GEORGIA SUPREME COURT COMMISSION ON RACIAL AND ETHNIC BIAS IN THE COURT SYSTEM, LET JUSTICE BE DONE: EQUALLY, FAIRLY, AND IMPARTIALLY, AUG. 1995
The Commission was created by the Georgia Supreme Court on February 1, 1993. The Commission held six public hearings throughout the state. In addition, the Commission conducted an attitude survey in order to assess the perceptions of judges, clerks and attorneys practicing in Georgia courts. All judges of the superior, state, juvenile, and probate courts, chief magistrates, and clerks of the superior court were sent surveys in the Fall of 1994. Fifty to sixty percent of each group returned completed questionnaires. The attorney attitude survey was sent to a sample of 2,000 attorneys. Thirty-one percent of the attorneys surveyed responded.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Each circuit should be directed to develop and implement (pending the approval of the Supreme Court) a formal pretrial release policy, specifying factors used in determining eligibility for bail.
The State has the ability to undertake additional objective testing of the perception of bias in mandatory sentencing. First, a complete and thorough study of the application of [the mandatory sentencing statute] should be conducted, breaking down data for each circuit. In order to achieve this, information of the criminal record of the defendant, the type of representation (private, public defender, or appointed indigent defense), the type of disposition (plea or trial), and the quantity of drugs should be developed, obtained and incorporated into the relevant databases.
The Implementation Committee with the assistance of such agencies as the Georgia Statistical Analysis Bureau (under the auspices of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council) and the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council, should see that these studies are conducted. Periodic analyses and assessments of other mandatory sentences should be conducted so as to detect potential racial disparity. If such studies do indicate racial bias in the court system, the Implementation Committee should pursue steps to rectify any problems.
[T]he Prosecuting Attorney's Council [should] develop explicit, race-neutral guidelines for use in [mandatory minimum] cases by district attorneys to safeguard against bias.
The Commission feels that the legislature and the courts should consider four alternative recommendations as possible means of addressing this issue [of peremptory challenges]:Peremptory strikes could be eliminated in civil and criminal cases.
De novo appellate review of trial court decisions on Batson motions could be provided.
Trial judges could conduct voir dire using questions submitted in advance in writing by counsel.
Trial judges could be encouraged to sustain Batson's objections when the questioned strike was made for frivolous, “hunch-type” reasons unrelated to the case at bar.
