20-25% of court cases in Gwinnett County involve illegal aliens…more judges and interpreters needed to keep up
From the “yeah, sure lets give them a path to citizenship” department:
Gwinnett Daily Post:
Court pleads for help with illegals
12/15/2006
By Camie Young
Senior Writer
camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com
LAWRENCEVILLE – Estimating up to 20 to 25 percent of their cases involve illegal immigrants, Gwinnett judges made a plea to state legislators to address the problem the only way they can – by adding another judge to the bench.
Not only has Gwinnett’s astronomical population growth caused a larger burden on Gwinnett’s judicial system, but the large number of non-English speakers means cases take longer, Superior Court Judge Melodie Snell Conner said in a presentation to lawmakers Thursday.
A 15-minute plea hearing takes twice the time when interpreters are involved, and criminal cases where the victim and the perpetrator speak different languages can make a trial very lengthy, she said.
Prompted by a question from a legislator, she said between 20 to 25 percent of the cases involve illegal immigrants who could face deportation.
But Conner said she once convicted an illegal immigrant of a felony only to have him appear in her court two years later for a probation violation.
Other State and Superior Court judges agreed with the percentage.
“Every calender I deal with has someone on it that’s illegal,” said Superior Court Judge Tom Davis.
Ahh…the rich blessing of illegals and their culture of family values.