Judge Sherri Walker and Brian Jones Discuss Chief Magistrate Judge Campaign

Election, News

The Magistrate Court is the people’s court.  The US Government established it for the general public who want to represent themselves in non-criminal legal proceedings.  There isn’t a jury in the Magistrate Court.  The judge makes the final decision.  This month, Fannin citizens are making their decision about who will be the judge for the people’s court.

The Magistrate Court hears both civil and criminal misdemeanor cases. Examples of the types of civil cases are civil disagreements up to $15,000; landlord-tenant disputes; wage garnishments; county ordinance appeals and foreclosures.  On the criminal side, the Magistrate Court deals with the first few steps of the criminal justice system.  The Magistrate Court issues arrest and search warrants.  If a person is arrested, the Magistrate Court advises the person of the charges, the right-to-attorney, sets bonds and holds preliminary hearings.  It also judges misdemeanor drug and underage alcohol consumption cases.  The Magistrate Court does not cover divorce proceedings.

The current Chief Magistrate Judge is Judge Sherri Walker.  She assumed the position after the death of Judge Newton.  Out of 12 candidates for the post, Appalachian Circuit Court Judges Bradley, Mercier and Weaver appointed her.  This is the election where Fannin citizens can show their support of the decision or decide that Sergeant Brian Jones of the City of Blue Ridge Police Department will best serve Fannin residents.

The experience of the two candidates reveal both sides of the Magistrate Court.  Sgt. Jones, who is a 20-year veteran of law enforcement, knows first-hand about collecting evidence that validates warrants, delivering warrants and the effect warrants can have on a person’s life.  Judge Walker knows first-hand about the process of the court and how to guide people through it.

FetchYourNews caught up with the two candidates to find out why each one thought he or she is the best for the Chief Magistrate Judge of Fannin County.

Sherri-L.-Walker300Judge Walker has been working with the Magistrate Court since 2005 and serving as Chief Magistrate Judge since 2014. Judge Walker sees that several aspects of her personality help her be the best person to serve Fannin residents.  She says that she is very patient with walking people through the process of Magistrate Court since most people are representing themselves and don’t have prior experience with court proceedings.  In her rulings, she strives to be impartial and fair. She appreciates that Fannin residents are very supportive of the Court and is proud of serving her community.

Judge Walker’s future plans for Magistrate Court build on programs and administration that she has already set in place.  Judge Walker states that she has consistently operated the Court below budget.  She wants to continue supporting court staff in attending education programs which will keep them up-to-date on precedents and trends.  She also wants to ease the process of for civil cases in the Magistrate Court.  Fannin’s Magistrate Court uses efilegeorgia.com, which allows people to file and pay for civil cases online.  She also wants to update the Magistrate Court website on the Fannin County Government page, so that people can access documents and forms they need for Magistrate Court.

brian-jonesSgt. Jones believes that his law enforcement experience goes hand-in-hand with the Magistrate Court.  Oftentimes, he has been in situations where he needs to mediate between two parties before a heated argument develops into a violent situation.  He gives the example of domestic violence calls.  Out of all the public safety measures police provide, responding domestic violence calls are some of the most unstable situations to be in the middle of since passions run so high at these times.  He feels that what he learned out in the field he can apply to judging cases in a common sense, compassionate manner.  He also states that working in public safety has taught him to be a really good listener and read between the lines to know who is telling the truth and who isn’t.

Sgt. Jones said that he doesn’t take his decision to run lightly.  He decided he would run for Magistrate Judge when the late Judge Newton passed away.  Sgt. Jones respects how Judge Newton ran the Magistrate Court and believes that his values reflect those of Judge Newton.

Sgt. Jones does not have plans for changing the way Judge Newton ran the Magistrate Court.  His plans, like Judge Walker’s, continue programs that Judge Newton set up, like furthering education of people working in Fannin County’s Magistrate Court.  He also wants to set up a web page that makes it easier for people to access Magistrate Court forms and file them.  “Judge Newton ran the Court like a well-oiled machine, and I will continue to run it that way,” says Sgt. Jones.

Sgt. Jones enjoyed getting out and campaigning in Fannin County.  He states, “Win, lose or draw, I am glad I did it.  I like the people part of campaigning.”

Run-offs are low turnout elections.  However, if you think that in the future you will have property loss that you need to sue for or if you are wary about how warrants are delivered, this is an important election. Go vote! Early voting is from 8:30 to 5 pm at the Fannin County Courthouse until July 22nd. All poll locations will be open on Election Day, July 26th.

In the May 24th primaries, the results of the election were Brian Jones 35.66%,   Judge Sherri Walker    46.25%, and Danette Davis 17.93%. Since no candidate received over 50% of the vote, the top-two candidates moved onto the run-off.  The winner of the run-off will become the Chief Magistrate Judge as there is no Democrat running on the November ballot.

Take the FetchYourNews poll about who you will vote for at the bottom of the far right column of this page.  The poll program only accepts one vote from each computer address.  After voting, you can see the results.

 

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