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Hamilton County reopens magistrate application process

By: Matt Wilson
(Contact)

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Hamilton County Commission agenda session -- Oct. 9, 2008
Hamilton County Commission recessed meeting -- Oct. 9, 2008

Concerned that some of the county’s judicial magistrates are working as little as 25 hours per week, a Hamilton County Commission panel decided Thursday to reopen the application process and extend the magistrates’ hours.

“Let’s reopen the whole thing,” said Commissioner John Allen Brooks as the panel agreed to seek new applicants to interview.

County Commissioner Bill Hullander expressed worry that several of the judicial magistrates — officially called judicial commissioners — were working less than 30 hours a week yet still received health insurance benefits.

“If we’re going to continue to give them health insurance, I want to give them more hours,” he said.

But Mr. Hullander said increasing required hours to 32 per week or more may cause some applicants to withdraw, which may not leave enough to fill the positions.

Chief Judicial Commissioner Yolanda Mitchell has said she tried to extend the magistrates’ hours, but met resistance.

According to county Human Resources Administrator Rebecca Hunter, there is no specific hourly requirement for workers to be considered full-time employees, but she said most county employees work 40-hour weeks.

She advised the commission to hire the new slate of magistrates under a plan that allows them to receive health insurance, but not retirement benefits, as long as they work at least 25 hours per week.

Commissioners last week interviewed eight applicants for the four magistrate positions, including the four current magistrates. Since then, two applicants, including Magistrate Bob Meeks, have withdrawn their applications.

Mr. Meeks offered to withdraw his application because of questions on whether he practiced criminal law. During last week’s interviews, Mr. Meeks acknowledged that, during the investigation in connection with the homicide of a 22-month-old girl, he told law enforcement officials that he represented the girl’s parents. He explained that he did not know it was a criminal case when he answered investigators’ questions.

Magistrates are allowed to practice civil law, but not criminal law.

Commissioner Larry Henry said he encouraged Mr. Meeks to withdraw his application.

When it comes to new hours for magistrates, Corrections Capt. John Swope, who oversees the county jail, recommended daytime hours for magistrates and new lines of communication.

“The best situation we ever had was an on-call situation,” he said.

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