CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Montgomery County Commission approved a resolution on Monday requesting a fifth General Sessions judge position to help ease the load with Juvenile Court.

The resolution was originally planned to be voted on at the last meeting on Nov. 12. However, the resolution was postponed so the commissioners could have the chance to speak to the judges one on one.

Commissioner Nathan Burkholder said he met with Judge Ken Goble Jr., Judge Reid Poland and Youth Services Court Administrator Edward Moss on the matter. He said that having a fifth judge is not an unreasonable request considering many smaller counties have more Juvenile Court judges. “If you have to wait for justice, then it’s not really justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.” Burkholder said.

Commissioner Jorge Padro agreed, saying the judges were being overworked. Commissioner Ryan Gallant said, “We severely need a fifth judge in the Juvenile Courts just to keep up with population growth. It was needed, is needed, and will be needed.”

Commissioner David Shelton said, “The number of judges is absolutely inadequate,” and that this resolution would move the city forward as the community grows.

The only commissioner opposing the resolution was Joshua Beal. He said that on Nov. 21, 2022, the commissioners were told that if they passed that resolution, which increased pay for judges, they would not be asked for another judge for the next 10 years. Beal said former Mayor Jim Durrett confirmed the statement during a commission meeting at the time.

Commissioner Lisa Prichard said the judges couldn’t have known then that the county’s population would grow so fast over the following three years. Prichard said, “When Burkholder said justice delayed is justice denied, we should think about that part. There are people with pending charges lasting for months because of the backlog. Sometimes, we have to bite the bullet. Right now, we just have one additional judge, but I can tell you, with the growth of this county, we’ll be voting on appointing another soon.”

The resolution passed, with only Beal voting against it. The request for the fifth judge will go to the Tennessee General Assembly.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referenced Mayor Wes Golden instead of former Mayor Jim Durrett.

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