State Auditor Nicole Galloway today
released an audit of the 40th Judicial Circuit in Newton County. The court
received an overall rating of "good".
The audit addressed two
concerns. A review of criminal cases disposed of without fees identified a case
that should have had a fee assessed. The audit recommended the Circuit Clerk
implement procedures to ensure assessed costs are assigned to cases.
Also, the Circuit
Clerk's office does not always properly record the final disposition of each
case in the Judicial Information System and does adequately review reports of
open cases. If cases are not properly recorded, it increases the risk the court
could mishandle a case or fail to schedule a hearing if all cases are not
reviewed regularly and disposed of appropriately.
A complete copy of the
report is online here.
