10:19 am February 15, 2011, by jgalloway
Update at 3:50 p.m.: This announcement just came in for a 1:45 p.m. event on Wednesday:
Gov. Nathan Deal will join Speaker David Ralston, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Carol Hunstein, state Rep. Jay Neal and others for a news conference to discuss new legislation on criminal justice reform.
Original post:
Chief Justice Carol Hunstein of the state Supreme Court appears ready to endorse Gov. Nathan Deal’s efforts to reduce the number of non-violent offenders that Georgia locks up.
Chief Justice Carol Hunstein of the Georgia Supreme Court will give her “State of the Judiciary” address on Wednesday. Kent D. Johnson, kdjohnson@ajc.com
Hunstein will offer her “State of the Judiciary” address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Wednesday. Her office released a few highlights today:
“Georgia’s leaders in all three branches of government recognize that we can no longer afford the more than $1 billion it costs us annually to maintain the fourth-highest incarceration rate in the nation,” she will say in the annual address…
Hunstein will report to lawmakers that the state of Georgia’s judiciary remains strong, but it continues to struggle in the face of budget cuts in recent years. Delays in criminal cases threaten the public safety. Delays in civil cases add to the cost of doing business in Georgia. “Businesses that are already in Georgia and those considering moving here want to know their court system works efficiently and can provide speedy resolution to their legal disputes,” she will say.
Even in difficult times, however, the judiciary has made progress. Chief Justice Hunstein will highlight the success of Georgia’s drug courts, mental health courts and other specialty courts in reducing recidivism while saving millions. She will recognize one of the graduates of a DeKalb County drug court, as well as a number of judges who lead specialty courts around the state.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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