Talk of trying

to make Fayette County into its own judicial circuit has, so far, not

progressed beyond the discussion stage.

But while no

official move has been made, interest seems to be growing and a more concentrated

study on the issue is forthcoming, according to members of Fayette's legislative

delegation.

The Griffin

Judicial Circuit now consists of four counties Fayette, Pike, Spalding

and Upson. Fayette is one of only a few counties in the metro Atlanta

area that does not comprise such a district on its own.

State Sen.

Greg Hecht told the audience at last week's Fayette County Bar Association

luncheon that the county's four legislators Hecht, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland,

Rep. Kathy Cox and Sen. Mitch Seabaugh had gotten together just before

the May deadline to make a recommendation to the state's Judicial Council.

But that recommendation

was never sent, according to Westmoreland, because of a desire to look

more closely into how much a move like this would cost before going forward

with it.

"The string

was just too short," Westmoreland said, referring to the limited

amount of time the group had before the submission deadline given by the

Judicial Council.

Also, because

of the increase in judicial resources in Fayette the past six years, Westmoreland

said he has not heard as much of an outcry for the creation of a separate

circuit.

"Before

the State Court was formed [in 1997] and we got our fourth [Superior Court]

judge [in 1999], I heard a lot of complaints about delays at the courthouse,"

said Westmoreland. "But not now. State Court has taken a lot of the

pressure off, and we've got four good judges."

Both Hecht

and Westmoreland said that discussions with county commissioners and other

officials, along with the judges and members of the local judiciary, need

to take place before moving forward at the state level.

A judicial

circuit is created by state legislation which must be unanimously introduced

Assembly and funds are allocated two steps that can take place a year

apart, Hecht said.

Since the recent

deadline has passed, it would take a year before another recommendation

could be made, so any possible change is obviously a few years away. But

with Fayette climbing toward the 100,000 mark in population, demographics

could be on the county's side if a formal request is made.

After Hecht's

remarks last week, Mike Hofrichter, the current president of the Fayette

County Bar Association, said that group would definitely be in favor of

a separate circuit.

"The timing

is right," said Hofrichter, citing the county's population level

and the ever-busier local court system as the two biggest reasons.

But Westmoreland

wants to know the costs involved before taking that step.

"We probably

could have submitted a recommendation without knowing, then found out

what we needed to know later," he said. "But I'd rather know

everything first."

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