(The Center Square) – Threats against judges and other courtroom personnel are increasing but Georgia’s courts are as strong as ever, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Boggs said in his State of the Judiciary address Tuesday.
While no agency tracks judicial threats of Georgia judges, data from the U.S. Marshals Service shows that credible threats against federal judges has increased from 179 in 2019 to 457 in 2023, he said.
“These threats take many forms, from threats posed by disinformation and actual violence to threats posed by citizens and even elected officials publicly stating their intention to not honor and abide by lawful court decisions,” Boggs said. “We know that you too have experienced physical threats as we all recall the instances of swatting that plagued our elected officials less than a year ago. These threats simply cannot be tolerated as the “new norm” in our society as they threaten the very core of our democracy.”
The General Assembly passed Senate Bill 508 last year, which keep personal information about the state’s judiciary private.
The judiciary is also threatened by “partisan political actors,” Boggs said.
“It is hard to overstate the danger such efforts pose to the rule of law if left unchecked,” Boggs said. “We all recognize that the moment judges stop interpreting and applying the law as it is written and start making decisions based on our own policy preferences – or when the public starts believing that’s what judges are doing or should be doing – our democratic system of government becomes irreparably damaged. Simply put, an independent judiciary with respect for the rule of law keeps us from becoming a society in which the guy with the biggest stick is in charge.”
More than 30,000 Georgians live in seven counties that do not have a practicing attorney. Boggs has established a committee that would look at how to improve civil representation for rural or low-income Georgians.
A committee has also looked at how to remedy the state’s shortage of court reporters. The solution could be a digital recording system, Boggs said.
“This proposed bill places no mandate on trial judges to use digital recording, but it gives them the much-needed option in order to reduce the amount of time it takes to get necessary records,” Boggs said. “Court reporters remain a vital part of court processes, and we believe this proposal strikes the right balance between protecting the integrity of court proceedings and transcripts and addressing the very real problems resulting from the court reporter shortage.”
Boggs thanked legislators for considering pay raises for judges. House Bill 85 would increase pay for superior court judges and House Bill 86 addresses statewide judges. The bills are currently in the House Judiciary Civil Committee.
