Rockdale County Superior Court Judge Sidney Nation fired back with a statement Thursday in response to Commissioner Oz Nesbitt’s comments about the judge’s new trial calendar. 

Commissioners learned during budget hearings Monday that the proposed trial calendar would require more personnel and funding in several departments.

Nation in his statement, “Mr. Nesbitt has molded his statement to make it appear that the court is vying for funds in competition with county employees. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a matter of law, the court has nothing to do with whether or not county employees get a raise. Mr. Nesbitt’s statement is simply a political tactic to use the public treasury to buy more votes in his upcoming election bid. It’s obvious to me that Mr. Nesbitt cares more about his election efforts than having a justice system that minimizes the cost of incarceration.” The jail averages about 500 to 550 people a day, with some waiting up to a year to get to court, said Nation. 

“That’s inexcusable in my mind. Systemic inertia is a problem that needs to be addressed.”

He continued, “As an aside, a great many people in this county are financially suffering. I know the county employees have not received a raise for a long time. I would humbly remind them that in light of the suffering of other people and the financial burdens they bear, the loss of their homes and jobs, that they should simply be grateful for a job and not be used by local politicians as a tool in their reelection campaign.”

During the budget hearing on Tuesday, Commissioner Oz Nesbitt said, "We're really in a Catch-22."

"The judge decides this is what he's going to do and it happens to be at a tough economic time in this county," said Nesbitt.

He said the BOC had been considering ways to give county employees an across-the-board raise.

"The judge walks in here yesterday, says 'Hey, this is not going to happen. I'm moving forward with this calendar. Y’all figure it out and get it done.' Commissioners, we have some serious thinking to do as we consider the judge's desire because he's bored and wants get some of these folks moving though the system."

Nation added at the end of his statement Thursday that he did not say he was bored and that the calendar and county raises were not related topics. “I didn’t know there was any talk about them getting a raise,” said Nation.

The Superior Court judgeships are elected positions, but the Board of Commissioners set the county funded budgets for the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, and Clerk of Courts, which would all be affected by the trial calendar change and had all requested more resources during budget hearings.

Currently, Nation hears 10 weeks of civil trials and 10 weeks of criminal trials. The proposed calendar would change that to four weeks civil trials and 20 weeks criminal trials. Judge David Irwin's calendar would remain the same, with 10 weeks of civil and 10 weeks of criminal trials.