Two candidates are running for Liberty County Chief Magistrate Judge on May 21. Incumbent Michael J. McGirt faces challenger Malcolm X. Williams, who stepped down from the Midway City Council to run for the judgeship.
What does the Chief Magistrate do?
According to Georgia’s Legislator’s Guide to the Judicial Branch, every county has one chief magistrate judge, who is appointed or, once every four years, elected and who “assigns cases, sets court sessions, appoints other Magistrate Judges (with the consent of the Superior Court Judges) and sets policy for the Magistrate Court.”
The chief magistrate has the power to appoint the other magistrate judges who serve during the chief’s term. Different counties might have different numbers of magistrate judges, depending on how many the Superior Court judges vote to authorize.
Liberty County has four magistrate judges: McGirt, Jimmie R. Bomar, Joelyn Pirkle, and Michael E. Silverman. McGirt was appointed Chief Magistrate judge on January 31.
What does Magistrate Court do?
Magistrate Court hears disputes like small claims of $15,000 or less, as well as “certain minor criminal offenses, distress warrants and dispossessory writs [evictions], county ordinance violations, deposit account fraud, preliminary hearings, summonses, and arrest and search warrants.”
Magistrate Court does not use juries. Most disputes involve each of the two parties presenting their side to the judge without an attorney, but presenting evidence to support their claims. Magistrate Court also sets bail for most criminal charges pending trial, binds them over to other courts, informs defendants of charges and their rights, and refers indigent defendants to public defenders.
You can read more about Magistrate Court rules (and those of other courts) on the Supreme Court of Georgia’s website.
Who can be a magistrate judge?
A magistrate judge does not need a law degree. However, they must be at least 25 years old, hold a high school diploma or GED, and live in Liberty County for at least one year before taking office.
The candidates
Michael J. McGirt
McGirt was appointed associate magistrate judge in August 2023 when longtime Chief Magistrate Judge Melinda Anderson retired and named then-Magistrate Judge Paula Hendrix as her replacement. Soon after, Hendrix was appointed as Superior Court judge in the Atlantic Judicial Circuit, and appointed McGirt as her replacement. McGirt’s supporters often say he is polite and service-oriented.
The Current observed McGirt in Magistrate Court on May 14. He heard several cases, mostly over back rent; one involved a dispute over cellphone payments. A handful of other scheduled cases were being resolved out of court.
McGirt asked the clerk and the attorney in one case to check whether a defendant had vacated an apartment, saying, “You don’t want to issue an eviction on someone who has already potentially vacated the property.” The court learned the woman was still in the apartment.
In another case, a couple that had rented a single room in a mobile home to a man alleged he had been disruptive, damaged the property, and allowed drug use. The tenant countered that the landlords had had him sign a single piece of paper but never sent him the full lease agreement as promised. He admitted he had “smoked a little reefer” with friends and that he took medication for a condition apparently related to an episode when police were called. McGirt ordered the man to pay back rent but gave him seven days to come up with the money before issuing any eviction order. If he pays, the couple said he can stay.
A landlord asked McGirt to evict a tenant who had had until May 13 to leave his property: “She sent me a text this morning telling me to put her stuff out, she’ll get it from the street, she don’t want no problems.” McGirt issued the writ only.
Two men who were ex-roommates argued over whether one man had given the other a cellphone and smart watch as gifts, or had just shared a two-for-one deal for which the recipient had paid the monthly bill but had not paid off the electronics. The first man said he had cut off the account and did not want the items back — only payment for the balance due on them. The second man, who sniped at the first man throughout, said he was overdrawn $16, in college, and in therapy. McGirt ordered the second man to pay off the electronics, adding that the first man could file separate garnishment proceedings.
After court was adjourned, The Current asked McGirt to comment generally about hearing cases when tensions run high. McGirt said he’s always balancing two things in the courtroom: the actual matter before the court and the emotional temperature in the room. Because coming to court is stressful for many people, he said, they’re already on edge. Adding personal tensions between conflicting parties can lead to some drama, which, McGirt said, occasionally means a deputy has to intervene.
Although he is the incumbent, McGirt is facing his first election as Magistrate Court judge.
Malcolm X. Williams
Williams is a sales and leasing consultant for Chatham Subaru in Savannah. In 2020, Williams hung onto his Midway council seat by one vote, edging out challenger Stanley E. Brown 255 to 254.
Williams also has been a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Hinesville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which was formed in 2003 “to address transportation planning within Liberty County and the urbanized portions [of] Long County, including Fort Stewart and the municipalities of Hinesville, Allenhurst, Flemington, Gum Branch, Midway, Riceboro and Walthourville.” The Liberty County Planning Commission handles federal funds for HAMPO.
In April, Williams told The Current he would bring compassion to the bench, asking what the correct response would be to someone who had been pulled over for a broken headlight. He suggested giving the person a gift card to Auto Zone so they could get the light replaced.
Williams stated at the April NAACP forum that his connections would enhance Magistrate Court, saying, “We’d better have relationships inside this community and outside this community. It is the people’s court, and that’s what it’s about — people.”
He says his plan is to sit down with law enforcement and citizens to see “what’s working and what needs to be worked on.”
Throughout the campaign, Williams has frequently referred to his father, State Rep. Al Williams, crediting the elder Williams with having raised him right.
At a May 11 meet-and-greet for Malcolm Williams, Rep. Al Williams said he would have been a poor father had he not stepped up to endorse his son’s candidacy, and that he had not put the younger Williams up to running.
“I’m here in support of my son,” the elder Williams said. “This is his affair.”
Malcolm Williams told the crowd, “The apple don’t fall far from the tree. I know time is running out for all of us here, and I want to get all I can from him.”
Al Williams replied, “I ain’t going nowhere! Don’t get upset!”
Head to head
At the May 4 NAACP candidate forum in Riceboro, McGirt and Williams were asked how they differ from one another.
McGirt said he had more experience specific to the position: he had started as a clerk, was appointed an associate magistrate judge, and then was appointed chief magistrate judge. He pointed out that whoever wins would have to be available in the middle of the night to sign warrants.
Williams said that, because he is older and has connections in the community, he brings a different kind of experience to the job: that of someone who’s been around longer and who understands how some people might get into difficulties that bring them to court: “We all know someone who has almost been evicted before. You have to make decisions on that with discernment, honesty, and fairness.”
At the April 13 NAACP candidate forum in Flemington, McGirt promised to give litigants a fair hearing in his courtroom, and that he was just a steward of the community’s courtroom.
“I will continue to provide an office and a courtroom that is truly neutral, fair, and impartial to all who enter,” he said. “I will continue to stand on integrity. I will continue to do the only thing that can be done in Magistrate Court courtroom and office, which is to do the right thing, no matter the race, color, creed, background, ethnicity, sexual orientation — we are going to do what’s right, no matter what social status, political status, it does not matter. The only thing that will be upheld is the law, and it will be governed the proper way, with compassion, and with an accountability when that is due.”
Williams, a native of Midway, told the crowd, pointed to his service with Boys and Girls Club, Eleven Black Men of Liberty County, and the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing, which helps local governments develop affordable housing.
Although Magistrate Court does not hear cases involving juveniles, Williams told the crowd in Riceboro his platform “is to stop [kids] before they get to jail….because we know what happens after 3 o’clock, after school, and parents are still working.”
While admitting he was not fully “educated on” the position (all new magistrate judges attend mandatory state training courses) Williams added, “I guarantee you, 90% do not even know what Magistrate Court is. The only reason we’re talking about it today is, [McGirt] has somebody running against him right now….I want to truly educate our community to what is the position. Find out what the position is. Don’t vote for me ‘cause ‘that’s Al Williams’ son.’”
He told The Current that many people lose their homes or apartments because they don’t know how much they can afford and get in over their heads, and that programs like GICH help. He also pointed to people who “smoke up or drink up” their rent money and that “I think we have an obligation to assist people if we can” by pointing them to programs “because sometimes people can’t get out of their own way in life.”
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