Rule 4.2 - Certification of Judicial OfficersFor the purposes of this rule, judicial officers shall include judges and associate judges. The Council of Juvenile Court Judges shall certify the attendance of juvenile court judicial officers; the Council of Superior Court Judges shall certify the attendance of superior court judges who sit as juvenile court judges. Determination of certification will be based upon the completion of the requirements for certification set out in O.C.G.A § 15-11-59. Each Council shall notify each judicial officer of that class of courts of his or her status relative to certification. Failure to provide written notification to the judicial officer shall not affect the judicial officer's authority to exercise jurisdiction. The period of certification shall begin on January 1 of the year following completion of the requirements and shall extend through December 31 of that same year. If, on January 1 of each year, certification has not been attained by a judicial officer, the appropriate Council may in hardship cases grant an extension only until the completion of the next seminar for the judicial officer to become certified.
The following procedure shall be followed when a judicial officer fails to meet the training requirements for certification required by this rule and O.C.G.A. § 15-11-59.
1. Within 20 days of the last day of the Fall Judges Conference, a judicial officer who will not meet the training requirements for annual certification shall make application, in writing, to the chairperson of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges Education/Certification Committee. Said written application shall cite with particularity the deficiency, including the number of training hours completed (if any) and the number of training hours needed for certification in the applicable calendar year. Said written application shall include a short, concise statement as to the hardship giving rise to the applicant's failure to complete the training requirements for certification. The application shall also include a short, concise remedial plan for addressing the deficiency in the most expeditious method possible.2. Within ten days of receiving an application as referenced in paragraph 1 above, the chairperson of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges Education/Certification Committee, or his/her designee, shall distribute a copy of said application to each member of the committee.3. Within 30 days of distributing the application to committee members, the Chairperson of the Education/Certification Committee, or his/her designee, shall convene a meeting of the committee for the purpose of discussing and voting on the application. The decision of the committee as to whether the application shall be denied, approved as submitted, or approved without modification shall be by simple majority vote of those members present for the meeting, so long as a quorum of committee members is present for the meeting.4. In the discretion of the committee chairperson, or his/her designee, the meeting of the Education/Certification Committee required in paragraph 3, above, may be: (1) in person at such place and time as set by the chairperson or his/her designee, or (2) by telephone conference call, or (3) by electronic mail; provided, however, that the applicant may request to personally appear before the committee, in which case the committee shall meet in person.5. Within two business days after the decision of the committee is made, the chairperson of the committee, or his/her designee, shall mail written notification to the applicant of the committee's decision. Written notification shall also be provided to the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court in which the applicant sits and the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of the judicial circuit in which the applicant's court is located.6. In the event the applicant is dissatisfied with the decision of the Education/Certification Committee, he/she shall have the right to file a request for a review of the decision by a committee composed of the officers on the Executive Committee of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges within 30 days of receipt of the decision of the Education/Certification Committee. The request shall be made to the President of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges and may include additional written information that may be pertinent to the review. The committee conducting the review shall consider the written decision of the Education/Certification Committee and any other information included in the request for review. The President of the Council shall notify the applicant, the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court, and the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of the judicial circuit in which the applicant's office is located of the decision following the review.Amended May 2, 2019, effective July 1, 2019.