Commission: Georgia judges violating law by closing courtrooms | www.myajc.com

A substantial number of Georgia judges — including ones in metro Atlanta — have been violating the law by denying the public access to courtrooms for everything from bail hearings to trials, according to the state judicial oversight commission.

The organization that investigates and disciplines judges issued an opinion Wednesday that the practice of closing courtrooms had become relatively widespread across the state, which it said is illegal in most instances. There are narrow exceptions that have to be outlined in a court hearing.

Instead, courts are having signs posted on doors denying access to the general public or specific groups, such as children, or having bailiffs block entry, said Robert Ingram, chairman of the Judicial Qualifications Commission.

“We wanted to make sure the judges respect and comply with the law … and we hope this decision will educate judges and prevent them from closing the courthouse door,” said Ingram, a Marietta lawyer. “We’ve had our own investigators and commissioners go out and visit a courtroom and they have been greeted by a bailiff or a deputy sheriff and been told to state their business or otherwise they don’t need to be there.”

The commission’s opinions are binding in that it’s the body that decides if judges should be sanctioned or removed for ethical violations unless the Georgia Supreme Court overrules it in a specific case.

Judges could ban a disruptive child or there may be instances in which children under 17 could be banned from a specific hearing but only after a hearing on the subject, Ingram said. Some judges say they ban the public because of space limitations.

The issue of unilaterally closing courtrooms arose last month when DeKalb Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams ordered media and spectators out of the courtroom during jury selection at the trial of Andrea Sneiderman, citing a lack of space. He relented later that same day, saying the public had the right to attend.

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