Who Gets to Pick Our Next Judge?

There is a rumor making its way through Columbus that Judge Andy Prather may retire after the November election. Maybe he will. Maybe he won’t. Until Judge Prather makes such an announcement himself, it is just that — a rumor.

But the rumor raises a question that is very real: If a judicial seat is going to become vacant, why should the people of Muscogee County be the last ones to know and potentially have the least say in who fills it?

That is where this conversation gets uncomfortable. Timing matters in politics. Timing matters in elections. And timing certainly matters when an elected judge leaves office.

Depending on when and how a judicial vacancy occurs, the power to select the next judge can shift from the ballot box to the governor’s office. Instead of thousands of Muscogee County voters deciding who should sit on their bench, the decision can potentially rest with one governor exercising the appointment authority provided under Georgia law.

And Georgia currently has a Republican governor.

Now, before somebody starts accusing me of suggesting some conspiracy, let me be clear: I have no evidence that Judge Prather has made an agreement with anyone, that his retirement is definite or that a successor has already been selected.

But I have been around politics long enough to know one thing: When political power is involved, you had better pay attention to the calendar. Because sometimes the most important political decisions aren't made on Election Day. They are made after Election Day.

Who Decides Who Dispenses Justice? - This is bigger than Judge Prather. It is bigger than one governor. And it should be bigger than political party. In Muscogee County this is about a judicial system that, in my opinion, does not adequately reflect the racial, gender, lived-experience diversity of the community appearing before it every day.

Drive around Muscogee County. Walk through our neighborhoods. Look at our schools. Look at the people standing in line at the courthouse. Then look at the bench. Does the bench look like the community? That is not an accusation. It is a question — and one this community should have the courage to answer.

We talk endlessly about diversity when we are discussing corporate boards, city government, education, law enforcement and economic development. Why should the courthouse be exempt?

Judges exercise enormous power over people's lives. They determine bonds. They impose sentences. They make decisions involving families, children, property and freedom. A signature from a judge can change the trajectory of someone's life. So don't tell me representation doesn't matter. It matters tremendously.

Justice Looks Different When You Can Afford It - There is another truth we need to confront. Justice may supposedly be blind, but justice certainly isn't cheap. When a child from a poor family gets arrested, that family may immediately be thrown into crisis. Mama doesn't have thousands of dollars sitting in a bank account. She may not have money for bond. She may not know an attorney she can call at midnight. She may not understand the system.

Meanwhile, families with money and connections can hire experienced lawyers, make bond, bring in experts and navigate the legal system with resources poor families simply do not possess.

I am not going to make the irresponsible claim that every white child gets a pass while every Black child goes to jail. But I will say this: Money, access and connections can dramatically change how someone experiences the justice system. And when economic inequality overlaps with racial inequality, communities of color often feel those consequences most severely. That is why who sits behind that bench matters.

Now here is where some people may be surprised by what I have to say. I am not interested in putting a Black person on the bench simply because that person is Black. That isn't enough. As we say in our community: All skin folk ain't kinfolk.

You can have somebody who looks like me and still have no understanding whatsoever of the experiences of the people coming before them. Representation without perspective can become little more than window dressing.

Give me a qualified judge who understands that poverty is not a character defect. Give me somebody who understands that a teenager can make a terrible decision without being a terrible human being. Give me somebody who understands the neighborhoods these children come from, the schools they attend, the pressures they face and the families trying desperately to keep them from becoming another statistic. Give me someone who understands accountability but also understands redemption. Give me judges whose life experiences are as diverse as the people whose lives they will judge.

That means race. That means gender. That means socioeconomic background. That means professional experience. That means lived experience. And above everything else, it means fairness.

The Decision Shouldn't Be Made Before We Know There's A Decision - This is where the community needs to wake up. Too often, by the time Black folks find out there is an appointment to be made, everybody who matters politically has already had the conversation. Names have circulated. Phone calls have been made. Recommendations have been submitted. Political relationships have been activated. And then the community is introduced to the "choice."

No. Not this time. If Judge Prather is retiring, say so. If there will be a vacancy, tell the public. If qualified candidates are going to be considered, let us know who they are.

And if the governor ultimately receives the authority to make an appointment, then Muscogee County's Black community, Latino community, women, clergy, attorneys, civic organizations and neighborhood leaders should make their voices heard before — not after — that appointment is announced. Because silence has a political consequence.

Where Are Our Black Attorneys? - Muscogee County has qualified Black attorneys. We have qualified women attorneys. We have attorneys who have spent years practicing law, representing families, defending citizens, prosecuting cases and serving this community. So whenever a judicial vacancy occurs, I want to know: Are they being seriously considered?

Not invited into the process so somebody can say diversity was considered. Not placed on a list when everybody already knows who is getting the job. Seriously considered. And if they aren't, somebody needs to explain why.

The judicial bench should not become an exclusive club where membership is determined by who knows whom, who belongs to which political circle or who gets the blessing of the people who have traditionally controlled access to power. Those days should be over.

Pay Attention to the Calendar - Whether Judge Prather retires this year, next year or not at all, this conversation is overdue. Muscogee County deserves a judicial bench that inspires confidence throughout the entire community. And that requires more than saying everybody receives equal justice under the law.

People need to believe it. They need to see it. They need to experience it. So I will be watching. I will be watching the calendar. I will be watching for announcements. I will be watching the process. I will be watching the names being considered.

And I will especially be watching whether the people who suddenly tell us race doesn't matter are the same people who have been comfortable with a judicial system in which diversity somehow never seems to matter enough.

This isn't about replacing white judges with Black judges. It is about opening the doors of power wide enough that the bench finally begins to resemble the community sitting before it.

And if a judicial vacancy is coming, the people of Muscogee County should not wake up one morning, read a press release and discover that somebody else has already decided who will dispense justice in their name.

Because there are two questions we should always ask when political power and the courthouse intersect: Who gets to choose? And perhaps more importantly: Who was never invited into the room when the choice was made?

Those are questions Muscogee County needs to start asking now — not after the next judge is already wearing the robe.