CHATSWORTH — Murray County Chief Magistrate Judge L. Gale Buckner doesn’t pretend everything is going to be rosy and perfect now that she’s on the job.
Yet she has high hopes for making “the environment one of professionalism” in the court she was appointed to manage on the heels of former chief magistrate Bryant Cochran resigning amid allegations (which he has denied) that he sexually harassed several women he encountered on the job — as well as his own admission that he pre-signed, though never issued, a handful of warrants.
“People won’t always like the decisions that I make,” Buckner said. “The main thing I want people to know is that every voice will be heard (and they’ll be treated fairly).”
Buckner was sworn into office Thursday at noon at the county courthouse by Probate Judge Dale Adams in front of about 40 people. A lifelong Chatsworth resident, she retired as commissioner of the state Department of Juvenile Justice on Wednesday and has previously served as a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent, a Chatsworth Police Department officer, executive director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and on the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. She received a bachelor of science in urban life from Georgia State University and a master in public administration from Brenau University, and she is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
The four Superior Court judges in the Conasauga Judicial Circuit (Whitfield and Murray counties) appointed Buckner unanimously after reviewing 39 applications. Her term lasts through December 2014.
Chief Judge William T. Boyett reiterated on Thursday that Buckner’s qualifications made her an excellent choice for the position. Many county residents have expressed how much they like her, he added.
Among them are Brittany Pittman, the county’s sole commissioner-elect. Less than two years ago, then-sole commissioner David Ridley resigned for what he said were personal and business reasons amid allegations he had sexually harassed a county employee. The employee filed a lawsuit that was eventually settled, and current Sole Commissioner Greg Hogan took office. Many residents say that because of the allegations involving Ridley and Cochran — two high-ranking county officials — the county government carries a stigma in some people’s minds. They’re anxious for that to change.
“I think it (Buckner taking office) will restore a lot of the professionalism that needs to be in Murray County,” Pittman said. “I’m looking forward to working with her to make Murray County a better community.”
Peggy Adams, who lives just outside Chatsworth, said she’s known Buckner’s mother Ruth Hayes a long time as the two worked together 20 years at Shaw Industries.
“I thought she was very qualified for this job,” Adams said of the new judge.
Eric Hooker, the incoming part-time magistrate for Post 2, said he’s looking forward to working with Buckner and to her plans to have each judge learn something about all aspects of the court. He said the position was previously described to him as typically only covering a few areas while the other part-time judge and the chief handled other areas.
Buckner said she wants to at least occasionally see how court works on the weekends, and she wants everyone to be cross-trained so they can more easily cover for each other when needed. She gave kudos to the part-time judges and her two secretaries and one clerk for the work they’ve done while they were without a chief. She said she’ll spend her first few days literally cleaning house, including replacing some of the carpet. She also plans to begin working on a set of written policies that cover mostly routine items, such as how job evaluations are conducted and the hours employees are expected to work.
Buckner doesn’t plan to begin hearing cases until she attends a few days of training for new judges in mid-December in Athens.
Buckner and her parents, Malcolm Buckner and Hayes, and her two dogs live together in Chatsworth.
Local News
Related Photos
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Dale Adams swears in Gale Buckner as chief magistrate at the Murray County Courthouse on Thursday. (Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen)
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Gale Buckner talks to the assembled crowd at the Murray County Courthouse after she was sworn in Thursday. (Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen)
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Ruth Hayes holds the bible for her daughter Gale Bucker as Deale Adams swears her into office Thursday at the Murray County Courthouse. (Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen)
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Gale Buckner hugs judge Jack Partain Thursday before her swearing in at the Murray County Courthouse. (Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen)
Discussion
November 2, 2012
New judge in town
Buckner sworn in as Murray’s chief magistrate
- Local News
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