Gwinnett Superior Court Judge Tom Davis is a former prosecutor with a no-nonsense approach to case management and does not believe in cookie cutter justice.

SOJ                 What is the most fun part of your job?

T.D.     There are two things that a Superior Court Judge does that are pure fun. One of those is adoption and the other one is swearing in new lawyers. I do a lot of things that are satisfying but those are the two that are pure fun. Adoption wins by a small margin over swearing in new lawyers. Although, I try to make a big deal out of swearing in lawyers because it’s an important milestone in someone’s life.  

SOJ     What has been the most challenging aspect of caseload management?

T.D.     The flood of civil cases that I started with. When I started back in 2006, I was coming from the D.A.’s office directly to Superior Court.  They could not give me any criminal cases because I was conflicted out of those because I was the Deputy District Attorney.  I had the desire to do everything at once because a lot of the cases that were transferred to me were old complex type litigation. The hardest thing about that quite frankly is getting enough patience to realize that you can’t do it all in 6 weeks or 6 months. You have to establish a system of priorities of who you are going to bring into court.  

SOJ     Do you accept waivers of arraignment?

T.D.     We do. Our waivers are on a particular form. We generally insist that the defendant has signed off on it rather than just counsel. I view that as protection for the lawyer as much as anything else.   

SOJ     How far in advance do they need to be received?

T.D.     I think the goal is to have them in 48 hours ahead of time so that everybody whose involved and who is transporting people from the jail know who needs to come to court.   

SOJ     Do you accept conflict letters by fax?

T.D.     Yes.  

SOJ     When a criminal matter comes before you for bond, do you weigh any of the factors more heavily than the others.
T.D.     I don’t go into any particular bond hearing with any sort of set procedure for how I weigh the different factors that I have to go through. I view all four of the statutory matters equally in that I have to be satisfied to a certain degree before I can say that a person is entitled to a bond.  The approach I take to bonds is different based on the individual, the facts of the particular case, and what they are charged with. But I don’t have any preset notions of any of that. I set bonds for people who have been alleged to have committed armed robberies. There are people who are charged with crimes that are less serious than a violent crime that I have not put on bond because of their prior record. It’s a sliding scale and I never know how it stacks up until I hear all the information. That’s why I am very interested in hearing from the defense attorney about the client’s situation.  

SOJ     In considering a case, is the seriousness of the offense itself something that causes you to feel that bond isn’t appropriate?

T.D.     Not standing alone. The nature of the crime that is alleged is something that I think any judge takes into account.  Also,  past behavior as it relates to the bond factor concerning the risk to commit other felonies. I can honestly say that I have never refused to give someone a bond just because they are charged with murder or armed robbery. In most cases, I usually explain to the defendant what it is that I have to be able to find and what the four factors are that I am dealing with. If I have a problem with one of them, I tell them what it is and why. I don’t think I’ve ever made a bond decision just on the charge and I think it will be wrong for me to do so. I think that’s an abdication of the responsibility and authority that I have. I asked for this job because I wanted more accountability and more responsibility. It doesn’t make since to me to ask for it and not be willing to exercise it.  

SOJ  Do you look at mandatory minimums any differently as a judge than you did as a prosecutor?T.D.     No, I look at them exactly the same way. I am not a big fan of them. I recognize that the legislature is the group that is empowered to give us the rules that we play by. I bend to the will of the legislature in that regard. I never have been a big fan of mandatory minimums either as a judge or as a prosecutor. I think most judges will say that they want maximum flexibility to deal with the cases that come before them because every case is different.  You can’t do cookie cutter justice from case to case because we’re dealing with human beings.  

SOJ     Do you engage in pretrial discussions?

T.D.     I view the superior court rule that forbids me from taking part in pretrial negotiations very seriously. I think that the rule limits me to confirming for two lawyers who have agreed on something that I’ll take their plea or that I won’t. But if two lawyers come to me wanting to have a pre-trial conference, and they have not even agreed on a negotiated plea, I will not even talk to them. I will not get in the middle of listening to both sides tell me what they think I ought to do on a criminal case and then having to pick a sentence. I think that’s specifically what the superior court rule tells me not to do.  

SOJ     Do you accept blind pleas, and do you allow for their withdraw?

T.D.     Up until the time I pronounce the sentence, the defendant can withdraw as a matter of right. After that, it’s a question of whether they have good cause. I have non- negotiated pleas come in all the time. The D.A.’s who work in my court room make sure the defendant understands that if it is a non-negotiated plea, I can give them any sentence up to the maximum and that once that sentence is announced there is no right to withdraw the plea. They can ask for it, but it’s a matter that I will examine at that time. The same holds true on a negotiated plea. I make sure that the defendant understands that if I am going to deviate in any way from the recommended sentence on a negotiated plea, I give them a chance to withdraw that plea.   

SOJ     Do you feel that it is appropriate to impose a greater sentence because the defendant has elected not to accept responsibility when the facts are pretty strong against them going to trial?

T.D.     If a person comes before me and accepts responsibility for what they did, that is the person that I am most impressed with; a person who looks me in the eye and says, “Judge I did it, and I’ll carry the weight for it. I’m not blaming it on my mother and how she raised me. I’m not blaming it on the wrong crowd.” That person impresses me quite frankly. I don’t view additional time after a trial guilty verdict as punishment for going to trial. Another way to look at what a case is really worth from a punishment stand point is what you find at the end of a trial because you heard all the evidence and everybody has had the chance to come before the jury and say this is what happened. At the end of the trial you know as much about that case that you’re ever going to know as a prosecutor, defense counsel, or judge. Once you have heard all that information, that case, from a  sentencing stand point, may call for a sentence of X.  If somebody were willing to come in earlier in the process, then, as a frank recognition of how criminal cases unfold, they might be sentenced at X minus a certain amount. It’s not any set formula. I have had cases where I end up sentencing the person to less than the recommendation for the plea even at the end of the trial.  

SOJ     Do you impose a deadline for a negotiated plea ?

T.D.     No, it’s not up to me to decide whether or not the state and the defense want to enter a negotiated plea or to tell the parties that they either have a negotiated plea by a certain date or from then on they can’t negotiate.   I do think that calendar call is the day to take pleas and that the trial week should be reserved for trials.  

SOJ     After a verdict, do you generally communicate with the jury?

T.D.     I generally ask the jury if they have any questions about the process. I more often do that in open court. As a judge, I’ve never answered the question, “Judge, what do you think about a case from a factual standpoint or who should have won or who should have lost?” I never will because I don’t have to. That’s the jurors’ decision.  

SOJ     Do you have any approach to handling speedy trial demands?

T.D.     I tell both sides that I am trying to get them in as quickly as possible. If I have a very serious violent felony case already planned and somebody drops a speedy on another case, depending on how many months I have to get to that speedy case, I may not make it the next case I try. I will generally put it on every trial calendar from that time.  

SOJ     What are your hobbies and musical tastes?

T.D.     I try to play a lot of tennis. I am an unabashed member of the Georgia Bulldog Nation. I’ll try to get over to see three or four baseball games and tennis matches. My wife and I both like to garden. In my CD player I have Allison Craft, Lucinda Williams, Mary Gauthier, Joe Cocker. When I was thirteen to sixteen, I was in a garage band. I listened to the Beatles and Rolling Stones. So I like all that stuff from the sixties. I’m bad about buying CD’s for one song. Number two on Joe Cocker’ s greatest hits “Feeling All Right” is one of my favorite songs of all time, and I bought the CD because it had a good version of it.