Alabama Jury Trials Suspended

By Kristin Latty | April 29, 2002 | The Post | Cherokee County, AL

Judge Cole not too worried about jury trial cancellations

By Kristin Latty

ENTRE - Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore announced April 23 in Montgomery that all jury trials and many criminal cases in the state will suspended for the months of May, July and September. The partial shutdown of the state court system came in the wake of the Alabama Legislature's decision to cut the court's funding by $2.7 million.

The court is set to receive $122 million instead of the $124.7 million it was requesting.

"This announcement affects all jury trial cases," said District Circuit Judge Randall Cole, who was in Cherokee County last week to conduct a jury trial. "We had a trial date for May 6 and it has been re-docketed to June 4."

Judge Cole said he will still hold court May 6 for defendants who wish to plead guilty. He said all defendants requesting a jury trial will have to return to the courthouse June 4.

According to Cole, 95 percent of cases in Cherokee County circuit court are disposed of without jury trials.

Cole normally holds court in Cherokee County one week out of each month. Because of Moore's decision, Cole said three scheduled weeks of jury trials will not be held.

Cole explained that larger urban areas which normally hold court continuously will be more adversely affected. Following Moore's announcement, all courts will be forced to hold only one week of trial court in June and August.

"Not saying that it doesn't matter and won't impact my docket, but it will definitely affect larger court systems more," said Cole.

"I'm only going to miss a few sessions. I should be able to catch back up presuming the regular court schedule returns to normal after September, which is the end of the fiscal year."

"I'm not real worried about the shutdown," Cole added. "Things here should be right back normal in October."

Potential jurors statewide have been notified to ignore their previous court summons for any trials originally scheduled to take place in May. Trial judges have been sent information packets explaining how to handle cases during the off months.

The highly-anticipated and long-delayed murder trial for Bobby Frank Cherry, the former Ku Klux Klan member associated with the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, has been re-docketed. It was previously scheduled to begin today.

Many crime victims and local officials expressed angr in the past week over Moore's cancellations, charging they were politically motivated and could have been avoided. On April 24, Gov. Don Siegelman called Moore's plan to shutdown the court system "outrageous."

Since 1998, the Alabama appropriation for the criminal courts system has increased 31 percent. Most of those increases went towards pay raises for judges. Alabama judges are among the highest paid in the nation, earning from $110,000 to $189,000 annually in the budget that starts Oct. 1. About 90 percent of the court's annual budget goes to salaries.

According to a judicial pay scale established by the Legislature in 1999, district judges will make between $107,248 to $134,060; circuit judges between $108,248 to $135,310; appellate judges between $147,302 to $184,128; supreme court associate judges between $148,302 to $185,378; and chief justice between $149,302 to $186,628.

The Gadsden Times reported in its April 26 edition that Moore continued to allot money for pay raises to two of his top administrators despite knowledge that the court system was headed for financial straits. The Times also reported that Moore told judges to continue merit raises promised through April 19 even as he ordered the layoff of 170 part-time employees who wouldn't be needed because of the curtailed jury trials through the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30.

Moore's action to lay off the employees will save $230,000, less than 10 percent of the budget shortfall.

Moore defended his decision April 25 after a court session in Birmingham.

"We can't do anything without money," Moore said. "Most of the costs for the court, the expenses we incur, are mandated expenses."

It is common practice for legislators to reduce budget requests by state agencies.

Attorney General Bill Pryor, whose office also suffered a state budget cut for fiscal year 2003, said he was "deeply troubled" by the suspension of jury trials.

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