Gwinnett Buzz

Karen Beyers was sworn in as Gwinnett Superior Court judge this week replacing Richard Winegarden.  While I endorsed Winegarden in the election, I congratulate her on her new position.  I wish her wisdom and fair-mindedness as she makes life-changing decisions for some Gwinnett residents.

I could not suppress a smile when reading her comments on her career path that started as an electrical engineer:

“Black and white is how engineers view things,” Beyers said Thursday, sitting comfortably in her new chambers while on a recess from court. “It’s never black and white with the law.”

How true!  You may have noticed that many of my views here on the Buzz are, while not necessarily black and white, dark gray and light gray.  When I took a Business Law course in business school, my engineering brain could not compute, as my professor answered to one of my questions on the law, “it depends.”  That was when I dismissed any minuscule consideration I had of ever going to law school!

As I sit here having just watched the Brian Nichols sentencing, I would love to write a bit on this case but, alas, this is not the Fulton Buzz.  However, as I watched I recalled that I never provided an account of my recent jury duty here in Gwinnett.  Last week was my summons date and, frankly, there is little to tell.  I only had to report to GJAC on Monday.  While I strongly advocate a fair trial, even for a (now convicted) mass murderer like Brian Nichols, I continue to have misgivings about a person being ripped away from their daily responsibilities, often with little apparent concern on the part of the judicial system.  Superior Court Judge Melodie Snell Connor is an exception to this impression.

After arriving on Monday, I was seated in a group assigned to Judge Connor.  We were told by the bailiff that there would be a short wait before we would go back to the courtroom.  I returned to reading my book and a few minutes later I looked up and was stunned to see a judge, a lady who turned out to be Judge Connor, standing there with the bailiff.  Judge Connor told us that all of her cases had pleaded and that she had no further need of us that day and that we were dismissed for the afternoon.  However, what really struck me was her expression of understanding of the inconvenience of jury duty to us and her sincere appreciation for our sacrifice.  In the four times I have been called for jury duty (four time in Gwinnett and once in Durham County, NC) and in years of observing the legal system from afar, I have never felt that a judge truly appreciated the sacrifice of those summoned for jury duty.  Judge Connor was an exception to that perception and I thank her for making the effort to come out to the jury assembly room to address us.

With nearly all precincts reporting, Commission Chairman Charles Bannister and District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau have easily won reelection.  In school board races, District 1 board member Carol Boyce and District 3 board member Mary Kay Murphy both won fairly easy victories.  In School Board District 5 things appear to be a bit closer, but Louse Radloff appears headed to victory over Democrat challenger Ravindra Kuma.  Tom Lawler will hold onto his position as Superior Court Clerk.

However, not all incumbents fared well.  In a poor move by Gwinnett voters, Richard Winegarden will fall to Karen Beyers, a candidate who had no judicial experience coming into this election.

In the SPLOST vote, Gwinnett voters extended the 1-cent sales taxes by nearly 20,000 votes.

On a state level, Saxby Chambliss thankfully was relected to the United States Senate.  This was important to keeping enough Republicans in the Senate to maintain the threat of a filibuster against any extremely liberal legislation from Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and their ilk.  Congressman John Linder, who represents a large portion of the county, defeated Doug Heckman handily. All three Georgia constitutional amendments appear likely to pass, though Amendments 2 and 3 are a little tight with about 10% of the precincts still out.  I supported, with some concerns, Amendments 2 and 3 and am glad to see them gain approval.  However, I am disappointed to see Amendment 1 pass with its promise of placing additional funding responsibility for local schools on taxpayers throughout the state.  Amendment 2 was very important to providing the funding needed for the TADs that Gwinnett voters approved in the primary in July.

Thus, overall, a positive night for Gwinnett amidst a sad night for America overall.  Hopefully, as Republican conservatives seek to take back our national party and win back the voters that the big spending GOP of the last six years have allowed to flock to Barack Obama, Gwinnett and it’s strong conservative base can play a role in this effort.  Winning back the wayward center right voters is so critical to protecting the freedoms and values that America holds dear and that are sure to be threatened by the liberal Democrats starting in January.

I had not paid a lot of attention to the Gwinnett Superior Court race but I received robocalls from both sides so I wound up looking at the candidates a little more closely.  (I really hate to admit that the robocalls got my attention because I abhor those obnoxious intrusions that candidates rudely unleash on voters.)  I don’t have a really strong opinion on this race but one thing struck me as I poked around the Internet for more information.  After a short time, I could see which candidate was the clear choice.

Superior Court is the highest profile local court in Georgia.  This court is where life and death decisions literally can be made.  This court is where the guilt of violent criminals is adjudicated.  While all courts are serious, Superior Court is particularly serious because of the cases that are heard within.  As such, what should we expect of a Superior Court judge?  First and foremost, fairness.  Not everyone defending themselves in court is guilty or liable and fairness is paramount to ensure that an injustice is not done.  Second, experience.  Because of the grave nature of many of the issues in this court, a judge should have extensive judicial experience and a strong understanding of the law.  This is not amateur hour.

Challenger Karen Beyers lists no judicial experience on her website.  Judge Richard Winegarden has over 25 years of judicial experience.  There are numerous allegations of personality flaws for Judge Winegarden including being rude to those in his court and not efficiently managing his calendar.  In fact, these seem to be Beyers’ primary reasons why she should be elected.  (Frankly, all the blog and message board chatter seems too much “Inside Baseball” to me with bickering between those in the legal profession of those who have had cases heard in Judge Winegarden’s courtroom.  Who knows what the truth is!)  While I do not condone being rude, what is more important is whether the judge is honest and fair.  Beside,s being rude is such a subjective thing.  As for calendar management, it is easy to make an allegation on the surface but there legitimate reasons for such things that typical politicking chooses to ignore.  As in court, there are two sides to every story so I cannot get too upset over a judge’s schedule based on a campaign claim.  In summary. given Beyers’ lack of judicial experience, she needs to have a better arguments than these.

Finally, if there were any doubt remaining as to which candidate to back in this race, one key endorsement seals the deal.  District Attorney Danny Porter has endorsed Judge Winegarden.  Porter’s many years of service to law and justice in Gwinnett County commands respect and his backing of Judge Richard Winegarden make me confident that that I have endorsed the better candidate.

I went to my mailbox tonight hoping my absentee ballot would be there.  Indeed, I did have a letter from Gwinnett County government.  Unfortunately, the letter was from the Gwinnett County courts.  My responsibility as a citizen in voting, paying my taxes, and whatever other activities the county monitors in conscripting average citizens into the “slavery of jury duty” has rewarded me with yet another Gwinnett County jury summons.  (Are these guys sitting up there in Lawrenceville waiting for the day my grace period from the last summons is up to immediately send me another one?)

You can spare me the bit about jury duty being a “vital function of democracy” as the paragraph on the back summons states.  (Never mind that we do not live in a pure democray but rather a constitutional republic.  This is ironic given that a court of law is a key barrier to the mob rule of pure democracy.)  When I pay my massive tax bill to Gwinnett County, the State of Georgia and the U.S. Government, I have “done my part” in serving our government’s mandates, especially given that politicians have managed to remove so many from the income tax rolls. Out of all these tax dollars, you would think governments could find the funds to have professional juries.

I have long thought that our system would be better served by full-time jurors whose job is to help fairly administer justice.  Such a system would eliminate the need to compel citizens to step away from their jobs, families, vacations, or any other pursuit for a mere pittance all while being told that they are “willingly” serving.  Such a system would both ensure that jurors are competent and would prevent trial lawyers and defense attorneys from attempting to influence a verdict by stacking a jury.  All too often, jurors are not qualified to consider the questions of a case or would decide based on emotion rather than logic and facts.  (I know that not all lawyers are slimy, conniving folks.  They have a very important job to do and if you are ever falsely charged with a crime you better hope you a good attorney at your side.  Also, to be fair, I am sure that prosecutors are trying to achieve an end as well and are not always fair and objective.  Doubt that?  Go read John Grisham’s An Innocent Man, and see much you should blindly trust prosecutors.)  I do not mean to sound arrogant, but as an engineer with a finance degree, I am an ideal candidate for a jury,  I think logically and am intelligent enough to consider details of a case even if it is not in the area of my expertise.  Unfortunately, for the attorneys trying the case, I have a natural tendency to assume that if a defense attorney or a trial lawyer is talking, there is a chance he or she is lying or spinning the facts.

Alas, the law forces me to “willingly serve” and as a law-abiding citizen that is what I intend to do.  (”Show up or go to jail, Joe Citizen!”  You bet I am willing!)  Hopefully, this will be a great opportunity for the Buzz to provide an in-depth “behind the scenes” look at the Gwinnett County court system and the experience of jury duty.  Too bad they won’t let you live-blog a trial.

The AJC has reported that lawsuits filed by landowner Jack Bandy alleging violation of his property rights in the Duluth Wal-Mart Supercenter case have been dropped.  The suits were reportedly dropped in a manner that “could allow them to [be refiled] later.”  Hopefully, these cases will eventually be heard by a court.  When the government has possibly violated our property rights, ensuring that those infringing citizens’ rights are held accountable, in a court if necessary, is very important.  After all, since the elected officials often won’t be held accountable by NIMBY voters, courts are often the only option.

While I voted for Charles Bannister and am strongly opposed to Lorraine Green being elected Chairman of the Gwinnett County Commisison, I also believe in being fair.  As such, I have to note that Gwinnett Soliciter General Rossana Szabo has launched an investigation into a Bannister campaign mailer that included an image of the state seal.  I have not personally seen the mailer, but Bob Griggs has posted images of the document in question on his website.  Based on these images, I have to agree that the formating of this document is questionable.  Coming at the 11th hour of the campaign, it would be interesting to know what effect the mailer and the investigation may have on the outcome of Tuesday’s primary.

A Gwinnett Superior Court judge has denied bond to Cody Rhoden who is accused of causing a multiple vehicle accident on I-85 on March 31 that killed four people.  I have no problem with this and am glad the legal system is taking a strong stand.  I know that Rhoden is innocent until proven guilty and I know that he deserves his day in court.  However, there is very strong indication that the carelessness of this young man took away four innocent lives and devastated at least two families.  I have seen too many drivers weaving in and out of traffic, driving like maniacs, that caused me to think that they were going to get up the road and kill someone.  I had such a maniac tailgating me just the other night!  In this case such a driver apparently did get up the road and kill someone and, if he is proven guilty in court, he should be harshly punished for his actions.  While I have my doubts, I hope this tragic event will wake up some of the young drivers who behave behind the wheel of a vehicle as if they are bulletproof and in total control.