Fulton County Magistrate Court faces staffing crisis; chief judge urges action

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Fulton County's chief magistrate judge is raising concerns over critical staffing shortages in the court, following the expiration of COVID-related funding that previously supported additional staff. The funding cut has reduced the court's workforce by more than half, threatening to create a new backlog of cases.

County officials had initially introduced the extra support staff to temporarily manage a surge in court cases during the pandemic. However, Chief Magistrate Court Judge Cassandra Kirk warned that without renewed funding, the court, which processes 80,000 cases annually, would likely struggle to keep up.

"Having only half of our courtrooms available due to staffing is incredibly frustrating," Judge Kirk said. The court currently operates with just seven employees, down from 17, after losing 10 positions funded by the federal COVID relief program known as ORCA.

Judge Kirk explained that the court's daily caseload has dropped from 250-400 cases to about 125, directly impacting the speed at which cases are heard. The magistrate court handles a variety of cases, including small claims, personal injury, some criminal matters, and notably, tenant-landlord disputes and evictions.

"These are not cases that should take years to resolve, but they will if we do not have the staff to do it," Kirk emphasized. The staffing shortage has forced the court to reduce its operating courtrooms from nine to just three.

Judge Kirk addressed these issues at the Fulton County Commission meeting on Dec. 18, requesting $711,000 to fund six of the 10 lost positions.

"It's been very difficult, and I am compassionate for the people that we are serving," she said.

FOX 5 Atlanta has reached out to county officials to inquire about any plans to consider this proposal, but has yet to receive a response. The Fulton County commissioners are not scheduled to meet again until Jan. 8.