Optimist-Outlook

Marianna Optimist Club Activities
By Don Jones - February 10, 2009
"For A Few Dollars More"

Judge Glenn Hess, State Attorney, spoke before the Marianna Optimist Club last week to a full house. In the audience was special guest, Chief Judge, William L. Wright, who Judge Hess properly recognized by jokingly pointing out the only difference between his Office, and that of Chief Judge Wright’s Office; "In this case, it’s for a, Few Dollars More," he said.
Additionally, Judge Hess pointed out that Judge Wright had a few more fringe benefits that came with his office. For example, the Chief Judge doesn’t have to go thru the metal detector at the courthouse, while he must. And, anyone, entering the Chief Judge’s Office, must bow and kiss his ring and address him as "Honorable Chief Judge Wright." Other than that, there is very little difference in the two offices. Oh yeah, he mentioned one more thing, Judge Wright has only one employee, while State Attorney Hess has over one hundred employees he must manage.
After this brief moment of levity, at Judge Wright’s expense, Judge Hess shifted his talk to more serious matters of concern, making it easy for the audience to see that Judge Hess came to the State Attorney’s Office with an agenda. He said, "I want to make the 14th Judicial Circuit, State Attorney’s Office, the best in the State. The State Attorney’s Office has its place in the system, and it must specialize, if necessary, to fulfill this vital place in the system. We need to be the best we can be at our job." He said, "I chose to run for the State Attorney’s Job because, as a Judge, I witnessed too many time delays from the time of arrest of the accused until the trial of the accused. There was too much slack in the system, and the general attitude by some individuals in the justice system was that, It was some one else’s job."
Judge Hess, since taking the State Attorney’s job, has implemented changes to correct the foregoing delays in the system. He found, when he came to office, that too often experienced attorney’s were being over tasked, while less experienced attorneys, and investigators were under tasked when processing criminal cases. Additionally, he noticed that the less experienced attorneys and investigators were receiving very little, On the Job Training, (OJT).
Since taking office, Judge Hess has implemented On the Job Training, (OJT), and assigned junior attorneys to assist senior attorneys in preparation of criminal cases for trial. Also, he has implemented a procedure whereby proper and complete investigation of each case is done prior to legal review, resulting in fewer last minute discoveries that will tie-up the Courts and State Attorney’s Office, lengthening the case while delaying cases that follow.
Since implementation of Judge Hess’s changes, convictions where obtained in all three criminal cases that have gone to trial so far this year. Now, because of the thoroughness of the investigations, and quality of accumulated evidence, more accused felons are making pleas of, "Guilty" at first hearings, saving the courts and the system much time and expense of prosecution. His final words were, "I just want to make a difference!"