Court Opinion

ID: 9583779
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:41:58.197125+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:59:44.908081
License: Public Domain

Deen, Presiding Judge,
concurring specially.
While concurring in the judgment of affirmance, it is appropriate to make certain observations. Approximately nine years have elapsed in this case since the time of the 1977 accident. The first appeal made was in 1982. The present appeal was filed in this court in January 1985; oral argument was had in April; and by the time judgment is rendered, which will be around Thanksgiving, and possibly certiorari is considered by the Supreme Court, approximately twelve additional months will have passed.
Presiding Judge Hall, in Tant v. State, 123 Ga. App. 760, 763-765 (182 SE2d 502) (1971), addressed the problem of court delay and suggested three proposals for improving and streamlining the Georgia Appellate system through innovative and unique methods:
(a) “Should we have only one appellate court with separate divisions (civil and criminal) similar to the English Court of Appeal?”;
(b) “Should we have a separate court of last resort for criminal appeals as in Texas and Oklahoma? Texas Constitution, Art. 5, §§ 1, 5; Oklahoma Constitution, Art. 7, § 4.”; and
(c) “Or should all criminal appeals go directly to our highest court as is true in Louisiana? Louisiana Constitution, Art. 7, § 11.”
As concluded by Judge Hall, “[a]ny of these proposals would aid in meeting the problems of delay, uncertain jurisdiction and conflicting decisions inherent in allowing appellate review in two separate courts.” (Emphasis supplied.) Judge Hall, now a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, wisely did not recommend simply tossing money at the problem by way of the outmoded and ancient idea of adding only more bureaucracy and *281more judges to the court.* While Judge Hall was discussing the speeding up of criminal appeals, the same results would obtain in improving the administration of justice in civil cases. All will agree: “Justice delayed is justice denied.” The possibility of “paving the way for another five years of litigation,” as dolefully anticipated by the trial judge in his order, plus additional lengthy appeals under the facts of this case, should not obtain, as finality at some point in time is required.
Decided December 3, 1985
Rehearing denied December 19, 1985
Terry L. Readdick, John E. Bumgartner, for appellant (case no. 70258).
William H. Glover, Jr., Jack S. Hutto, George M. Rountree, Karen M. Krider, for appellees.
William H. Glover, Jr., for appellant (case no. 70341).
George M. Rountree, John E. Bumgartner, Terry L. Readdick, for appellees.

 Edward W. McConnell, Executive Director of the National Center for State Courts and one of the experts on judicial reform, speaking at Callaway Gardens on March 16,1985, suggested that the adding of judges is a non-intellectual method of court relief and reform.