Chief Judge Christopher Brasher, Fulton County Superior Court. (Courtesy photo)

A jurist known for his culinary experimentation, newly appointed Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Christopher Brasher has plenty on his plate as he takes over the state's biggest and busiest circuit.

Having spent the last three years as a judge in the Family Division, Brasher said he is enjoying delving into the court's administrative aspects. He is finding both his judicial experience and his earlier years as a circuit prosecutor and assistant attorney general to be helpful in his new role.

"I've probably had as much experience as anybody in Georgia with how the criminal justice system works," Brasher said.

As a senior assistant attorney general in the public safety section of the Georgia attorney general's office, he represented the Department of Corrections, the Georgia State Patrol and county sheriffs. "They were my clients. That's given me some insight into how all the parts of the system have to interact with each other," Brasher said.

His AG duties also included representing the office of an occasionally sharp critic of some members of the Fulton bench, District Attorney Paul Howard Jr.

"I've always gotten along well with Mr. Howard," said Brasher. "I appreciate the difficult job they have to do. I've done it myself."

Brasher, 54, was first appointed to the court in 2006 by Gov. Sonny Perdue. Prior to that, he spent 11 years in the AG's office after launching his legal career as an assistant DA in the Alcovy Circuit serving Walton and Newton counties.

He began his two-year term as chief judge Feb. 1, taking over from Judge Robert McBurney. Whether he'll fill out that term is largely dependent on Gov. Brain Kemp, who is currently pondering who to appoint to fill a vacancy on the state Court of Appeals from a list of nominees, including Brasher.

In fact, there may be more than one opening on that court in the coming year: The state Judicial Nominating Commission this week named five potential candidates for the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham, including two current appellate judges. And with last week's surprise announcement that Justice Keith Blackwell is stepping down, Kemp might have an opportunity to fill that post as well.

Brasher will only confirm that he's interviewed with the governor and is waiting for his decision, "mindful that this quite a busy season under the Gold Dome."

For the moment, the married father of two grown children is happy where he is.

"This is a great job," he said with a smile. "I've been on the superior court for 14 years, and I've done just about everything a superior court judge can do: I've tried death penalty cases, overseen child custody and family law cases, handled multi-million dollar civil cases—they're all different things, but they do prepare you for the duties of chief judge."

"Now, to have the responsibilities of administration is to round out the experience," he said.

Brasher launches his "50-cent tour" of the court by emphasizing that, as chief, he's not "in charge" of anything but works with court administration to coordinate its operations and serve as a liaison to the county Board of Commissioners and other members of the justice system, including the DA, public defender and sheriff's offices.

It's a big job that continues to grow along with the county and its caseload, he said.

"We've got 280 employees of the superior court, and the budget's running about $30 million now," he said.

In addition to the 20 full-time judges and their clerks and staff, there are 10 senior judges who are assigned to help ease the load as needed.

In addition to its accountability courts—Mental Health Court, Drug Court and Veterans Court—the court also oversees a Parental Accountability Court in conjunction with the state Division of Child Support Services.

"I am one of the judges on that court," said Brasher. "It's an effort to help people who are chronically in arrears of their child support payments."

Often, such cases involve drug or mental health issues as well, he said.

The court's Family Division has grown enough to keep four full-time judges busy, he said.

"Case volume is always high," he said. "In my first two year there, we adjudicated more than 5,000 cases."

The majority of those cases involve litigants representing themselves, he said, which creates obstacles for the parties and the court.

"In Fulton County, pro se litigation is through the roof: at least 70% in family court, probably 90% in magistrate court."

"It's a struggle to make it work," Brasher said. "You can't give someone legal advice, but if you don't help them, the system backs up. People come to the courthouse because they've got a problem, and there's no place else to go to solve that problem."

The court will open a spacious, state-of-the-art Justice Resource Center this month to complement its Law Library and Family Law Information Center.

The center—which Brasher noted got a shoutout from Chief Justice Harold Melton during last  month's State of the Judiciary address—boasts 18 computer terminals with access to legal materials like WestLaw, other monitors with instructional videos and a secure area for domestic violence victims who may fear they'll be followed into the facility.

There's also a glass-enclosed, secure play area for children and several conference rooms for private consultations, Brasher said. Lawyers from the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Association and Atlanta Legal Aid Society also will be available to offer advice.

"There'll be someone there to meet people when they come in the door and get them started," he said. "The days of having shelves full of books and few computers are not really relevant anymore."

Asked about the issues that give him the most concern, Brasher's response is prompt.

"Jail overcrowding," he said. "There's always an effort to find a balance between ensuring public safety and complying with the law."

The court's Pretrial Services program—which often gets criticized by prosecutors and law enforcement officials, particularly after a repeat offender ends up on the nightly news for a crime—is an ongoing effort to strike that balance, he said.

The court and program, which evaluates criminal defendants along with their charges, criminal history and financial ability to make bail, is under the same pressure of criminal justice reformers around the country to address perceived inequities, he said.

"There's been a lot of criticism around the country about people being kept in jail, and for the reform of money bonds, in this jurisdiction and in others," he said. "There are cases where money bond is appropriate and cases where it's not. That's why we have pretrial services."

Brasher also was asked about legislation proposed last year by County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts that would have required the court to submit monthly reports detailing how each judge's time spent handling cases compared to model standards from the National Center of State Courts as a condition of approving its funding.

The legislation was never passed, but Brasher said the court agreed to provide caseload figures to the county, which are published online.

Despite the implicit criticism of the court's workings, Brasher said he understands and appreciates the commissioners' concerns, and said they and County Manager Richard Anderson have been very supportive.

"I feel like we have as good a relationship as we've ever had since I've been here, largely due to the work of Judge McBurney and [previous Chief Judge Gail] Tusan," Brasher said.

The dynamic between the court and county "is always interesting because, as superior court judges, we're not county employees, we're state employees, but the county provides a supplement to us, and most of the money for our courts comes from the county," he said.

At the end of the day, he said, his job is to partner with the county and other justice system players to listen to their concerns and try to make all the pieces work together.

Brasher said monthly meetings with other elected officials help everyone understand their shared concerns.

"The idea is to get in front of each other and have the conversations, so issues don't fester," he said.

"Sometimes there are disputes about whose ox is being gored, and some things do occupy my mind. But you've got to make a decision and move on. I'm not saying you don't care, but you've got to move on."