Pro Bono News

Superior Court Chief Judge: Fulton County Budget Cuts Doom Pretrial Services Program (GA)

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

"Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Gail Tusan has told the county commission that its slashing $1.5 million from the court's 2016 budget spells the end of the court's Pretrial Services Program as of April 5. Tusan later said figures showed that despite its cost, the program saved the county about $6 million last year.

In a Feb. 18 letter to Commission Chairman John Eaves, Tusan said Pretrial Services serves a "critical (but nonmandated) role in our criminal justice system by providing supervision to indigent defendants who might otherwise be unable to afford bail through a commercial bonding agency."

But, she wrote, the tightened funding means the court will no longer be able to pay for the 24 court operations positions required to maintain the program."

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