| Electoral: |
- Partisan election for 4-year term (2008, 2012, 2016, ...)
- My tenure runs from January 1, 2005 - January 1, 2009. The next election will occur in the summer (primary election) and fall (general election) in 2008.
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| Responsibilities: |
- Deciding who to arrest when someone get hurt
- Deciding who should get money when someone has been cheated deciding whether to evict a tenant
- Deciding whether to let someone out of jail when a spouse/ child has been hurt
- Deciding how to reduce the budget for my office
- I oversee the Magistrate Court. I appointed the Associate Judge, Charles Auslander, III. I supervise the Chief Clerk Mitzi Beussee. She supervises the seven other clerks.
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| Supervision and Oversight: |
- I oversee the Magistrate Court.
- I appointed the Associate Judge, Charles Auslander, III.
- I supervise the Chief Clerk Mitzi Beussee. She supervises the seven other clerks.
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| Budget: |
- Less than half of 1%. The money comes from our filing fees, criminal fees, other court costs, and property tax bills.
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| Qualifications: |
- Degree from a law school
- Experience as a lawyer
- Patience
- Experience supervising people
- Experience managing a budget
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| Time Required/ Salary: |
- I work at the courthouse Monday - Friday from 8:00am - 5:00pm when the clerk's office is open. On some days, court may not end until 6:00 or 7:00pm. I alternate weekends and holidays with my associate judge, Charles Auslander. Magistrate Judges have to be on-call for police officers 24 hours per day, seven day per week. There have been times when a police officer needed my assistance at 3:00 in the morning and I had to wake up to take his/her phone call and visit.
- Salary = about $75,000 per year
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| Top Issues: |
- Pay raises for clerks
- Arresting important people
- Making sure non-lawyers understand the law
- Working with the Sheriff to make procedures fair for everybody
- Writing a children's book
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| Tidbits: |
The Magistrate Court Judge position requires:
- Me to work hard to serve the people of Athens-Clarke County
- An experienced lawyer in order to do a good job
- A very patient person
- A person who understands people from all walks of life
- A person in excellent health
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