Mobile County judges firing back after city leaders claim justice system is “broken”

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -Mobile’s presiding judge fired back at city leaders Thursday who claimed there’s a ”broken justice system” in Mobile.

Last week the mayor and police chief publicly blamed the court system for the surge of violence in Mobile.

Now, the judges are giving their side of the story.

Presiding Circuit Court Judge Michael Youngpeter didn’t answer any questions from the media, but he did want to make one thing clear.

He says this attack on the justice system is unnecessary and disappointing.

And no amount of political pressure is going to change the role of the court.

“The statement I make today is not about a particular pending case. It is about an attack on the justice system and the judges themselves,” Youngpeter said.

Both Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson and Police Chief Paul Prine jointly agreed the “criminal justice system is broken.”

They also criticized the judges, saying too many violent offenders are getting out of jail and reoffending.

Youngpeter directly responded to those comments saying the remarks are offensive and false.

“The charge that the criminal justice system in Mobile is broken, is wrong,” Youngpeter said. “It is being taxed but it is not broken. Certainly, the system works better if everyone maintains open communication and cooperation rather than attempting to pass or deflect blame.”

Judge Youngpeter also cleared up several misconceptions that were being put out to the public.

He says COVID is not the reason for the backlog in cases, and that the courts never closed.

Youngpeter says, in fact, statistics showed they out-worked any other circuit court in the state.

“From the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020 until December 2021 we held more jury trials and disposed of more felony indictments than any other circuit in the state,” Youngpeter said.

He assured that the judges will continue to do their part, and if elected public officials didn’t like the law, they should take steps to change it.

Youngpeter also pointed out that Mobile has one of the highest caseloads per judge in the state.

And defendants will receive fair trials, despite the mounting pressure from city leaders.

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