Sunday, 2nd November 1913: Five Judges For New Municipal Court Selected, The Atlanta Journal

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L. F. McClelland, E. D.

Thomas, J. B. Ridley, T. O.

Hathcock and Luther Ros-

ser, Jr., Are Recommended

GOVERNOR

WILL MAKE

FORMAL APPOINTMENT

Officials to

Succeed Justices

of Peace Chosen by Supe-

rior Court Judges From

Fifty Applicants

The five judges of Atlantas new

municipal court will be:

L. F. McClelland, E. D. Thomas, J. B.

Ridley, T. O. Hathcock and Luther Rosser, Jr.

They were chosen from among fifty

applicants by the four judges of the Atlanta superior court. The circuit judges

met yesterday afternoon and determined on these five municipal court judges

whom they will recommend to Governor Slaton for appointment.

Their recommendation will reach the

governor Monday and the appointment probably will be made that day. Only the

power to recommend lies with the superior court judges, but the appointments

will be made from the candidates whom they have chosen.

One of the five municipal judges will

be selected as chief judge of the court. The selection, in this instance, as

well as the appointment, will be made by Governor Slaton.

SALARIES OF JUDGES.

The salary of the leading of the

leading judge of the municipal court will be $3,600 a year. That of the other

four judges will be $2,000 a year.

A chief clerk, a deputy clerk, a

marshal, and several deputy marshals will compose the attaches of the court.

The chief judge and chief clerk will

take office at once to prepare for the last session of the court, which will be

held in January. The first of the new year all judges of the municipal court

will take office and the new court will go into effect, while all justice

courts in Atlanta will go out of existence.

This change is authorized by an act

bill passed at the last session of the Georgia legislature. A similar bill,

applying to Macon, was passed at that session of the assembly, but the justice

courts in no other cities in Georgia were affected. Atlanta and Macon were

alone in seeking from the legislature measures substituting municipal courts

for justice of the peace courts.

ONE JUSTICE NAMED.

An interesting fact in connection with

the appointment is that only one of the present justices of the peace, James B.

Ridley, has been named a municipal court judge, and the fact is considered an

unusual tribute to his record.

The establishment of the new court on

the first of the year means that practically all of the justice courts in the

city will be abolished, and among the officials who will automatically lose

their positions are Justice Edgar H. Orr, the oldest justice in point of years

in the county and probably in the state; Judge F. M. Powers, Judge Charles H.

Giradeau, Judge O. H. Puckett, Judge W. T. Jordan and several others.

While the clerk and the marshal will be

appointed by the municipal court judges themselves the races for these

positions are already on T.M. Miller, present deputy clerk of the superior

court, is looked upon as a likely candidate for the position of clerk, while

Newton A. Garner, at present an efficient attache of the solicitor generals

office, is running a strong race for the marshals place. The clerk will be

allowed one assistant and the number of deputy marshals will be determined by

the court.

INCREASSED JURISDICTION.

The municipal court will have

jurisdiction in all suits for amounts up to $500, while the jurisdiction of the

justice courts was for amounts not exceeding $100. As a result of the increased

jurisdiction, it is expected that the new court will cut into the business of

the clerk of the superior court to a considerable extent, and this is expected

to result in the decreasing of the force of Clerk Arnold Broyles. It will

decrease the revenue of the sheriffs office as well and it is probable that at

the first of the year some of the deputies or attaches of that office will be

without positions.

The act creating the municipal court

requires that only practicing attorneys be appointed to the bench. A number of

the justices of the peace of past years had little or no legal training.

Judges of the Atlanta circuit who met

yesterday afternoon and decided on the five candidates whom they shall

recommend to Governor Slaton for appointment, are Judge John T. Pendleton,

Judge W. D. Ellis, Judge George EL. Bell and Judge B. H. Hill.