Georgia’s court system could take years to dig out of piled-up cases with jury trials delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, judges told state lawmakers Wednesday.
“The judges across the state are very mindful of the backlog,” state Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton said during budget hearings. “I personally want to open up jury trials as soon as we can, considering all the factors that have to be considered.”
Melton estimated the courts would need one to two years to work through delayed cases, but Superior Court Judge Wade Padgett, president of the Council of Superior Court Judges, said he thought it would be more like three years. It’s hard to even know how many delayed superior court cases there are statewide because Georgia has no statewide tracking system.
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