Question from AndyofTroy
Judge Brown, thank you for returning to the Q&A section of this website. What kind of changes can residents expect to see now that there is another judge serving the 25th district?
Judge Brandy Oliver Brown answered:
Thanks for the question, Andy. I am happy to be back. As you know, it is my hope through this forum to be able to assist folks - by answering questions and by generally educating about the Court of Justice, which I know can be terribly confusing for the public.
Regarding changes with an additional judge, some of those took place early this year when Judge David Perdue was appointed to serve in Division III. The caseload and docket management among the divisions were then split among the three of us, Judge Clouse, Judge Perdue, and myself, which made a huge difference in the workload of your judges.
This has a domino effect and it probably resulted in differences that aren't all that readily apparent even to me. Most obvious, more time available meant each of us were freed up tremendously, to preside over cases on the bench as well as to pursue and participate in extra-judicial duties.
Judge Perdue served the jurisdiction well with vigor and integrity and he is to be commended for that. My personal thanks go out to him for the service he provided to our communities, and particularly for his willingness to serve us since the election so there would be no disruption of the Court of Justice. (Many judges, perhaps understandably, sort of disappear in that period between election defeat and the new judge being sworn in!)
Of course, Judge Neal is coming on board now, and he is welcomed with confidence that he, too, will serve our communities well. As I write this, the election results are to be certified later today, and he will be presiding over his first dockets this afternoon. He will be immediately taking over the full duties of Division III, furthering the goal of transfer with no disruption in the Court of Justice. He truly has to hit the ground running!
Regarding changes that may take place in the future, there are likely to be many - some will be obvious to the public at large and some may be as simple as changes in procedures behind the scenes that we hope will benefit the public and all those that work within the Court.
As was the case when I became a judge, and when Judge Perdue was appointed, and basically any time a new judge is sworn in, he or she comes with a lot of energy and new ideas, and that makes a big difference just in the "feel" of the Court. Interestingly, a new person comes in with a different perspective (and arguably better) on what needs to be tweaked. I believe this results simply from coming in from the "outside" when he or she was practicing law and was a "client" of the Court system. Try as we might, it is inevitable that long term judges may not be fully attuned to what works best for the clerks, the litigants, the attorneys and the multiple agencies we work with as times change - we simply can't always see the perspective of so many. So that is always, in my mind, a huge benefit to us "old dogs," to hear about issues that we may never have even been aware of!
Of course, nightcourt was a central issue of Judge Neal's campaign, and we are in the first phase of meetings to develop the protocol. It will be a new endeavor for the 25th District, and we want to be sure that we set it up in a manner that serves the public best. We hope to have that up and running as soon as possible.
In addition, contrary to administration of the system, which probably needs to be as uniform as possible, there will be differences in the substantive nature of our job (as it should be) and it will be true of Judge Neal. Judges are to be independent - even of one another - and no judge can or should be expected to preside over cases and rule on issues of law just like another judge. If we could all agree on the myriad of issues that come up in cases, we could just get a computer program to do it. Then all of us - trial and appellate level judges alike - could all just stay home and do laundry!
Thanks!
Regarding changes with an additional judge, some of those took place early this year when Judge David Perdue was appointed to serve in Division III. The caseload and docket management among the divisions were then split among the three of us, Judge Clouse, Judge Perdue, and myself, which made a huge difference in the workload of your judges.
This has a domino effect and it probably resulted in differences that aren't all that readily apparent even to me. Most obvious, more time available meant each of us were freed up tremendously, to preside over cases on the bench as well as to pursue and participate in extra-judicial duties.
Judge Perdue served the jurisdiction well with vigor and integrity and he is to be commended for that. My personal thanks go out to him for the service he provided to our communities, and particularly for his willingness to serve us since the election so there would be no disruption of the Court of Justice. (Many judges, perhaps understandably, sort of disappear in that period between election defeat and the new judge being sworn in!)
Of course, Judge Neal is coming on board now, and he is welcomed with confidence that he, too, will serve our communities well. As I write this, the election results are to be certified later today, and he will be presiding over his first dockets this afternoon. He will be immediately taking over the full duties of Division III, furthering the goal of transfer with no disruption in the Court of Justice. He truly has to hit the ground running!
Regarding changes that may take place in the future, there are likely to be many - some will be obvious to the public at large and some may be as simple as changes in procedures behind the scenes that we hope will benefit the public and all those that work within the Court.
As was the case when I became a judge, and when Judge Perdue was appointed, and basically any time a new judge is sworn in, he or she comes with a lot of energy and new ideas, and that makes a big difference just in the "feel" of the Court. Interestingly, a new person comes in with a different perspective (and arguably better) on what needs to be tweaked. I believe this results simply from coming in from the "outside" when he or she was practicing law and was a "client" of the Court system. Try as we might, it is inevitable that long term judges may not be fully attuned to what works best for the clerks, the litigants, the attorneys and the multiple agencies we work with as times change - we simply can't always see the perspective of so many. So that is always, in my mind, a huge benefit to us "old dogs," to hear about issues that we may never have even been aware of!
Of course, nightcourt was a central issue of Judge Neal's campaign, and we are in the first phase of meetings to develop the protocol. It will be a new endeavor for the 25th District, and we want to be sure that we set it up in a manner that serves the public best. We hope to have that up and running as soon as possible.
In addition, contrary to administration of the system, which probably needs to be as uniform as possible, there will be differences in the substantive nature of our job (as it should be) and it will be true of Judge Neal. Judges are to be independent - even of one another - and no judge can or should be expected to preside over cases and rule on issues of law just like another judge. If we could all agree on the myriad of issues that come up in cases, we could just get a computer program to do it. Then all of us - trial and appellate level judges alike - could all just stay home and do laundry!
Thanks!