Poppell v. Gault, 278 Ga. 437

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia held that a county governing authority may pay an elected chief magistrate according to the part-time salary schedule when the magistrate is not regularly exercising judicial powers for at least 40 hours per week. The court affirmed denial of mandamus relief, concluding that the magistrate lacked a clear legal right to full-time compensation, and declined to consider a constitutional challenge that had not been ruled on by the trial court.

Holdings

1. A chief magistrate who is not regularly exercising magistrate powers at least 40 hours per workweek is not entitled to the full-time chief-magistrate salary, and reducing compensation to the amount actually due under the applicable statutory classification is not an unlawful midterm salary reduction.
2. The court declined to address the constitutional challenge because the trial court had not ruled on the issue.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the county governing authority unlawfully reduced Poppell's salary, allowances, and supplements during his term by paying him under the part-time chief-magistrate provision.
2. Whether Poppell had a clear legal right to mandamus compelling payment of the full-time chief-magistrate compensation.
3. Whether OCGA § 15-10-23(a)(3), to the extent it permits the county governing authority to require an elected chief magistrate to certify actual hours worked, violates the Georgia Constitution's separation-of-powers provision.

Disposition

affirmed