Atlanta Community Court

Chief Judge Barbara Harris

Barbara A. Harris was appointed Chief Judge of Atlanta Municipal Court on June 18, 1992. She is the first woman to serve in such capacity. In assuming the responsibility of Chief Judge, she supervised the relocation of the court from the Police Headquarters to the current facility, and maintains supervisory oversight of budgetary and personnel matters. Judge Harris has served the City of Atlanta Municipal Court since May of 1982 presiding over preliminary hearings for felonies and misdemeanors and conducting non-jury trials of offenses under the Atlanta City Code. Judge Harris' experience includes five years of service as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia in the Civil Division and a law clerkship under the tutelage of the late Georgia Supreme Court Justice Charles L. Weltner. She also served as an intern in the City Attorney's Office. She has tried cases and argued appeals in the state and federal trial and appellate courts.

Judge Harris is a graduate of Michigan Law School (1976) and Harvard University (A.B. 1973, cum laude). She has enhanced her judicial studies at the National Judicial College. She is an active member of the Gate City Bar Association and a co-founder of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorney's. She has served on various committees of the Georgia Supreme Court, the State Bar of Georgia, the American Bar Association, and the National Bar Association.

Presiding Judge William F. Riley

Judge William F. Riley Jr., a native Atlantan, attended City of Atlanta and Fulton County Schools and is a graduate of Woodrow Wilson College of Law. He is a former Assistant District Attorney in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit.

Judge Riley represented Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) in child and elder abuse cases. He was also a Prosecutor of child molestation cases for the Cherokee Judicial Circuit. Judge Riley was also an Assistant Solicitor of the State Court of Fulton County and Assistant District Attorney for the South Georgia Judicial Circuit.

Currently, he is a Judge at the Atlanta Municipal Court, where he is the presiding Judge and visionary of the Atlanta Community Court. Nationally known as a speaker on Community Courts and he heads the Atlanta Community Court. The Atlanta Community Court is one of the most comprehensive Community Courts in the country, including drug court, mental health court and re-entry court initiatives.

In addition to his busy schedule, Judge Riley is also an advisor to the Chief Justice's Commission on substance abuse; Co-Chair Seed Committee of the Atlanta Weed and Seed and Board Member of the United Way-Enterprise Foundation Community Safety Partnership Board.

Judge Riley is the initial recipient of the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board's President's award and a two time recipient of the Chief Justice's Commission on professionalism and the State Bar of Georgia's Certificate of Achievement for outstanding community service.

ATLANTA COMMUNITY COURT AND INITIATIVES/PROGRAMS/PROBATION

The Atlanta Community Court is a division of the Atlanta Municipal Court that deals with what are commonly known as quality of life crimes: prostitution, disorderly conduct, panhandling, and low-level drug offenses. Chief Judge Barbara A. Harris and Presiding Judge William F. Riley, Jr. established the Community Court in March, 2000 with the support of the Atlanta City Council, Central Atlanta Progress (CAP), and the City of Atlanta. In July, 2001, the Community Court expanded its schedule from two to four days a week, allowing it to adjudicate and manage up to 2500 new defendants annually.

The Community Court is committed to the dual principles of restorative justice and rehabilitation. Restorative justice is the idea that with low-level offenses the criminal justice system can better serve the community by using alternative sentencing options, such as community service to allow individuals to give something back to their community. Community service strengthens communities by reconnecting offenders with local residents through positive work projects and encourages smaller neighborhoods to organize and address crime problems by partnering with the criminal justice system. Additionally, as an alternative to incarceration, community service allows the Court to move low-level offenders out of the criminal justice system, freeing up costly jail space for more serious criminals.

The Community Court takes a nontraditional approach to working with offenders, using sentencing alternatives and legal sanctions to promote rehabilitation and address the underlying causes of criminality. The Court maintains that it has a clear interest, both ethical and financial, in seeing to it that offenders receive services that will help curb future criminal behavior. Defendants can be referred to the Community Court from a number a sources, including the Office of the Public Defender, Office of the City Solicitor, Pre-trial Services, or other Municipal Court Judges. At the first appearance hearing before the Community Court, defendants who have been identified as treatment candidates are referred to the Court's clinical evaluators for assessment and treatment recommendations. When mental illness and/or substance abuse are identified as driving factors in an individual's antisocial or criminal behavior, the Court reviews community-based and in-custody treatment options, diverting individuals to resources that stand the best chance of success. The Community Court takes a supervisory roll in offenders' treatment plans through frequent review hearings, assertive case coordination with the Probation Division, and, when necessary, tough sanctions for noncompliance.

The Atlanta Community Court represents the combined efforts of the criminal justice system, local governments, nonprofit agencies, and the private sector. Although the Municipal Court and Judge Riley provide the leadership, it is the dedication of other City departments and agencies, such as the Office of the City Solicitor, Office of the Public Defender, the Probation Division, the Atlanta Department of Corrections, and Atlanta Pre-Trial Services that make Community Court work. The Community Court greatly values the vital partnerships that have developed with county and state agencies, especially the Fulton County Regional Board, which provides MH/MR/SA funding and consultation to the Community Court's mental health and substance abuse initiatives. Additionally, twenty-eight private and nonprofit agencies, many of them Regional Board and United Way affiliates, provide treatment services to the Court's defendants.
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AIDS Awareness Program with the
Hispanic Bar Association

Community Court Information System (CCIS)

Community Reparative Boards

AIDS Awareness Program with the Hispanic Bar Association:

This project will provide education about HIV and AIDS to Latino offenders with high-risk behaviors.

Community Court Information System (CCIS):

The Court is currently using the Local Law Enforcement Block grant to develop a data management system with Georgia Tech Research Institute to help with offender tracking and data evaluation.

Community Reparative Boards:

The Court is working with Atlanta Weed and Seed and the Pardon and Parole Board to create reparative boards in the Atlanta neighborhoods of Mechanicsville and Pittsburgh. Boards will make recommendations to the Court regarding conditions of probation for neighborhood offenders.

PROGRAMS

Community Service
* Drug Treatment
* HIV/AIDS Awareness Program
* Fresh Start
* Mental Health Treatment
* Women for Women Program

Community Service:

In first half of 2001, the Community Court directed over 300 offenders to complete community service in over 28 Atlanta neighborhoods. An additional 500 individuals were referred from the Atlanta Municipal Court, City Traffic Court, and Fulton County State Court to participate in Community Court clean-up projects. Taken together, approximately 12,000 community service hours were completed. Service assignments included clean-up projects with various Atlanta neighborhood associations, MARTA, the Atlanta Ambassadors Taskforce, the Kiwanis Club, the Atlanta Humane Society, and AID Atlanta. More Information ...

Drug Treatment:

In the first half of 2001, the Community Court's clinical evaluator assessed 110 drug-addicted individuals with 55% of the cases being diverted from incarceration to community treatment under the supervision of the Court. Offenders' treatment compliance was maintained through frequent review hearings and tight coordination between Judge Riley, the mental health evaluator, and the probation division. The Court partnered with numerous community-based inpatient and outpatient facilities to provide a continuum of treatment services for its defendants. An additional 100 cases were referred directly to Fresh Start and Women for Women, the Atlanta City Detention Center's in-custody substance abuse treatment programs that work closely with the Community Court.

HIV/AIDS Awareness Program:

An education and community service project with AID Atlanta for men who have been charged with solicitation and both male and female prostitution. This project is expected to work with as many as 50 offenders to this program in 2002.

Fresh Start:

The Atlanta Department of Corrections runs this in-custody psychotherapeutic/substance abuse program for adult males. The program serves approximately 180 offenders each year and provides a network of treatment and aftercare services for graduates upon release. More Information ...

Women for Women Program:

The Atlanta Department of Corrections runs this in-custody psychotherapeutic/substance abuse program for adult female prostitutes. Women for Women is partnered with Mary Hall Freedom House, a community based nonprofit organization that provides residential services and aftercare to offenders upon release from jail. More Information...

Mental Health Treatment:

In the first half of 2001, the Community Court's clinical evaluator assessed 134 mentally ill individuals with 66% being identified as dually diagnosed (i.e., mentally ill and drug addicted). Community mental health resources for indigent individuals with mental illness and co-occurring disorders are limited, but the Court was able to divert 60% of the cases from incarceration to community treatment with the support and dedication of its stakeholder network, including the Atlanta Department of Corrections, Mental Health Unit; Atlanta Pre-Trial Services; The Grady Health System; The Fulton County Regional Board; Office of the City Solicitor; Office of the Public Defender; the Probation Division, and numerous community-based treatment providers. The Community Court is constantly working to enhance its services for mentally ill individuals in the criminal justice system: in October the Court hired a second mental health evaluator and was assigned a post-doctoral fellow in community psychiatry from Grady Hospital for several months to help enhance the assessment procedure. Additionally, the Community Court has introduced a weekly case staffing to review each case involving mental illness or substance abuse to promote a common understanding of treatment issues and improve case coordination.

PROBATION

Charlene Bearden, Probation Clerk
Shirley A. Bellamy, Probation Officer
Darryl L. Brassel, Probation Officer
Anita K. Johnson, Probation Manager
Jacinta Harden-Billings, Probation Officer

We believe that successful completion of probation offers a probationer an excellent opportunity to get it right!

Atlanta Municipal Court Probation

The Atlanta Municipal Court Probation Division was established in 1993 by Chief Judge Barbara A. Harris. Anita Johnson, one of the original Probation Officers now serves as manager. We now have three dedicated probation officers and a probation clerk.

The Probation Division actively participates in the daily operation of Atlanta Municipal Court and Community Court. This division plays an important role by diverting defendants diagnosed with mental health problems and/or addiction. Probation also acts as a liaison to community providers in order to insure client accountability

Components of Probation:
*AIDS Awareness Classes (AID ATLANTA)
*ARDAV (Avoid the Risk of Drugs,
Alcohol, And Violence)
*Community Service
*Educational Counseling
(GED/ Vocational )
*Georgia Fatherhood Program
*Fine/Collections
*Job Counseling

(See Link Listed Below For Additional Information)

Email us
flora_tommie@hotmail.com

Judicial Systems Programs

Atlanta Community Court