From The Bench
the city of Brookhaven
The New Municipal Court Proudly Serves its Citizens
By The Hon. Laura E. Stevenson
Chief Judge, Brookhaven Municipal Court
B
rookhaven was just ranked as having the fastest
growing zip code in the entire metro Atlanta region.
Incorporated as a new city on December 17, 2012, with
a population of just over 49,000, Brookhaven is the largest
city in DeKalb County and the 14th largest in the state. The
rush to provide court services to our brand new and booming
city is at times like leaping for a train that’s already left the
station –but the challenges make it a thrilling ride.
There was no institutional knowledge for anyone to pass along
to us when we first started. We were however able to rely on
neighboring cities such as Dunwoody and Sandy Springs for
assistance and advice, but we were still
starting all of our processes, systems and
basic infrastructure from scratch.
We recently added a third arraignment hearing per week to
reduce the amount of time between ticketing and the initial
court date, in keeping with the City’s mission of providing
prompt and responsive municipal services. Currently, the
Court holds bench trials once a month, but we will be adding
another day of bench trials beginning in September.
Court staff has worked diligently to handle a heavy volume of
cases since opening day. Currently, Brookhaven has a Clerk
of Court, a Deputy Clerk of Court and three part-time clerks.
When Court is in session, it’s all hands on deck in order to
provide two payment clerks, a bench clerk and a clerk to
“...when people feel their cases have been
handled fairly and efficiently, they appreciate
the service ( 2WfV