Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton opened and closed his first State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the state Legislature Tuesday with tributes to his predecessor, friend and mentor, the late Chief Justice P. Harris Hines.

In between, the much younger chief used technology to highlight advances in technology—showing the lawmakers video illustrating the new statewide courts portal as well as a unique program putting lawyers in a struggling school to assist families with tenant rights issues and other matters that have helped give children stability. The speech and videos were shown live on Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Melton generated the most applause with a tribute to the state's bipartisan criminal justice reform movement—authorized with near-unanimous support from the General Assembly.

“Through these efforts, we have made our state safer with reduced recidivism rates, saved taxpayer dollars with reduced prison populations and made our communities stronger by giving nonviolent offenders the chance to turn their lives around and become law-abiding and more productive family members and members of the community,” Melton said. “President Trump, in his State of the Union Address, recently spoke of the federal initiative toward criminal justice reform and proudly noted that the states are following the federal government's lead.”

“That may be true,” Melton continued, “but the federal government is following Georgia's lead.”

Melton had to take a long pause for the applause. Then he thanked the legislators and moved on to the subject of the new appellate court building scheduled to open at the end of the year. He used it to work in another tribute that went over well under the gold dome.

“You have approved and funded the new judicial building—the first state building in Georgia's history dedicated solely to the judiciary,” Melton said. “We do not take this building for granted. The building looks slightly upward to the Capitol, giving the Legislature the appropriate presumption of righteousness it deserves.”

If this was a laugh line, it was drowned out by applause.

He promised the building would “reflect the dignity and majesty of the rule of law” without being too flashy.

“As I recently assured the Joint Appropriations Committee, we intend to come well within the appropriated budget for furniture and fixtures, taking all the existing furniture that is suitable and sturdy and which matches the dignity of our new surroundings,” Melton said. “We will make sure that the furnishings in the new building are appropriately stately, but not extravagant.”

The big reveal of the speech was an idea Melton presented as a way to keep people from ever needing to be in a courthouse. He gave the legislators a flyer with statistics to show the growth and success of accountability courts across the state helping nonviolent offenders avoid jail by embracing counseling, community service, employment and substance-abuse-free lives.

“Our specialty courts work because judges, and the many dedicated social workers and volunteers working with them, take the time to understand the struggles and the backgrounds and the individual stories behind the people before them,” Melton said. “They form relationships. They build a level of intimacy. Justice Hines always said, 'You never know what someone is struggling with, but everyone is struggling with something.' So here is the next logical question: If these courts are able to have this kind of success with a population of adults who often have had a lifetime of struggles and bad behavior, can we not have even greater success if we, in our communities, engage even earlier? Can we accomplish even more if we engage earlier in the timeline?”

The flyer Melton shared tracked the number of children in foster care.

“We know the paths people take,” he said. “Each child in foster care involves multiple filings in our juvenile courts. We know that the challenges these children face put them at a higher risk of getting into trouble, dropping out of school, having babies in their teens and ultimately coming into our court system. Keeping children with their families and out of foster care is important. The judicial branch supports reinforcing family ties.”

Melton introduced a program called Kinship Care, which he said provides legal services to grandparents, relatives and family friends who are serving as guardians to children who otherwise would be placed in foster care. Kinship Care helps them secure legal authority they need to make medical, financial and school decisions for the children. He said the Judicial Council of Georgia will submit a budget request to support that effort.

Melton highlighted another program called “Standing With Our Neighbors.” The Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation went to work at Thomasville Heights Elementary School, said to be the lowest performing one in the state. “When they peeled back the layers, they learned that the average tenure of a student at the school was 1½ years,” Melton said.

The group brought in two volunteer lawyers to get to know the children and their parents. “I want you to see what happened next,” Melton said. He played a CBS news show featuring the program.

The reason for the short stays of the students was a large apartment across the street. The lawyers went to work helping families fight wrongful evictions that were forcing them to move. They also took on the landlord with mold issues that were causing children to be sick and miss school. And they learned about and helped address incidents of domestic violence.

“By dealing with these issues, how many future criminal cases have been prevented? How many instances of illiteracy have been avoided? How have they impacted future dropout rates, teenage pregnancies, infant mortality rates, drug addictions and any other negative statistics that concern us? And, how many lives have been redirected toward becoming strong mothers and fathers and leaders in the community?” Melton asked. “I hope you will join me in honoring Marty Ellin, Michael Lucas and the soldiers of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation.”

Melton ended with memories of the chief justice who gave last year's State of the Judiciary address. Melton mentioned that the University of Georgia law school has created a “Be Kind Fund” in memory of Hines to aid law students through internship opportunities and scholarships.

“Kindness was his legacy,” Melton said of Hines, who died in a car crash two months after retiring last fall. “There's a lot that can be said about all of us as we look back over our careers. But what more can be said about a person who loves and is kind to all, who recognizes the struggles of his or her neighbors and treats the whole person with dignity and respect.” Melton added, “That is my prayer for all of us—that we will be remembered for our goodness and kindness.”

And he closed in the same way as his predecessors: “Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the great state of Georgia.”