant is qualified for a judicial position.
6. Persons who are members of racial and ethnic minorities should be encouraged to run for the judiciary and to apply for open judicial positions. Minority bar associations and mentors for minority lawyers should also urge minority attorneys to apply for these positions. Self-nominations should also be promoted.
7. The Judicial Nominating Committee should continue to advertise judicial openings extensively and should send a flier or postcard to each member of the State Bar who resides in the judicial district where a judicial opening is located, as well as to all local bar and professional associations. The JNC should publish its procedures in a pamphlet or flier to be distributed to all members of the State Bar of Georgia. This pamphlet should also be available for public access. To ensure fairness in assessing the input of the bar associations, the JNC should require that the information it receives from the various associations be given to the JNC in a uniform manner, using the same or similar criteria for the ranking of applicants.
8. To ensure that all attorneys who apply but are not selected for judicial openings are not discouraged from reapplying at a later date, those who received favorable reviews from bar associations and the Judicial Nominating Committee should receive some type of feedback if requested by the applicant.
9. The informal process should be identified, evaluated, and explored by the Implementation Committee so that it is fully open to all members of the Bar. Examples of how the Implementation Committee might accomplish this could include interviewing judges and judicial candidates and/or creating profiles of judicial candidates to identify pertinent factors of successful candidates
Findings
1. Juvenile
court surveys were returned from 34 of 56 courts with independent juvenile
courts judges. Nineteen and one-half percent of the supervisory employees and
37% of the non-supervisory employees were African American. Two of the
non-supervisory employees were Hispanic. These percentages are considerably larger
than those of the other classes of courts. But again as was noted from data on
the judiciary, most of the African-American employees were located in DeKalb and
2. The percentage of racial and ethnic minority juveniles in the juvenile justice system is grossly disproportionate to their representation in the general population. Juveniles who are members of various ethnic or racial minorities and whose families live in poverty constitute the predominate category of young people in the juvenile justice system.
3.
4. While most of the juvenile that requested an attorney were provided with one, the number of juveniles actually represented by counsel was very small. In light of allegations that the outcomes of juvenile proceedings differ depending on whether or not the juvenile is represented by counsel, it may be argued that there is a need to implement procedures to safeguard against potential disparate outcomes.
5. A 1991 survey of juvenile courts indicated that at that time there was no state or locally sponsored legal training specifically attuned to the practice of law in juvenile courts.
6. There are no uniform procedures governing the detention and processing of juveniles held for trial in superior court under the School Safety and Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 1994.
7. Minority children and adolescents are underserved and/or inappropriately served by the child mental health system. When services are received, they tend to be in the more restrictive settings with the mental health system, i.e., state psychiatric institutions and/or long term residential centers.
8. Private treatment and diversion programs are often inaccessible to juveniles whose parents have limited financial resources. This has a greater impact on minorities in that they represent a large proportion of poor people.
9. Because of their limited finances, many minority parents or guardians are often unable to attend interviews or meetings regarding their children.
10. Court service workers tend to view white juveniles as being more “cooperative” and more “remorseful” than African American juveniles. The Commission is concerned that such factors may influence minority juveniles’ placement in and successful completion of diversion and treatment programs.
11. African American juvenile offenders are more likely to be placed in restrictive institutional programs than white juvenile offenders.
12. Nearly all the Department of Children and Youth Services facilities and programs are operating at or above their capacity. Overcrowding in these facilities disproportionately impacts minorities in that African American youth constitute such large proportions of these populations.
13. The importance of a uniform, consistent, integrated, state wide juvenile court record system and database cannot be overemphasized. Researchers frequently found that critical information was missing, recorded ambiguously, or was reported inconsistently across the 159 counties.
Recommendations
1. Establish a uniform intake procedure to be followed by all juvenile courts.
2. Any child charged with a felony level offense, or who faces the risk of detention beyond the initial detention hearing, should have mandated legal representation. In all other cases, juveniles should not be able to waive their right to counsel without demonstrating a full understanding of this right and the ramifications of its waiver. A rule specifying in detail the appointment of counsel and the conditions for waiver of counsel should be added to the uniform rules of court. Adequate funding for legal representation should be provided.
3. The
State Bar of
4. Establish uniform guidelines and standards governing the tracking and handling of cases of juveniles arrested for crimes for which they will be treated as adults to ensure protection of fundamental rights, prompt handling of these cases and early determination of whether the case should be transferred to juvenile court.
5. Develop uniform guidelines and standards for use in the juvenile justice system to determine whether children should be diverted for mental health evaluation and/or treatment. There should be uniform guidelines and standards governing the referral of children suffering from mental illness or mental retardation or substance abuse to the Division of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse (MHMRSA) in the Department of Human Resources. The purpose of these guidelines would be to assure appropriate access to treatment for each individual while maintaining an emphasis on personal accountability and responsibility.
6. The Juvenile Courts, the Department of Children and Youth Services, and the Division of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse should formulate a plan designed to ensure that juveniles receive outpatient and residential mental services on a "needs" basis and without regard to race, ethnicity or economic status.
7. The juvenile courts, the Department of Children and Youth Services, the Division of Family and Children Services, and the Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Division of the Department of Human Resources should strive to ensure that all juveniles receive treatment of equal quality regardless of the parents' or guardians' financial resources.
8. Funding should be allocated to coordinate services provided by various service agencies to promote the involvement of parents or guardians in their juvenile's court proceedings and diversion and treatment programs (e.g., assisting in transportation for those families in need). Juveniles should not be excluded from diversion programs simply because of inability or failure of parents or guardians to be present during interviews.
9. Juveniles should not be excluded from diversion programs simply because the juvenile exhibits an attitude perceived as uncooperative or unfamiliar to intake personnel. Furthermore, there should be no "flunk out" of diversions or treatment programs due to poor attitude or failure to cooperate by the child. There should be a series of diversion or treatment programs of increasing restrictions and monitoring; this would allow for a juvenile to be shifted to a more appropriate diversion/treatment program rather than being committed to a secured institution. Being committed to a secured institution should result from "breaking rules," not from simply maintaining a "bad attitude."
10. Increased funding should be provided for the development of community- based alternatives and diversion programs, to facilitate the placement and treatment of juveniles whose parents have limited financial resources.
11. As an alternative to confinement in larger institutions, DCYS should be encouraged and provided funding to continue and expand its program of providing (under contract with public and private organizations having a record of good performance) alternatives such as smaller wilderness institutes so children may receive, in an outdoor environment, more individualistic evaluations, counseling in personal relations, education, career guidance, and aftercare.
12. The Department of Children and Youth Services should be provided additional funding for teachers, special education teachers, education equipment, textbooks and other resources necessary to implement its educational program and standards under its school district authority. Technical training should also be provided where appropriate to qualified juvenile offenders.
13. Funding should be provided to DCYS for staffing of strict and intensive aftercare programs designed to support and monitor youth during their reintegration back into their homes and communities. A very important component of effective aftercare will be a strong connection between treatment programs and organizations supporting those racial and ethnic communities. The participation and cooperation of such organizations should be encouraged so as to ensure services to minority youth, both during as well as following diversion and/or probation programs.
14. The
Department of Children and Youth Services should be provided the funding
necessary to eliminate overcrowding and under-staffing at
15. The Department of Children and Youth Services and the Division of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse (MHMRSA) of the Department of Human Resources should receive adequate funding to conduct cross-cultural diversity and other training for its personnel, particularly for those with direct contact with minority juveniles and their families (e.g., intake and aftercare workers). The same kind of training should be required of all juvenile court judges and personnel.
16. Standards and guidelines should be developed which mandate the maintenance of court records in a uniform manner in all juvenile courts throughout the state. These records should be organized in a manner which will facilitate case monitoring to ascertain any racial or ethnic disparity in the handling of juvenile matters.
17. The Implementation Committee should work with the Council of Juvenile Court Judges to ensure that a state-wide computerized database for all juvenile courts be developed and implemented.
Findings
1. Sixty-nine racially based complaints have been made since 1972 out of a total of 1,886 complaints filed. Sixty-five of these were found by the Judicial Qualifications Commission to be without merit, while three resulted in a private reprimand and one resulted in formal action against a judge. Eight of the sixty-nine complaints were filed against African Americans. The director of JQC noted that minorities have filed complaints against minority judges.
2. Since 1992, the JQC reports that there is an unwritten policy that any complaint filed on the basis of racial factors is treated very seriously and receives an automatic investigation latter.
3. Although the code of judicial conduct contains specific Cannons prohibiting racially biased actions on the part of judges, there are no similar provisions in the Georgia Code of Professional Responsibility for attorneys.
Recommendations
1. All court system personnel should be informed about the State Bar and the Judicial Qualifications Commission processes so as to be able to inform members of the public who wish to file a complaint against a judge or attorney how to do so.
2. All court employers within each county should develop a policy for the reporting and handling of instances of racial and ethnic improprieties. Subject to the court's approval of that policy, it should be implemented immediately. All employees should be made aware of the policy and should be informed of their options for reporting instances of racial or ethnic bias.
3. The Implementation Committee should support the adoption of an amendment to the Code of Professional Responsibility to address biased behavior. An ethical consideration in a form similar to the proposal of the State Bar Committee on the Involvement of Women and Minorities in the Profession should be considered.
4. In that the Supreme Court and the State Bar have created a Commission on Evaluation of Disciplinary Enforcement, the Implementation Committee should request that Commission to address the question of whether to develop and implement specific ethical code provisions for prosecutors, as well as whether there is a need for a separate prosecutorial investigatory and disciplinary body.
Findings
1. Adequate services are needed for the large proportion of minority victims and witnesses.
Recommendations
1. Victim witness assistance programs should be developed and implemented, making sure that they are tailored to accommodate the racial and ethnic minority communities of each circuit or county. Adequate funding for victim-witness assistance programs should be sought from all available sources (state, federal, and local).
2. Because of limited resources on the part of many minorities, the courts should work to make it easier for minority victims and witnesses to attend court proceedings and to minimize the amount of time required of and transportation difficulties faced by these individuals, especially if attending proceedings requires their having to take off from work.
3. It will be very important that victim witness assistance programs be staffed with personnel who reflect the diversity of the population of the circuit or county.
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