It’s a moment defense attorney Michael Bixon has been waiting for months as some of his clients are behind bars beyond legal limits.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in deadlines under the statewide legal emergency first ordered by Georgia Supreme Court Harold Melton on March 14, 2020.
Now an end is in sight.
On Monday, Melton announced the 15th and final extension of the statewide legal emergency, while establishing plans to end that status on June 30th at 11:59 p.m.
Michael Bixon, owner of Bixon Law. (Courtesy photo)
“I am particularly pleased that I will no longer have clients stuck in a position where there is nothing they can do if one of the deadlines is not met,” said Michael Bixon of Bixon Law in Atlanta. “Whether you are talking about the bond issue [or] … a consideration of the statute of limitations, it burdens someone who has been in custody for months or even years and asks himself: ‘Hey, when will I get out?’ “
The countdown is also on to the resumption of pre-pandemic-style lawsuits across the state, including the reinstatement of tolled deadlines.
Notably, the final statewide extension of the judicial emergency order states that courts have just over three weeks before all dead time limits are immediately reinstated after the judicial emergency officially ended.
Chief Justice Harold Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia. (Photo: Jeffrey Etheridge / Auburn University)
“Courts and litigants should be aware that after this nationwide emergency court order expires, all deadlines that have not already been reintroduced will be reinstated immediately, unless they are overridden by an applicable local emergency court order,” says the final extension . “This includes statutory and statutory deadlines for holding hearings, conducting other proceedings, deciding on motions and issuing other orders, as well as statutory expedited proceedings and other requirements related to grand jury and jury trials.”
Bixon applauded the news.
“The fact that this toll regime [will] has finally been repealed is fantastic from a defense point of view, ”he said. “I think they have certainly waited a reasonable amount of time to ensure that the courts have put in place security procedures to deal with the coronavirus. If a court has a problem, it is also free to issue some kind of ban. “
Superior and State Courts
The order also details the powers given higher courts and state courts to continue to enforce the legal requirements for expediency under Senate Act 163 and to access non-traditional tools to resolve backlogs from criminal cases under House Bill 635.
“This new provision will give more time to superior and state courts that have large backlogs of criminal cases that may require jury trials and were unable to hold jury trials due to public health restrictions to address those backlogs after a judicial emergency has ended.” , it says in the notice of termination. “[The] The General Assembly passed Senate Draft 163, which will come into force on July 1, 2021. SB 163 authorizes the presiding judge of a higher court or a regional court to enact, expand, change or otherwise exempt the statutory provisions for an expedited procedure … after a legal emergency, if compliance with such requirements is not practicable in a certain district. “
According to SB 163, each order has a maximum term of eight months. The authorization granted by the draft law ends on June 30, 2023.
In an effort to clear criminal backlog, House Bill 635 extends the powers of the Supreme Court through June 30, 2022 to “select juries and hear cases in alternative institutions where greater social distancing is possible; Discretion of the courts to try certain cases without a jury, if the defendant so wishes, even if the prosecutor requests a jury trial; and increased powers of the prosecutors to initiate certain cases by indictment rather than indictment. “
In the final renewal of the order, Melton encouraged all courts to continue using technology to conduct legal proceedings remotely when it was found to be a legal, practical, and safer alternative to in-person proceedings.
In-person proceedings were left to the general discretion of each chairman, in accordance with the procedural rules of the courts.
The final emergency judicial extension and termination comes just weeks before Melton is expected to step down from the state’s highest bank on July 1, 2021.
Continue reading:
Back to business: Georgia Justice expects the state emergency to end on June 30th
Chief Justice leaves Georgia Supreme Court
Chief Justice declares a nationwide judicial emergency
