March 31, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
An update from the bench!
Since taking office last September General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Cox has implemented some new policies in the hope of bringing more efficiency to the court as he explained in an interview with WJLE Tuesday.
One of them is a standing order issued last month requiring a bond source hearing in certain cases. Judge Cox said the reason for such a hearing is to ensure that persons charged with a crime not be allowed to post bond greater than $50,000 from funds or property derived through illicit means?
“As you may have seen from a recent WJLE article, I implemented a standing order on bond source hearings in cases where the individual bond is greater than $50,000. I did this so that I can be assured that a defendant making such a bond is not using funds from illicit sources, such as the sale of illegal drugs, to make their bond. This is an issue of fundamental fairness, I believe. Since this standing order has been entered, we have had occasion to address the bond at a hearing or by agreed order on two occasions,” said Judge Cox.
Judge Cox is also taking steps to better ensure the confidentiality of all juvenile proceedings.
“Another major change I have implemented is that all juvenile court proceedings, including dependency and neglect proceedings and private juvenile matters, are heard on an individual and confidential basis. This means that when a juvenile case is called the only people permitted in the courtroom are the parties to the case, the attorneys, court staff and court officers. This was the first change that I made and I believe it has had a significant impact on the cases as they progress. Oftentimes, these cases involve very sensitive and serious issues related to small children. No person outside the parties to the case needs to hear about all the issues. Additionally, when the cases are called individually, with no one else in the courtroom, I can focus on each particular case and devote the appropriate time and consideration that the children and families deserve. The only issue I have with the policy is that we are limited on space, and when we have multiple courts going at once, we get quite crowded in the hallway outside the courtroom. But our court officers, court staff and attorneys have done an excellent job making this work,” said Judge Cox.
More changes are upcoming.
“In the coming months, I plan to meet with various groups and individuals to assess the court calendar to ensure that we are being as efficient as possible. I also plan to develop local rules of the General Sessions and Juvenile Court to more clearly establish the procedures and policies that I have implemented. This will be a collaborative effort, involving the local attorneys, and the court clerk. One of the things that I am most excited about is the expansion of our Recovery Court to potentially include a mental health and veterans court. My team is in the exploratory phase of this project and gathering as much information and attending as many training sessions as possible. However, we have a significant need in this community for a mental health court and I believe that it will be a net positive for the county once it is fully operational. I will release details of this as we move along and will be looking for support from the community, the County Mayor, the County Commission and other partners,” said Judge Cox.
“These are some of the changes we have made and some ideas we have for the future. It has been an honor serving the past six months. I am eager each and every day to do this job to the best of my ability. I am forever grateful that you have put your trust in me and I will strive to continue to honor that trust with my work,” Judge Cox concluded.