After 2,000 Case Files Are Found in a Closet, Prosecutors Recommend Dismissals
A Georgia judge who discovered that her case manager had hidden more than 2,000 case files in a utility closet began hearing prosecutor recommendations on Tuesday about how to handle them.
In the first of five hearings, solicitors in Fulton County recommend dropping nearly all of the first batch of neglected criminal cases, according to the Fulton County Daily Report. Out of 111 cases, at least 18 were reset for trial and the others were dropped, Judge Susan Forsling told the publication.
Forsling discovered the old misdemeanor files in May during a clean-up and organization of her chambers, she said in a statement (PDF) posted by My Fox Atlanta. Forsling said her case manager, a 38-year-county employee, apparently failed to calendar a handful of cases each month. Yet no party, attorney, or court clerk notified her of unscheduled cases.
Forsling is handling about 700 of the old cases, while other judges are handling about 900, the Daily Report says. Most are from 2008 to 2010, but some date back to 1991, six years before Forsling became a judge.
