Harris Lewis, Judge v. Chatham County Board of Commissioners

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: July 8, 2015
• Docket: A15A2034
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ July 07, 2015

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A15A2034. HARRIS LEWIS, JUDGE v. CHATHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS et al.

Probate Court Judge Harris Lewis filed a petition for declaratory judgment, seeking a declaration that the Chatham County Board of Commissioners and Chatham County, Georgia violated the equal protection provision of the Georgia Constitution when they interpreted local legislation and provided Recorder’s Court and Magistrate Court judges a raise for longevity pay but refused to give the same raise to Probate Court judges. Lewis also requested a writ of mandamus ordering the defendants to apply the longevity increase to Probate Court judges. The trial court denied Lewis’s petition for declaratory judgment and request for writ of mandamus, finding that the defendants properly interpreted the local law. Lewis then filed this direct appeal. It appears, however, that jurisdiction may be proper in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over all cases involving construction of the Constitution of the State of Georgia and of the United States and all cases in which the constitutionality of a law, ordinance, or constitutional provision has been called into question. See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Para. II (1); Atlanta Independent School System v. Lane, 266 Ga. 657 (1) (469 SE2d 22) (1996). Additionally, The Supreme Court has exclusive appellate jurisdiction of all cases involving extraordinary remedies, including mandamus. See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (5); Ladzinske v. Allen, 280 Ga. 264 (626 SE2d 83) (2006) (cases involving the grant or denial of mandamus are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court without regard to the underlying subject matter or the legal issues raised). In deference to the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction and because this case involves an equal protection challenge to a local law, as well as a denial of mandamus, this appeal is ordered TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 07/07/2015 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.