'The situation became desperate': Judicial emergency persists in Cobb County Superior Court
Cobb County Superior Court Chief Judge Gregory Poole explains the issues that led to him issuing a judicial emergency on Aug. 7. (Pixabay)
Charlie Neibergall / Charlie Neibergall
Criminal and civil cases are still backed up in Cobb County’s Superior Court as the whole system is under a judicial emergency, according to Chief Judge Gregory Poole, who issued the emergency notice on Aug. 7.
A software update glitch in the court’s e-filing system had already been causing problems in the clerk’s office for more than a month.
Poole, after consulting with 10 other judges, said the tech issues in the clerk’s office could interfere with peoples’ due process and other constitutional rights, according to a press release from the court.
The release also says that Cobb Clerk of Superior Court Connie Taylor’s office has been plagued by “many serious issues before, and since, it undertook a software conversion in late June.” Taylor is a Democrat who is up for re-election. She’s also being investigated by the GBI after allegedly pocketing nearly $500,000 in passport fees and profiting to an “unusual degree,” according to financial documents and an investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Though not an exhaustive list, Poole told WABE’s “Morning Edition” about some of the most persistent problems, including that court calendars haven’t been updated properly. That means most people aren’t even showing up to his courtroom.
Poole says the court is still operational and cases are being heard, but the emergency order grants relief from hard deadlines and gives litigants more time to appeal a ruling. It also provides the public free and open access to most documents.
Poole says the order will likely be extended for another 30 days.
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