June 16, 2024 • 41 mins
Magistrate Court Judge Regina Matthews is a candidate for the upcoming June 18th runoff election for Superior Court Judge in Gwinnett County. Regina discusses improving court efficiency by setting deadlines, utilizing magistrates and senior judges, virtual hearings, digitizing processes, and maintaining accurate records. She also discusses challenges like housing insecurity's impact on crime, accountability courts, and public engagement. The Run-off is Tuesday, June 18th. Host Rico Figliolini.
Resources:
Regina’s Website:
https://judgematthews.com/
Timestamp:
00:00:00 - Magistrate Judge Regina Matthews on Local Politics
00:01:19 - Importance of Voting in Runoff Elections
00:04:17 - The Varied Responsibilities of Superior Court Judges
00:07:22 - Strategies for Reducing Court Backlogs
00:11:29 - Adapting Court Proceedings to Virtual Platforms
00:14:00 - Addressing Housing Insecurity to Reduce Recidivism
00:17:17 - Housing Scarcity and Mental Health Challenges in the Court System
00:20:19 - Navigating Limited Resources in the Justice System
00:21:59 - Challenges in the Court System: Lack of Resources and Prioritizing Treatment 00:26:32 - Increasing Awareness of Available Services
00:27:51 - Embracing Law Enforcement: Building Community Ties
00:30:20 - Balancing AI Benefits and Risks in the Legal System
00:33:33 - Continuing Accountability Courts and Upholding Judicial Integrity
00:37:09 - Serving with Integrity as a Judge
Resources:
Regina’s Website:
https://judgematthews.com/
Timestamp:
00:00:00 - Magistrate Judge Regina Matthews on Local Politics
00:01:19 - Importance of Voting in Runoff Elections
00:04:17 - The Varied Responsibilities of Superior Court Judges
00:07:22 - Strategies for Reducing Court Backlogs
00:11:29 - Adapting Court Proceedings to Virtual Platforms
00:14:00 - Addressing Housing Insecurity to Reduce Recidivism
00:17:17 - Housing Scarcity and Mental Health Challenges in the Court System
00:20:19 - Navigating Limited Resources in the Justice System
00:21:59 - Challenges in the Court System: Lack of Resources and Prioritizing Treatment 00:26:32 - Increasing Awareness of Available Services
00:27:51 - Embracing Law Enforcement: Building Community Ties
00:30:20 - Balancing AI Benefits and Risks in the Legal System
00:33:33 - Continuing Accountability Courts and Upholding Judicial Integrity
00:37:09 - Serving with Integrity as a Judge
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You know, people don't have asafe place to live. Is going to
affect our crime rates. It's goingto affect you know, if we're sitting
in them. You're listening to PeachtreeCorner's Life, a podcast sharing ideas,
opinions, and news about the cityof Peachtree Corners, the community we live
(00:21):
in and the people that are yourneighbors. Now your Hostrigo Figliolini. Hi,
everyone, This is ricog host thePeatree Corner's Life, the podcast that
talks about politics, culture and allthings going on in Peachtree Corners what that
affects Peace three Corners. So Ihave a great guest today, Regina Matthews.
(00:43):
Hey, Regina, thanks for beingwith us. Thank you for having
me. I'm delighted to be here. We go absolutely very important important times
here. We just had that primaryin May and you and another candidate are
in a runoff. Teenth Thanks directright, So let me introduce you a
(01:03):
little better. Regina's from Chicago,went to school in South Carolina. I
ended up here in Georgia, goingto have a law school. You've been
You live in Lilburn, you havetwo kids, they both play soccer.
You have a dog, You've beenworking actually as a Manches Straight judge,
and you were appointed by eleven GuinecountySuperior Court judges along with the chief manches
(01:26):
Strate judge pointed you to this positionI think was twenty twenty correct, and
you've been serving in that position eversince. So what I like you to
do is, because most people don'tknow what a manchies Strate judge does,
maybe you can tell us a littlebit about yourself and what that position actually
does. Go ahead, well,yes, and thank you for that introduction.
(01:49):
I am happy to be here,and again, thank you for doing
this because I'll just start off bysaying, you know, you mentioned our
runoff election, and I know thata lot of people don't show up to
vote and run off elections historically,so hopefully we will change that. Hopefully
people will get out and vote.This is an important election. It is
the only county wide election on theballot, so you know if you're anywhere
(02:15):
England that you can vote for thisparticular race. Well, and not only
that, it's a nonpartisan race.So what happens here June eighteenth decides the
position does not go to November.It does not go into a general election.
This is it if you're not thereto vote for this position between two
(02:35):
candidates, you've lost your the chanceto do that. So sorry, thank
you for that distinction, because thatis an important one. And sometimes people
also want to know, like whatballot do I need to choose in order
to vote for judges. It's onevery ballot, non part has been Republican
Democratic. But you're right, ifyou don't vote and this runoff, you
will miss the opportunity to select whowill hold this judicial seat for the next
(02:59):
four years. But going back toyour question, I do service as a
magistrate judge currently and Guenette we havepart time magistrates and full time magistrates,
and there is a distinction in mycurrent role. I was appointed so that
I could provide judicial assistance primarily forour superior court judges, but we also,
(03:22):
as full time judges, do sometimessit in our state courts, you
know, wherever we're needed, Juvenilecourt, probate court, courter's court,
and we're sort of the judges thatkind of get pulled in different directions.
But ninety five percent of my timeon the bench is in superior Court.
So the eleven superior court divisions thatI sit for basically what those judges do,
(03:45):
they sign what are called judicial assistanceorders, So when a judge needs
my assistance, they will issue anorder giving me the authority to sit in
their courtroom and handle, you know, their caseloads. So I hear everything
that the elected superior court judge ishere. I've been designated i think at
this point two hundred times by oursuperior court judges. And you know,
(04:12):
we hear primarily family law and felonycriminal prosecutions. That comprises about seventy percent
of the caseload in our courts.The other thirty percent are general civil cases,
so it could be anything from anappeal from magistrate court, property tax
appeals, unemployment benefit appeals, contractdisputes, court actions. I mean,
(04:41):
the list is long and extensive,so you know, but that's basically what
I do every day. So basicallyit's fair to say that even though you're
not doing the job of a superiorcourt judge, you're doing work for them.
You've been exposed to those cases,you've done support work for them,
essentially correct. That is correct,man, And what I will say is,
(05:05):
you know, it's it's a it'san interesting and intense vetting process.
When our Superior Court judges choose youknow, who they want to appoint to
these positions because ideally, you know, they want someone an attorney who has
practiced primarily in the areas that thesuperior court judges here. So again that's
(05:28):
primarily family and criminals. So ifyou have a background as a practicing attorney
in those areas, typically you're goingto be better suited, you know,
to serve in Superior Court. Youknow, that's that's vastly what we do.
And there's eleven Superior Court judges inthe county, that is correct,
(05:48):
And do they they handle budgets ofthe court. Now, do the individual
match superior court judge handles the budgetfor their section if you well, or
is it done as consolidated between theeleven. So each of the judges has
their own budget, but they aresimilar budgets, if that makes sense.
(06:11):
So it's not like one judge isgoing to have a different budget than the
other judges. I mean you havethe same amount of money allocated. Now
what happens is, you know,the judges will go to the Board of
Commissioners to make their pitch as towhat it is, you know, is
needed. So if their budgets needto be increased from year to year.
It's sort of a collective bench decisionor pitch, so to speak, as
(06:36):
to establishing what the budget should be. But then the judges have control over
the money that's allocated to them individually. Okay, So then so judges are
not just sitting on a bench.They're also doing administrative work. They're also
handling budget requirements and the warkthrough ofwhat needs to be done in a court
(07:01):
system, if you will, thatis correct. Some of it is administrative
and some of it, you know, I think people tend not to think
about this part of the job,but a lot of times what you're doing
is also you know, finding outhow to effectively manage your cases and you
know, the best and most effectiveway to handle, you know, disposing
(07:23):
of cases in a way that's responsive, responsible and responsive to the needs of
the people, which is having youknow, efficient resolution of their cases.
And so a lot of that honestlyjust comes from experience, knowing what works
and what doesn't work to kind ofmove cases along. Right. So,
(07:44):
okay, so we segue into thatpart of case management, if you will,
not just that, but the backlogthat was exasperated because of COVID.
I mean there was backlog before,but it got worse because COVID. So
yeah, so this backlog case management, how do you handle? What are
the strategies that you would use toresolve some of these things? I know
(08:07):
from experience it's one thing, Butwhat in effect would you do to make
this better? Right? And Iwill say I think that people should know
that there are some court divisions thatoperate without a backlog. People find that
hard to believe, and we sortof sort of hear you know about this
backlog and it sticks with us.There are some divisions that do have a
(08:30):
backlaw, but some of them operatewithout one. I will tell you Division
five, which is a position orthe division that I'm running for Judge Buyers,
I will say, and I usedto work with her as a staff
attorney, so you know, Iknow very specifically how she does her case
management. But she's been very effectivein scheduling cases. And I always say
(08:52):
one of the things you can doas a judge is aggressively schedule cases.
And what that means is, youknow, when you show up to court
and you see a court room fullof people, that means that judge is
probably aggressively scheduled that calendar. Sothere are some judges who may call in
one case or two cases, butif those cases you know, resolve,
(09:13):
and they often do when they cometo court the attorney's talk or the party's
talk, and they resolve it rightthen and there. And then if you've
only called in one or two cases, for example, then you have the
rest of the day gone because you'veonly called in those two cases. So
you know, I think aggressive casecalendaring, I think using our mediation services
(09:35):
and our courts helps move cases alongto resolution, so that in many cases,
those you know, lawsuits or disputesdon't even reach us to a trial
capacity because they're resolved earlier on inthe litigation. Judges can also issue,
particularly in civil cases, case managementor case scheduling orders, which dictate to
(09:58):
the attorneys or the parties specific deadlinesthat they have to meet in order,
again to help move the cases along, because in some instances you have cases
where motions are filed over and overand it just prolongs the litigation. But
if you give strict deadlines and makesure people are held accountable to those deadlines,
(10:18):
again, it keeps the cases movingefficiently. The other thing I think
that helps is obviously in courts,utilizing you know, full time magistrates and
our senior judges to help manage thecases. There are some judges who use
us more than others. But Ithink anytime you have judges you know available,
(10:39):
who of course have been appointed becausethey have the requisite skills and knowledge
to help you know, hear thosecases, I think we need to utilize
them. And so those are thethings I can think of off the top
of my head, I think.And also I will add using when you
can technology. We learn obviously duringCOVID that utilizing Zoom video conferencing for some
(11:03):
types of hearings can make things movemore efficiently as well. Obviously everything on
Zoom, but there are some typesof hearings that can be handled more efficiently
that way. So let's stick tothe technology for a little bit, because
that was a big deal during COVID. It took a little while to digitize
(11:24):
the process, if you will,and now that you have it, you're
right. I can see certain casesitself in court need to be in court.
You need to be able to buyethe participants of this. But certain
emotions and other things that are administrativemotions and stuff can all be done by
Zoom right well, or digital servicesof a sort. I agree. I
(11:50):
think when you have, for instance, we hear a lot of motions,
particularly in civil cases, where it'sjust the attorneys coming to court. Are
you some issue in the law,and they just want to make a record,
you know, to the court andto argue their position on whatever that
legal issue is. And so we'renot hearing evidence, you know, we're
(12:11):
not listening to witnesses, and sothose types of hearings I think easily could
be handled by Zoom or some sortof video conferencing technology. But as you
said, other cases, you know, where we are hearing live testimony from
witnesses and we're receiving a lot ofevidence, you know, in the form
of documentary evidence then clearing you thoseare instances and where we need to be
(12:35):
in person in court, not toget into the weeds. But I just
thought about this. When you're usingZoom like that on these types of things,
will it transcribe as well? Imean, do you keep copies like
that even if it's in a digitalform. So what we typically do and
in civil cases you don't have tohave the case reported, but most oftentimes
(12:58):
the atren these other parties want thatservice. So we have our court reporters
available on Zoom as well, sothat they can make a record just like
they would be able to if theywere in court. Okay, And additionally,
you know lawyers that are really savvy, they're really you know, I
guess during COVID they became more savvyand how to introduce documents through Zoom.
(13:20):
You know, how to share usethe screen sharing function, or how to
attach documents as part of the Zoomvideo conferencing features. So you know,
we've worked around it, and Ithink again, there are ways we can
make it continue to work in orderto make sure that our litigants are receiving
(13:43):
effective and efficient resolution of their cases, because the last thing we want is
for people to wait years, youknow, unnecessarily to resolve a case.
And I would think it's easier thisway too, because you're you're digitizing everything,
you're keeping files that way, Imean automatically, I would think,
and in fact, probably within theyear's time. The transcription park can even
(14:05):
be done through voice to text versusjust having a transcriber. There there's so
much out there, I mean,you all have to figure out that all
the time keeps going, all right. So a couple of the other issues
that that's dear and dear to you, I think that you know, spoken
of obviously through not just you,but other candidates and stuff. So one
(14:28):
of them is housing insecurity. Youmentioned that as a significant issue in gwenect
Anti. So how do you proposethe court system can address this issue effectively?
Yeah, And that's it's a toughquestion, is one I struggle with
and think about all the time,because I think the issue of housing insecurity
sort of leads to other issues thatwe see in our courts. Obviously,
(14:54):
you know, people don't have asafe place to live, is going to
affect our crime rate, It's goingto affect you know, recidivism, is
going to affect you know, peoplejust being able to function, you know,
in our community. So I thinkit comes down to resources. And
that's really one of the unfortunate practicalrealities for our course. Is a lot
(15:18):
of times we want to of coursehelp people, you know, courts are
rehabilitative to some extent, but whenwe have individuals who simply don't have a
place to go, for instance,I'm going to step aside a moment and
talk about our accountability courts. Sowe have three in superior court that unto
(15:39):
court, mental health Court, anddrug courts, and all of those courts
obviously operate for the purpose of establishingrehabilitative services and treatment services for individuals so
that they don't keep you know,committing crimes, so that they don't reasfend,
and so that they can be productivemembers of society. Those courts can
(16:00):
only operate to their fullest extent ifwe have the appropriate resources in the communities
available. We are limited, andthat's just the reality. So for instance,
when we have individuals who successfully completeone of those treatment programs, and
there have been many, I cango on and on about the efficacy of
(16:23):
those programs, but what I findis that they sometimes come back not because
they're not taking their medications or they'renot seeing their treatment providers, but it's
because they don't have housing. Sowe you know, send them through treatment.
They do everything they need to do, but either because if their past
(16:44):
or just because of the cost ofliving, they find themselves back in the
courts because they're on the street.So I don't know what the solution is
other than really having our communities helpus advocate to our legislators, to our
commissioners to give us more funding sothat we can try to establish appropriate housing.
(17:08):
In Gwinett County. There are someplaces that work with our program that
will provide transitional support and housing forpeople that are in our accountability courts,
but it's only temporary, so oncethey meet that threshold of time, then
they're sort of left to their ownsupports and connections to try to find affordable
(17:32):
housing. And I know affordable housingis an issue everywhere, It's not just
in Gwenett County, but sure,yeah, I mean there's not enough.
Everyone wants to go to the higherprice tag land is becoming scarce even in
Quinnett County apparently in certain places,so they want to put as much as
they can and still charge as muchas they can. So sticking with us
too, because mental health and VeteransCourt as well, right, both those
(17:56):
also are issues that go a handand handle most actually with housing insecurity,
right, And what you're looking atis support from nonprofits that are helping and
doing stuff with federal moneies and donations, corporate donations. It's a tough track,
right, So how do you find, Yeah, how do you feel
(18:18):
that, you know, with mentalhealth, when the five hundred prisoners are
so in the Quinetti prison system thatprobably shouldn't be there, many of them
they probably should be They should betreated obviously, how do you how does
the court system, how can thecourt system help with that? So,
(18:40):
again, it's tough because of Honestly, the truth of the matter is we
have limited capacity. And you know, if you look at places where we
send people, for instance, forimpatient treatment, we're talking about Lakeview,
they have about one hundred and twentyfour bid some Adridge they have a little
under one hundred beds. Peachford,which is all the way out in Atlanta,
(19:03):
they have about two hundred and fiftybeds or so. We have way
more people that need to be toget in patient treatment than there are beds.
So a lot of times what happensis people sit and wait. So
for those people that we know needtreatment and we're not just going to send
them back out in the community withoutit, we keep them in jail and
(19:26):
we try to arrange treatment. Thereare some treatments that the jail medical staff
can assist with while they're waiting forbeds, but a lot of times.
Honestly, we're just having people waitfor open beds because so many of them
I would say seventy percent or soneeds some type of inpatient treatment. Now,
(19:48):
our mental health accountability courts help alot of people that are sort of
not as much of the need ofservices, if that makes sense. I
mean, they're all in need ofservices, but to a different degree because
there are outpatient services that our treatmentproviders offer for those individuals where they can
still you know, live on theoutside and work and do those things.
(20:11):
But you know, for those thevast majority of people who need more intensive
help, again, it's just amatter of having the limited bed space.
Well, not only that, it'sit's security too, right, secured bed
space, because there's still there's stillserving time, but they should be serving
time in a place that at leastwill help them get better. That is
(20:33):
correct. That is correct. So, and you know, I don't know
what the answer is. I know, you know, people never want to
hear that we're supposed to have allthe answers. But you know, I
sit in court every day and Istruggle with that. You know, you
want to help people, you knowhow important it is for them to get
the help that they need and toevery extent possible, you know, I
(20:56):
do that, you know, butwhen there's you know, only a limited
number of bedspace in the hospitals aresaying we can't take this person right now,
then we just have to do thebest we can do, and that
is again engaging with our medical staffat the jail and with our treatment providers
who can come into the jail andoffer services while those individuals wait. But
(21:19):
you know, otherwise we're relying onyou know, what we have right right.
It's a struggle, I imagine,because it's almost like the sports industry
here in Gwinnett can't do right.We can only get a certain amount of
sporting events that the hotel system cansupport, right right, and then we
have to turn away events because maybethere's not enough space during that time.
(21:41):
Same thing with jails, right toa degree from let to make that comparison,
it's like, I'm sure that youall have to figure out, well,
you know, we have we hitcapacity, you know, where can't
you know, can we you know, put more prisoners into the system when
you think the capacity, you know, and I don't know if we've actually
hit that capacity yet or not theyhit the capacity for to have the occupancy
(22:06):
in a in the system like this, You know, do we have enough?
I think we have. I meanI can tell you as someone who
not only sits in our superior courts, but who also presides in the absence
of the judges who preside over ouraccountability courts. You know, I sit
in those courts as well, andI'm very intimately familiar with how those treatment
(22:29):
courts operate, and I can tellyou that we are at capacity and we
want to take in more people,but the practical reality is we don't have
the resources. And that is theit's it's really it's sad for me.
It's one of the most heart wrenchingthings as a judge to know that someone
(22:52):
again needs help and they either haveto wait in order to get it or
we just have to come up withanother solution. So going to that,
I mean, obviously there's so manychallenges. This is one of them,
or several of them that we've justdiscussed. All of the other challenges you
see in the in the court systemthat you would like to attend to,
(23:15):
I think those, honestly are thebiggest challenges. Those are the ones that
I'm confronted with, you know,every day people who you know need assistance
and treatment for trauma or substance usedisorder, or they need housing resources.
Again, I don't really notice abacklog that a lot of people refer to
(23:38):
because I think if you talk tolawyers who practice in other areas outside of
when Neett, they will tell youwhen that handles cases way more efficiently than
some of the other jurisdictions. SoI think we do a good job of
utilizing the resources we have by wayof you know, full time magistrates and
our senior judges. I think wedo things well. We use our you
(24:03):
know, alternative dispute resolution resources toa great extent. I think that helps
us in that regard. So Ithink overall we do things well in Gwinnette
in our courts. But again Ido think, you know, we we
have to prioritize with our money,you know, having more resources available for
(24:26):
you know, people struggling with substanceuse disorder or mental illness or a combination
of both. We have a lotof people who are dual diagnosis, right,
so they have substance use disorder andmental illness and a lot of times
are housing insecure, so they obviouslyneed a lot more resources and they struggle.
(24:48):
How would you see the role ofthe judiciary system when it comes to
educating the public about the legal system, the rights. There's all that false
hand at hand with what we justdiscussed. I think sometimes the legal system
can take the easy way out becauseit must is no other way to do
it at this point, right,So what do you think the role is
(25:08):
of the judicial system here towards educationeducating the public. I think it's important,
you know, as a judge,I want people in our community to
feel like they are knowledgeable about ourcourts. They sort of know where to
go when they need to file aparticular type of case. I think we
(25:30):
as a judiciary can do a betterjob of putting information out there that is
available to the public. We havetaken a lot of strives in Gwinnett in
our courts. I will tell youthat there are particularly for magistrate court,
our Chief Magistrate, Christina Bloom,she keeps brochures in the Magistrate Court office
that is available to people. Anyonewho walks in. They can get a
(25:52):
pamphlet on landlord tenant issues, youknow in those cases and how they're handled
and sort of the issues that comeup in those cases small claims, you
know, basically step by step.I don't want to say instructions because we
can't give legal advice, but wedo give people resources like this is where
you can go. Our courts alsooperate a family law clinic, so for
(26:15):
individuals who may want to represent themselves, or maybe they don't have the money
to hire an attorney and maybe theydon't qualify for legal aid, there's sort
of step in the middle. Thereare resources available because of the goodwill of
some of our attorneys who volunteer theirtime to do clinics to help people sort
(26:37):
of navigate those processes. So wehave information there. I think we can
do a better job about making surepeople know that the information is out there
so that they can and utilize it. That's interesting, I didn't know that
a lot of people don't know.That sounds like another good podcast Ashually,
(27:00):
it's a great idea. That's agreat idea. I wish more people knew
about those types of services, andit's just a matter of figuring out how
do we get that message out topeople so it's not easy, and then
to get people to listen. Actuallytoo, because they may not need it
at that moment until they need it, right until they need it. Yeah.
(27:21):
The other thing I tell people toyou know, I think people are
generally afraid of courts, or maybethey're just apprehensive when it comes to you
know, courts, and so Itell people don't always think about it in
a negative way. I encourage peopleto come out and observe court proceedings,
you know, when you can.And then most people have full time jobs,
(27:41):
so that may not be feasible allthe time. But you know,
courts are open forum. So ifyou want to come and observe a divorce
trial or you know, a criminaltrial or whatever type of trial you know,
come to court, observe, seehow you know, things go.
And I think that might help preparepeople to better for you know, the
(28:02):
times that they have to come tocourt and face that same situation. It's
funny. I think people think ofcourt system like the irs. Just stay
away and don't go near it.That's right. People don't want to come
anywhere close if they don't have to. I get that. I get that,
although I got to say when Ican't to police do a great job
when they do ride alongs depending onhow you do that program. Even some
(28:26):
of the local small town like Swantia, they can do similar type of things
where you can go with the policeand see the normal day if you will.
I love those programs too, because, you know, our law enforcement.
I also think that they sort ofget that reputation of you know,
like we don't want to deal withlaw enforcement unless we need them, right,
like we stay away, you know, And I think we have to
(28:48):
embrace you know, our law enforcementofficers as you know, our friends.
You know, they're doing to helpus. They want to protect us and
keep us safe. So I'm soglad, you know, so many of
our police chiefs have taken the initiativeto really be present in the community,
you know, for for reasons outsideof you know, crime safety and prevention,
but just so that people know,you know, they're friendly, they're
(29:12):
neighborly, they want to you know, you know, help us, but
also make sure that we know thatthey're part of the community to help and
not just to get the bad guysfor sure, right right, yeah,
true, And a lot of themdo a good good job that way.
We talked about technology before, butI like talking a little bit more specific
(29:34):
about artificial intelligence AI and what thatmeans in the court system, or in
preparing court documents, or in havingto worry about evidence that may be submitted
that could have been tainted by AI. So what you know, what do
you think are the potential benefits anddrawbacks of using AI in an export system?
(30:02):
Yeah, admittedly, you know,it's a discussion we're having to have
more often. Even some of ourcontinuing judicial education classes are starting to talk
about this issue. And candidly,it scares me a bit because I'm just
trying to imagine a court system wherebyhuman intelligence is replaced by our official intelligence.
(30:23):
I mean, just the thought ofit is a little alarming. I
do think that there are ways inwhich AI can be beneficial. You know,
for instance, when you're an attorneyor a judge you know, or
a law clerk who's working for ajudge, and you want to find information
about a specific case or a legaltopic, you know, doing research could
(30:44):
be AI could be great because itcould make you more efficient in getting the
answers you need. But I willsay, as a caveat, there has
to be a human I think sortof checking that. So even if you
use it for research, purposes.It is still artificial intelligence, so I
would like to think that we wouldstill need some human to basically double check
(31:07):
to make sure of the accuracy ofwhatever information you're getting. So I think
there could be some benefits for efficiencywhen it comes to operating in a courtroom
setting. Though I'm more afraid ofAI than I am of welcoming of it,
because I forced the issues where we'represented with evidence, for example,
(31:30):
and we have to test the credibilityor veracity of that evidence, and again
there's just no substitute. I don'tthink for human intelligence as opposed to AI.
And I think about, you know, the floodgates opening up with even
court filings and us getting backlogged becauseof AI, and you know some you
(31:52):
know, something other than human filing, you know, court documents, and
how that could just really cause abacklog. I could say, you're worried
about more filings happening because it canbe generated faster through AI. That is
correct, That is correct. Imean, certainly AI has has issues,
and I don't you know as fastas it's moving right now, who knows
(32:15):
in a year or two, probablyless than two years, I bet,
based on what's been going on inthe last two years, you're going to
we're going to end up being ableto if you have someone that's a that
doesn't speak the language, that canbe translated through the system. Google does
that right now. Google translated rightand voice. You can have real time
(32:38):
fact checking occurring where you can lookat, you know, place the two
chat GPT seven point zero, fivepoint zero when it comes out the way,
you could check those facts up.There are a certainly good side to
it, but as fast as that'smoving, the badside can move just as
fast. I can see. Yeah, I agree, it's it's troublesome.
(32:59):
And because I guess we're not sortof there yet, it's hard to really
appreciate how how much of an effectit will have on our courts, whether
good, you know, good orbad, because like you said, it's
happening so quickly it's almost hard tograsp. But you know it's going to
be here. If it's not already, we're gonna have to confront it.
(33:20):
And and it does give me somesome I don't know, I'm concerned a
little bit. Well, it's goodthat you all getting education on it,
right, continuing education, Sure,Well that's a good part that it's being
proactive at least yep. If youwere to win the Quinnacanti Spirit Court,
judge, what do you think andbrief would be a long term vision for
(33:42):
it. So I will say,first of all, I'm the only candidate
in the race who has unequivocally indicatedthat I will, without question continue the
accountability courts that Judge Byers started,and particularly those accountability courts are Veteran's Treatment
(34:02):
Court and Mental Health Accountability Court.She is the only judge currently sitting on
the bench who operates those treatment Courtprograms. So once she resigns her seat
at the end of this year,those programs could effectively go away. And
so I have made an unequivocal promiseto continue on with those programs. I
(34:24):
honestly I can't imagine our courts nothaving them. So that is the first
thing. I will continue her legacy. You know, she started those courts.
I think we just celebrated the eleventhyear, and so I want that
to be, you know, along term program. Both of those to
be long term programs that Gwenett canbe proud of forever. So I promise
(34:47):
that I foresee a court whereby litigantsfeel that Judge Matthews is fair, she's
even handed, she's even tempered.She may not always issue of ruling that
I agree with, but I willtrust that Judge Matthews has followed the law,
you know, above all else,and that she treated me with dignity
(35:12):
and with respect. You know,I was a practicing lawyer for a long
time and I remember appearing in frontof judges who I don't know, seem
like they would make sport of humiliatinglitigants or humiliating attorneys. I'm sure.
I mean, you probably have seenor at least heard of those types of
judges, and it was just troublingto me. And I, you know,
(35:35):
said a long time ago, ifI ever became a judge, you
know, I will never be thattype of judge where you know, someone
comes in and they have, youknow, an issue that's important enough to
them to either file the case orbe involved in whatever the litigation is.
But you know, people deserve tobe treated with dignity no matter what,
and I include you know, peoplewho are charged of criminal offenses. You
(36:00):
know, obviously we don't condone criminalbehavior. I don't like it, but
those people deserve to be treated withdignity at the very least, and so
that's what people will get from me. Judge. Again, that's going to
be fair. Who's going to operateindependently, who is not going to be
swayed, you know politically, Who'sreally just going to follow the laws as
(36:21):
I'm bound to do the constitution ofthe State of Georgia, the Constitution of
the United States, and the lawspass by our legislators. Okay, well,
thank you for sharing that vision.We've come pretty much to the end
of i'll talk. But what I'dlike you to do is give us in
short two minutes maybe ask for thevote. Essentially, tell everyone why they
(36:45):
should be voting for you, andask for that vote. Thank you,
Rico. And you know I haveto tell you lawyers. You probably know
that lawyers and judges are not goodwith time limits. So I hope I
can do the two minutes. IfI started to go over, just stop
me because we're not good at keepingtime out. Yeah, put your hand
up or something. But again,thank you for this opportunity. It is
(37:09):
I take being a judge as somethingthat is meaningful. It is difficult work,
you know, the decisions that Imake that we make as judges every
day. You know, we realizethat they impact people in very significant ways.
And so what I can tell thevoters is that's not something I will
ever take for granted. You shouldvote for me not only because I have
(37:31):
a deep concern and care for thepeople of this county, not only because
I currently serve the county, butalso because you need a judge, and
you deserve a judge who has theexperience to do the job and to do
it on day one. As Italked about earlier, I currently sit in
Superior Court every day. At thispoint in my judicial career, I've made
(37:53):
decisions probably I want to say hundreds, but it may be even close to
thousands of cases at this point.I've done so diligently. I'm a judge
that operates with the utmost integrity,and you don't have to just take my
word for it. I've been tried, vetted, and tested, so to
speak. The eleven Superior Court judgesthat you elected and the Chief Magistrate judge
(38:15):
you elected in Gwinnett County have alreadyvetted my qualifications. They wouldn't designate me
to sit for them over two hundredtimes if they didn't believe that I was
suitable to do the job of aSuperior Court judge, and that is what
I do. Every day. Imake a commitment to the voters that I
will continue to have deep respect forthe rule of law. I will always
(38:37):
follow and adhere to the rule oflaw, that I will operate with integrity,
and that I will do everything tomake sure the court processes run efficiently.
Thank you again, and I hopeto have your vote. You overwhelmingly
supported me in the primary election.I hope I can get you back out
to vote for the runoff. Youcan find more information on my website at
(39:00):
Judgematthews dot com. I'm also onsocial media at Regina Matthews for Superior Court
or Judge Regina Matthews. I'm onLinkedIn, I'm on Instagram, I'm pretty
much all the social media platforms.But again, I just hope the voters
can remember that you know you needand deserve someone who has the experience doing
(39:22):
the job. And I'm ready onday one. Great, by the time
people hear this, early voting Ithink will have ended. So June eighteenth,
Tuesday, is that day you haveto go to your assigned voter precincts
for early voting. Obviously it's different, but on June eighteenth you have to
(39:43):
go to your designated polling place seventyseven. Thanks for that, so thank
you Regina Matthews. Appreciate you beingon with me. I'm hanging there for
a minute, but thank you everyoneelse. If you have questions, certainly
put it into the comments, whetheryou're listening to this on Facebook or YouTube,
or you have comments that you wantto send directly to Regina Matthews.
(40:07):
Just go to her website Judge Matthewsdot com and you'll be up to do
that. So thanks again, appreciateyou being with us. Thank here we
go. Thanks for listening to PeachtreeCorner's Life with Rico Figliolini. You can
listen to the show wherever podcasts arefound, like iHeartRadio, Spotify and Apple
(40:31):
Podcast. Leave us a review too, it helps others find the show as
well. Don't forget to like ourFacebook page and YouTube channel for notifications of
our live simulcast video streams of theshow. Catch our other podcast shows at
Living in Peachtreecorners dot com. Infact, you can listen to our other
popular show, The Capitalist Sage twicea month podcast about and four businesses.
(40:55):
The show brings you interviews with businessowners, leaders, and subject matter experts.
Find what you need to meet today'schallenges that every business owner faces.
Check out the show at Thecapitalistsage dotcom.
You know, people don't have asafe place to live. Is going to
affect our crime rates. It's goingto affect you know, if we're sitting
in them. You're listening to PeachtreeCorner's Life, a podcast sharing ideas,
opinions, and news about the cityof Peachtree Corners, the community we live
(00:21):
in and the people that are yourneighbors. Now your Hostrigo Figliolini. Hi,
everyone, This is ricog host thePeatree Corner's Life, the podcast that
talks about politics, culture and allthings going on in Peachtree Corners what that
affects Peace three Corners. So Ihave a great guest today, Regina Matthews.
(00:43):
Hey, Regina, thanks for beingwith us. Thank you for having
me. I'm delighted to be here. We go absolutely very important important times
here. We just had that primaryin May and you and another candidate are
in a runoff. Teenth Thanks directright, So let me introduce you a
(01:03):
little better. Regina's from Chicago,went to school in South Carolina. I
ended up here in Georgia, goingto have a law school. You've been
You live in Lilburn, you havetwo kids, they both play soccer.
You have a dog, You've beenworking actually as a Manches Straight judge,
and you were appointed by eleven GuinecountySuperior Court judges along with the chief manches
(01:26):
Strate judge pointed you to this positionI think was twenty twenty correct, and
you've been serving in that position eversince. So what I like you to
do is, because most people don'tknow what a manchies Strate judge does,
maybe you can tell us a littlebit about yourself and what that position actually
does. Go ahead, well,yes, and thank you for that introduction.
(01:49):
I am happy to be here,and again, thank you for doing
this because I'll just start off bysaying, you know, you mentioned our
runoff election, and I know thata lot of people don't show up to
vote and run off elections historically,so hopefully we will change that. Hopefully
people will get out and vote.This is an important election. It is
the only county wide election on theballot, so you know if you're anywhere
(02:15):
England that you can vote for thisparticular race. Well, and not only
that, it's a nonpartisan race.So what happens here June eighteenth decides the
position does not go to November.It does not go into a general election.
This is it if you're not thereto vote for this position between two
(02:35):
candidates, you've lost your the chanceto do that. So sorry, thank
you for that distinction, because thatis an important one. And sometimes people
also want to know, like whatballot do I need to choose in order
to vote for judges. It's onevery ballot, non part has been Republican
Democratic. But you're right, ifyou don't vote and this runoff, you
will miss the opportunity to select whowill hold this judicial seat for the next
(02:59):
four years. But going back toyour question, I do service as a
magistrate judge currently and Guenette we havepart time magistrates and full time magistrates,
and there is a distinction in mycurrent role. I was appointed so that
I could provide judicial assistance primarily forour superior court judges, but we also,
(03:22):
as full time judges, do sometimessit in our state courts, you
know, wherever we're needed, Juvenilecourt, probate court, courter's court,
and we're sort of the judges thatkind of get pulled in different directions.
But ninety five percent of my timeon the bench is in superior Court.
So the eleven superior court divisions thatI sit for basically what those judges do,
(03:45):
they sign what are called judicial assistanceorders, So when a judge needs
my assistance, they will issue anorder giving me the authority to sit in
their courtroom and handle, you know, their caseloads. So I hear everything
that the elected superior court judge ishere. I've been designated i think at
this point two hundred times by oursuperior court judges. And you know,
(04:12):
we hear primarily family law and felonycriminal prosecutions. That comprises about seventy percent
of the caseload in our courts.The other thirty percent are general civil cases,
so it could be anything from anappeal from magistrate court, property tax
appeals, unemployment benefit appeals, contractdisputes, court actions. I mean,
(04:41):
the list is long and extensive,so you know, but that's basically what
I do every day. So basicallyit's fair to say that even though you're
not doing the job of a superiorcourt judge, you're doing work for them.
You've been exposed to those cases,you've done support work for them,
essentially correct. That is correct,man, And what I will say is,
(05:05):
you know, it's it's a it'san interesting and intense vetting process.
When our Superior Court judges choose youknow, who they want to appoint to
these positions because ideally, you know, they want someone an attorney who has
practiced primarily in the areas that thesuperior court judges here. So again that's
(05:28):
primarily family and criminals. So ifyou have a background as a practicing attorney
in those areas, typically you're goingto be better suited, you know,
to serve in Superior Court. Youknow, that's that's vastly what we do.
And there's eleven Superior Court judges inthe county, that is correct,
(05:48):
And do they they handle budgets ofthe court. Now, do the individual
match superior court judge handles the budgetfor their section if you well, or
is it done as consolidated between theeleven. So each of the judges has
their own budget, but they aresimilar budgets, if that makes sense.
(06:11):
So it's not like one judge isgoing to have a different budget than the
other judges. I mean you havethe same amount of money allocated. Now
what happens is, you know,the judges will go to the Board of
Commissioners to make their pitch as towhat it is, you know, is
needed. So if their budgets needto be increased from year to year.
It's sort of a collective bench decisionor pitch, so to speak, as
(06:36):
to establishing what the budget should be. But then the judges have control over
the money that's allocated to them individually. Okay, So then so judges are
not just sitting on a bench.They're also doing administrative work. They're also
handling budget requirements and the warkthrough ofwhat needs to be done in a court
(07:01):
system, if you will, thatis correct. Some of it is administrative
and some of it, you know, I think people tend not to think
about this part of the job,but a lot of times what you're doing
is also you know, finding outhow to effectively manage your cases and you
know, the best and most effectiveway to handle, you know, disposing
(07:23):
of cases in a way that's responsive, responsible and responsive to the needs of
the people, which is having youknow, efficient resolution of their cases.
And so a lot of that honestlyjust comes from experience, knowing what works
and what doesn't work to kind ofmove cases along. Right. So,
(07:44):
okay, so we segue into thatpart of case management, if you will,
not just that, but the backlogthat was exasperated because of COVID.
I mean there was backlog before,but it got worse because COVID. So
yeah, so this backlog case management, how do you handle? What are
the strategies that you would use toresolve some of these things? I know
(08:07):
from experience it's one thing, Butwhat in effect would you do to make
this better? Right? And Iwill say I think that people should know
that there are some court divisions thatoperate without a backlog. People find that
hard to believe, and we sortof sort of hear you know about this
backlog and it sticks with us.There are some divisions that do have a
(08:30):
backlaw, but some of them operatewithout one. I will tell you Division
five, which is a position orthe division that I'm running for Judge Buyers,
I will say, and I usedto work with her as a staff
attorney, so you know, Iknow very specifically how she does her case
management. But she's been very effectivein scheduling cases. And I always say
(08:52):
one of the things you can doas a judge is aggressively schedule cases.
And what that means is, youknow, when you show up to court
and you see a court room fullof people, that means that judge is
probably aggressively scheduled that calendar. Sothere are some judges who may call in
one case or two cases, butif those cases you know, resolve,
(09:13):
and they often do when they cometo court the attorney's talk or the party's
talk, and they resolve it rightthen and there. And then if you've
only called in one or two cases, for example, then you have the
rest of the day gone because you'veonly called in those two cases. So
you know, I think aggressive casecalendaring, I think using our mediation services
(09:35):
and our courts helps move cases alongto resolution, so that in many cases,
those you know, lawsuits or disputesdon't even reach us to a trial
capacity because they're resolved earlier on inthe litigation. Judges can also issue,
particularly in civil cases, case managementor case scheduling orders, which dictate to
(09:58):
the attorneys or the parties specific deadlinesthat they have to meet in order,
again to help move the cases along, because in some instances you have cases
where motions are filed over and overand it just prolongs the litigation. But
if you give strict deadlines and makesure people are held accountable to those deadlines,
(10:18):
again, it keeps the cases movingefficiently. The other thing I think
that helps is obviously in courts,utilizing you know, full time magistrates and
our senior judges to help manage thecases. There are some judges who use
us more than others. But Ithink anytime you have judges you know available,
(10:39):
who of course have been appointed becausethey have the requisite skills and knowledge
to help you know, hear thosecases, I think we need to utilize
them. And so those are thethings I can think of off the top
of my head, I think.And also I will add using when you
can technology. We learn obviously duringCOVID that utilizing Zoom video conferencing for some
(11:03):
types of hearings can make things movemore efficiently as well. Obviously everything on
Zoom, but there are some typesof hearings that can be handled more efficiently
that way. So let's stick tothe technology for a little bit, because
that was a big deal during COVID. It took a little while to digitize
(11:24):
the process, if you will,and now that you have it, you're
right. I can see certain casesitself in court need to be in court.
You need to be able to buyethe participants of this. But certain
emotions and other things that are administrativemotions and stuff can all be done by
Zoom right well, or digital servicesof a sort. I agree. I
(11:50):
think when you have, for instance, we hear a lot of motions,
particularly in civil cases, where it'sjust the attorneys coming to court. Are
you some issue in the law,and they just want to make a record,
you know, to the court andto argue their position on whatever that
legal issue is. And so we'renot hearing evidence, you know, we're
(12:11):
not listening to witnesses, and sothose types of hearings I think easily could
be handled by Zoom or some sortof video conferencing technology. But as you
said, other cases, you know, where we are hearing live testimony from
witnesses and we're receiving a lot ofevidence, you know, in the form
of documentary evidence then clearing you thoseare instances and where we need to be
(12:35):
in person in court, not toget into the weeds. But I just
thought about this. When you're usingZoom like that on these types of things,
will it transcribe as well? Imean, do you keep copies like
that even if it's in a digitalform. So what we typically do and
in civil cases you don't have tohave the case reported, but most oftentimes
(12:58):
the atren these other parties want thatservice. So we have our court reporters
available on Zoom as well, sothat they can make a record just like
they would be able to if theywere in court. Okay, And additionally,
you know lawyers that are really savvy, they're really you know, I
guess during COVID they became more savvyand how to introduce documents through Zoom.
(13:20):
You know, how to share usethe screen sharing function, or how to
attach documents as part of the Zoomvideo conferencing features. So you know,
we've worked around it, and Ithink again, there are ways we can
make it continue to work in orderto make sure that our litigants are receiving
(13:43):
effective and efficient resolution of their cases, because the last thing we want is
for people to wait years, youknow, unnecessarily to resolve a case.
And I would think it's easier thisway too, because you're you're digitizing everything,
you're keeping files that way, Imean automatically, I would think,
and in fact, probably within theyear's time. The transcription park can even
(14:05):
be done through voice to text versusjust having a transcriber. There there's so
much out there, I mean,you all have to figure out that all
the time keeps going, all right. So a couple of the other issues
that that's dear and dear to you, I think that you know, spoken
of obviously through not just you,but other candidates and stuff. So one
(14:28):
of them is housing insecurity. Youmentioned that as a significant issue in gwenect
Anti. So how do you proposethe court system can address this issue effectively?
Yeah, And that's it's a toughquestion, is one I struggle with
and think about all the time,because I think the issue of housing insecurity
sort of leads to other issues thatwe see in our courts. Obviously,
(14:54):
you know, people don't have asafe place to live, is going to
affect our crime rate, It's goingto affect you know, recidivism, is
going to affect you know, peoplejust being able to function, you know,
in our community. So I thinkit comes down to resources. And
that's really one of the unfortunate practicalrealities for our course. Is a lot
(15:18):
of times we want to of coursehelp people, you know, courts are
rehabilitative to some extent, but whenwe have individuals who simply don't have a
place to go, for instance,I'm going to step aside a moment and
talk about our accountability courts. Sowe have three in superior court that unto
(15:39):
court, mental health Court, anddrug courts, and all of those courts
obviously operate for the purpose of establishingrehabilitative services and treatment services for individuals so
that they don't keep you know,committing crimes, so that they don't reasfend,
and so that they can be productivemembers of society. Those courts can
(16:00):
only operate to their fullest extent ifwe have the appropriate resources in the communities
available. We are limited, andthat's just the reality. So for instance,
when we have individuals who successfully completeone of those treatment programs, and
there have been many, I cango on and on about the efficacy of
(16:23):
those programs, but what I findis that they sometimes come back not because
they're not taking their medications or they'renot seeing their treatment providers, but it's
because they don't have housing. Sowe you know, send them through treatment.
They do everything they need to do, but either because if their past
(16:44):
or just because of the cost ofliving, they find themselves back in the
courts because they're on the street.So I don't know what the solution is
other than really having our communities helpus advocate to our legislators, to our
commissioners to give us more funding sothat we can try to establish appropriate housing.
(17:08):
In Gwinett County. There are someplaces that work with our program that
will provide transitional support and housing forpeople that are in our accountability courts,
but it's only temporary, so oncethey meet that threshold of time, then
they're sort of left to their ownsupports and connections to try to find affordable
(17:32):
housing. And I know affordable housingis an issue everywhere, It's not just
in Gwenett County, but sure,yeah, I mean there's not enough.
Everyone wants to go to the higherprice tag land is becoming scarce even in
Quinnett County apparently in certain places,so they want to put as much as
they can and still charge as muchas they can. So sticking with us
too, because mental health and VeteransCourt as well, right, both those
(17:56):
also are issues that go a handand handle most actually with housing insecurity,
right, And what you're looking atis support from nonprofits that are helping and
doing stuff with federal moneies and donations, corporate donations. It's a tough track,
right, So how do you find, Yeah, how do you feel
(18:18):
that, you know, with mentalhealth, when the five hundred prisoners are
so in the Quinetti prison system thatprobably shouldn't be there, many of them
they probably should be They should betreated obviously, how do you how does
the court system, how can thecourt system help with that? So,
(18:40):
again, it's tough because of Honestly, the truth of the matter is we
have limited capacity. And you know, if you look at places where we
send people, for instance, forimpatient treatment, we're talking about Lakeview,
they have about one hundred and twentyfour bid some Adridge they have a little
under one hundred beds. Peachford,which is all the way out in Atlanta,
(19:03):
they have about two hundred and fiftybeds or so. We have way
more people that need to be toget in patient treatment than there are beds.
So a lot of times what happensis people sit and wait. So
for those people that we know needtreatment and we're not just going to send
them back out in the community withoutit, we keep them in jail and
(19:26):
we try to arrange treatment. Thereare some treatments that the jail medical staff
can assist with while they're waiting forbeds, but a lot of times.
Honestly, we're just having people waitfor open beds because so many of them
I would say seventy percent or soneeds some type of inpatient treatment. Now,
(19:48):
our mental health accountability courts help alot of people that are sort of
not as much of the need ofservices, if that makes sense. I
mean, they're all in need ofservices, but to a different degree because
there are outpatient services that our treatmentproviders offer for those individuals where they can
still you know, live on theoutside and work and do those things.
(20:11):
But you know, for those thevast majority of people who need more intensive
help, again, it's just amatter of having the limited bed space.
Well, not only that, it'sit's security too, right, secured bed
space, because there's still there's stillserving time, but they should be serving
time in a place that at leastwill help them get better. That is
(20:33):
correct. That is correct. So, and you know, I don't know
what the answer is. I know, you know, people never want to
hear that we're supposed to have allthe answers. But you know, I
sit in court every day and Istruggle with that. You know, you
want to help people, you knowhow important it is for them to get
the help that they need and toevery extent possible, you know, I
(20:56):
do that, you know, butwhen there's you know, only a limited
number of bedspace in the hospitals aresaying we can't take this person right now,
then we just have to do thebest we can do, and that
is again engaging with our medical staffat the jail and with our treatment providers
who can come into the jail andoffer services while those individuals wait. But
(21:19):
you know, otherwise we're relying onyou know, what we have right right.
It's a struggle, I imagine,because it's almost like the sports industry
here in Gwinnett can't do right.We can only get a certain amount of
sporting events that the hotel system cansupport, right right, and then we
have to turn away events because maybethere's not enough space during that time.
(21:41):
Same thing with jails, right toa degree from let to make that comparison,
it's like, I'm sure that youall have to figure out, well,
you know, we have we hitcapacity, you know, where can't
you know, can we you know, put more prisoners into the system when
you think the capacity, you know, and I don't know if we've actually
hit that capacity yet or not theyhit the capacity for to have the occupancy
(22:06):
in a in the system like this, You know, do we have enough?
I think we have. I meanI can tell you as someone who
not only sits in our superior courts, but who also presides in the absence
of the judges who preside over ouraccountability courts. You know, I sit
in those courts as well, andI'm very intimately familiar with how those treatment
(22:29):
courts operate, and I can tellyou that we are at capacity and we
want to take in more people,but the practical reality is we don't have
the resources. And that is theit's it's really it's sad for me.
It's one of the most heart wrenchingthings as a judge to know that someone
(22:52):
again needs help and they either haveto wait in order to get it or
we just have to come up withanother solution. So going to that,
I mean, obviously there's so manychallenges. This is one of them,
or several of them that we've justdiscussed. All of the other challenges you
see in the in the court systemthat you would like to attend to,
(23:15):
I think those, honestly are thebiggest challenges. Those are the ones that
I'm confronted with, you know,every day people who you know need assistance
and treatment for trauma or substance usedisorder, or they need housing resources.
Again, I don't really notice abacklog that a lot of people refer to
(23:38):
because I think if you talk tolawyers who practice in other areas outside of
when Neett, they will tell youwhen that handles cases way more efficiently than
some of the other jurisdictions. SoI think we do a good job of
utilizing the resources we have by wayof you know, full time magistrates and
our senior judges. I think wedo things well. We use our you
(24:03):
know, alternative dispute resolution resources toa great extent. I think that helps
us in that regard. So Ithink overall we do things well in Gwinnette
in our courts. But again Ido think, you know, we we
have to prioritize with our money,you know, having more resources available for
(24:26):
you know, people struggling with substanceuse disorder or mental illness or a combination
of both. We have a lotof people who are dual diagnosis, right,
so they have substance use disorder andmental illness and a lot of times
are housing insecure, so they obviouslyneed a lot more resources and they struggle.
(24:48):
How would you see the role ofthe judiciary system when it comes to
educating the public about the legal system, the rights. There's all that false
hand at hand with what we justdiscussed. I think sometimes the legal system
can take the easy way out becauseit must is no other way to do
it at this point, right,So what do you think the role is
(25:08):
of the judicial system here towards educationeducating the public. I think it's important,
you know, as a judge,I want people in our community to
feel like they are knowledgeable about ourcourts. They sort of know where to
go when they need to file aparticular type of case. I think we
(25:30):
as a judiciary can do a betterjob of putting information out there that is
available to the public. We havetaken a lot of strives in Gwinnett in
our courts. I will tell youthat there are particularly for magistrate court,
our Chief Magistrate, Christina Bloom,she keeps brochures in the Magistrate Court office
that is available to people. Anyonewho walks in. They can get a
(25:52):
pamphlet on landlord tenant issues, youknow in those cases and how they're handled
and sort of the issues that comeup in those cases small claims, you
know, basically step by step.I don't want to say instructions because we
can't give legal advice, but wedo give people resources like this is where
you can go. Our courts alsooperate a family law clinic, so for
(26:15):
individuals who may want to represent themselves, or maybe they don't have the money
to hire an attorney and maybe theydon't qualify for legal aid, there's sort
of step in the middle. Thereare resources available because of the goodwill of
some of our attorneys who volunteer theirtime to do clinics to help people sort
(26:37):
of navigate those processes. So wehave information there. I think we can
do a better job about making surepeople know that the information is out there
so that they can and utilize it. That's interesting, I didn't know that
a lot of people don't know.That sounds like another good podcast Ashually,
(27:00):
it's a great idea. That's agreat idea. I wish more people knew
about those types of services, andit's just a matter of figuring out how
do we get that message out topeople so it's not easy, and then
to get people to listen. Actuallytoo, because they may not need it
at that moment until they need it, right until they need it. Yeah.
(27:21):
The other thing I tell people toyou know, I think people are
generally afraid of courts, or maybethey're just apprehensive when it comes to you
know, courts, and so Itell people don't always think about it in
a negative way. I encourage peopleto come out and observe court proceedings,
you know, when you can.And then most people have full time jobs,
(27:41):
so that may not be feasible allthe time. But you know,
courts are open forum. So ifyou want to come and observe a divorce
trial or you know, a criminaltrial or whatever type of trial you know,
come to court, observe, seehow you know, things go.
And I think that might help preparepeople to better for you know, the
(28:02):
times that they have to come tocourt and face that same situation. It's
funny. I think people think ofcourt system like the irs. Just stay
away and don't go near it.That's right. People don't want to come
anywhere close if they don't have to. I get that. I get that,
although I got to say when Ican't to police do a great job
when they do ride alongs depending onhow you do that program. Even some
(28:26):
of the local small town like Swantia, they can do similar type of things
where you can go with the policeand see the normal day if you will.
I love those programs too, because, you know, our law enforcement.
I also think that they sort ofget that reputation of you know,
like we don't want to deal withlaw enforcement unless we need them, right,
like we stay away, you know, And I think we have to
(28:48):
embrace you know, our law enforcementofficers as you know, our friends.
You know, they're doing to helpus. They want to protect us and
keep us safe. So I'm soglad, you know, so many of
our police chiefs have taken the initiativeto really be present in the community,
you know, for for reasons outsideof you know, crime safety and prevention,
but just so that people know,you know, they're friendly, they're
(29:12):
neighborly, they want to you know, you know, help us, but
also make sure that we know thatthey're part of the community to help and
not just to get the bad guysfor sure, right right, yeah,
true, And a lot of themdo a good good job that way.
We talked about technology before, butI like talking a little bit more specific
(29:34):
about artificial intelligence AI and what thatmeans in the court system, or in
preparing court documents, or in havingto worry about evidence that may be submitted
that could have been tainted by AI. So what you know, what do
you think are the potential benefits anddrawbacks of using AI in an export system?
(30:02):
Yeah, admittedly, you know,it's a discussion we're having to have
more often. Even some of ourcontinuing judicial education classes are starting to talk
about this issue. And candidly,it scares me a bit because I'm just
trying to imagine a court system wherebyhuman intelligence is replaced by our official intelligence.
(30:23):
I mean, just the thought ofit is a little alarming. I
do think that there are ways inwhich AI can be beneficial. You know,
for instance, when you're an attorneyor a judge you know, or
a law clerk who's working for ajudge, and you want to find information
about a specific case or a legaltopic, you know, doing research could
(30:44):
be AI could be great because itcould make you more efficient in getting the
answers you need. But I willsay, as a caveat, there has
to be a human I think sortof checking that. So even if you
use it for research, purposes.It is still artificial intelligence, so I
would like to think that we wouldstill need some human to basically double check
(31:07):
to make sure of the accuracy ofwhatever information you're getting. So I think
there could be some benefits for efficiencywhen it comes to operating in a courtroom
setting. Though I'm more afraid ofAI than I am of welcoming of it,
because I forced the issues where we'represented with evidence, for example,
(31:30):
and we have to test the credibilityor veracity of that evidence, and again
there's just no substitute. I don'tthink for human intelligence as opposed to AI.
And I think about, you know, the floodgates opening up with even
court filings and us getting backlogged becauseof AI, and you know some you
(31:52):
know, something other than human filing, you know, court documents, and
how that could just really cause abacklog. I could say, you're worried
about more filings happening because it canbe generated faster through AI. That is
correct, That is correct. Imean, certainly AI has has issues,
and I don't you know as fastas it's moving right now, who knows
(32:15):
in a year or two, probablyless than two years, I bet,
based on what's been going on inthe last two years, you're going to
we're going to end up being ableto if you have someone that's a that
doesn't speak the language, that canbe translated through the system. Google does
that right now. Google translated rightand voice. You can have real time
(32:38):
fact checking occurring where you can lookat, you know, place the two
chat GPT seven point zero, fivepoint zero when it comes out the way,
you could check those facts up.There are a certainly good side to
it, but as fast as that'smoving, the badside can move just as
fast. I can see. Yeah, I agree, it's it's troublesome.
(32:59):
And because I guess we're not sortof there yet, it's hard to really
appreciate how how much of an effectit will have on our courts, whether
good, you know, good orbad, because like you said, it's
happening so quickly it's almost hard tograsp. But you know it's going to
be here. If it's not already, we're gonna have to confront it.
(33:20):
And and it does give me somesome I don't know, I'm concerned a
little bit. Well, it's goodthat you all getting education on it,
right, continuing education, Sure,Well that's a good part that it's being
proactive at least yep. If youwere to win the Quinnacanti Spirit Court,
judge, what do you think andbrief would be a long term vision for
(33:42):
it. So I will say,first of all, I'm the only candidate
in the race who has unequivocally indicatedthat I will, without question continue the
accountability courts that Judge Byers started,and particularly those accountability courts are Veteran's Treatment
(34:02):
Court and Mental Health Accountability Court.She is the only judge currently sitting on
the bench who operates those treatment Courtprograms. So once she resigns her seat
at the end of this year,those programs could effectively go away. And
so I have made an unequivocal promiseto continue on with those programs. I
(34:24):
honestly I can't imagine our courts nothaving them. So that is the first
thing. I will continue her legacy. You know, she started those courts.
I think we just celebrated the eleventhyear, and so I want that
to be, you know, along term program. Both of those to
be long term programs that Gwenett canbe proud of forever. So I promise
(34:47):
that I foresee a court whereby litigantsfeel that Judge Matthews is fair, she's
even handed, she's even tempered.She may not always issue of ruling that
I agree with, but I willtrust that Judge Matthews has followed the law,
you know, above all else,and that she treated me with dignity
(35:12):
and with respect. You know,I was a practicing lawyer for a long
time and I remember appearing in frontof judges who I don't know, seem
like they would make sport of humiliatinglitigants or humiliating attorneys. I'm sure.
I mean, you probably have seenor at least heard of those types of
judges, and it was just troublingto me. And I, you know,
(35:35):
said a long time ago, ifI ever became a judge, you
know, I will never be thattype of judge where you know, someone
comes in and they have, youknow, an issue that's important enough to
them to either file the case orbe involved in whatever the litigation is.
But you know, people deserve tobe treated with dignity no matter what,
and I include you know, peoplewho are charged of criminal offenses. You
(36:00):
know, obviously we don't condone criminalbehavior. I don't like it, but
those people deserve to be treated withdignity at the very least, and so
that's what people will get from me. Judge. Again, that's going to
be fair. Who's going to operateindependently, who is not going to be
swayed, you know politically, Who'sreally just going to follow the laws as
(36:21):
I'm bound to do the constitution ofthe State of Georgia, the Constitution of
the United States, and the lawspass by our legislators. Okay, well,
thank you for sharing that vision.We've come pretty much to the end
of i'll talk. But what I'dlike you to do is give us in
short two minutes maybe ask for thevote. Essentially, tell everyone why they
(36:45):
should be voting for you, andask for that vote. Thank you,
Rico. And you know I haveto tell you lawyers. You probably know
that lawyers and judges are not goodwith time limits. So I hope I
can do the two minutes. IfI started to go over, just stop
me because we're not good at keepingtime out. Yeah, put your hand
up or something. But again,thank you for this opportunity. It is
(37:09):
I take being a judge as somethingthat is meaningful. It is difficult work,
you know, the decisions that Imake that we make as judges every
day. You know, we realizethat they impact people in very significant ways.
And so what I can tell thevoters is that's not something I will
ever take for granted. You shouldvote for me not only because I have
(37:31):
a deep concern and care for thepeople of this county, not only because
I currently serve the county, butalso because you need a judge, and
you deserve a judge who has theexperience to do the job and to do
it on day one. As Italked about earlier, I currently sit in
Superior Court every day. At thispoint in my judicial career, I've made
(37:53):
decisions probably I want to say hundreds, but it may be even close to
thousands of cases at this point.I've done so diligently. I'm a judge
that operates with the utmost integrity,and you don't have to just take my
word for it. I've been tried, vetted, and tested, so to
speak. The eleven Superior Court judgesthat you elected and the Chief Magistrate judge
(38:15):
you elected in Gwinnett County have alreadyvetted my qualifications. They wouldn't designate me
to sit for them over two hundredtimes if they didn't believe that I was
suitable to do the job of aSuperior Court judge, and that is what
I do. Every day. Imake a commitment to the voters that I
will continue to have deep respect forthe rule of law. I will always
(38:37):
follow and adhere to the rule oflaw, that I will operate with integrity,
and that I will do everything tomake sure the court processes run efficiently.
Thank you again, and I hopeto have your vote. You overwhelmingly
supported me in the primary election.I hope I can get you back out
to vote for the runoff. Youcan find more information on my website at
(39:00):
Judgematthews dot com. I'm also onsocial media at Regina Matthews for Superior Court
or Judge Regina Matthews. I'm onLinkedIn, I'm on Instagram, I'm pretty
much all the social media platforms.But again, I just hope the voters
can remember that you know you needand deserve someone who has the experience doing
(39:22):
the job. And I'm ready onday one. Great, by the time
people hear this, early voting Ithink will have ended. So June eighteenth,
Tuesday, is that day you haveto go to your assigned voter precincts
for early voting. Obviously it's different, but on June eighteenth you have to
(39:43):
go to your designated polling place seventyseven. Thanks for that, so thank
you Regina Matthews. Appreciate you beingon with me. I'm hanging there for
a minute, but thank you everyoneelse. If you have questions, certainly
put it into the comments, whetheryou're listening to this on Facebook or YouTube,
or you have comments that you wantto send directly to Regina Matthews.
(40:07):
Just go to her website Judge Matthewsdot com and you'll be up to do
that. So thanks again, appreciateyou being with us. Thank here we
go. Thanks for listening to PeachtreeCorner's Life with Rico Figliolini. You can
listen to the show wherever podcasts arefound, like iHeartRadio, Spotify and Apple
(40:31):
Podcast. Leave us a review too, it helps others find the show as
well. Don't forget to like ourFacebook page and YouTube channel for notifications of
our live simulcast video streams of theshow. Catch our other podcast shows at
Living in Peachtreecorners dot com. Infact, you can listen to our other
popular show, The Capitalist Sage twicea month podcast about and four businesses.
(40:55):
The show brings you interviews with businessowners, leaders, and subject matter experts.
Find what you need to meet today'schallenges that every business owner faces.
Check out the show at Thecapitalistsage dotcom.
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