Lakeland’s first Municipal Judge, Taylor A. Cates, will be sworn in Thursday (7.12.18) at 5:25 p.m. at City Hall, following a 5 p.m. reception for him.
The business meeting for the BOC (Board of Commissioners) will follow at 5:30 p.m.
Jim Atkinson, city manager, said there are two court-related items on the BOC agenda that evening: Judge Cates will give a brief overview of the court and the BOC will appoint the court clerk. The full BOC agenda has not been posted to the City website.
There are no cases for the Judge this month so Court will not meet July 18.
The new magistrate is to handle judicial matters within the City on cases involving violation of laws and ordinances. Also among the job duties would be to administer oaths, issue summons and subpoenas as necessary, report to the BOC (Board of Commissioners) and other duties as required.
Lakeland’s code was amended in December to implement a City Municipal Court. At the time, Jim Atkinson, city manager, said having a local court would speed the process with code violations. To this point, violators cited by the City have been issued a courtesy citation and if necessary, the case would go to Shelby County Environmental Court.
Judge Cates grew up in Germantown and now lives in East Memphis. He and his wife of 19 years this October, Carolyn, have three children: Amelia, 15, Thomas, 13 and Campbell, 8, along with a lab named Shelby and a cockapoo named Moose.
A graduate of Germantown High School, Judge Cates received a bachelor’s degree in history from University of Virginia and a law degree from Vanderbilt.
After law school, he said, he worked several years at a small litigation firm in Nashville. “Once we had our first child, we decided to move back home. I have been with Burch Porter & Johnson in Memphis ever since, with a focus on complex commercial litigation.”
Link to his page on the law firm site: https://www.bpjlaw.com/attorneys/cates-taylor-a/
Asked about experience in municipal law, Judge Cates said, “Since about 2005, I have also been a prosecutor for the City of Germantown. My specific role there has been to work with people charged with misdemeanor offenses and get them compliant on the matters that have brought them to our attention. Usually, that involves getting a driver’s license, liability insurance, etc.
“Of more direct relevance to the Lakeland position, I have also handled the prosecution of Germantown’s code enforcement matters. This has required incentivizing property owners to maintain their property consistent with the community’s expectations and recommending escalating consequences for those who need extra encouragement.”
Judge Cates believes the new court is a good opportunity for Lakeland to have more control over handling code enforcement. “Shelby County Environmental Court works hard to address the code enforcement needs of the whole county and does a very good job. With its own municipal court to handle these matters, though, Lakeland can move at a faster pace and craft more locally-oriented solutions to address the few problem properties in the City.”
Lakeland court hours will be weekday mornings and of this decision, Judge Cates said, “Germantown holds court at night, which generally works well when accommodating the schedules of the few hundred people who are in court every session. With (hopefully) just a few code enforcement matters in a given session, it doesn’t make sense to have City staff work overtime or at off hours to accommodate the property owners. In fact, if having to take off work or otherwise be inconvenienced is part of the price one pays for not properly maintaining his or her property, that’s not the worst thing in the world.
“Generally, my approach to the job will be to presume good faith on the part of alleged violators unless and until that presumption is no longer warranted. I recognize that the problems that have led property owners to environmental court usually didn’t develop overnight and, usually, cannot be wholly remedied overnight. What will guide my decision-making will be whether I believe the property owner has made resolving the problem a priority. If I lose confidence in the owner’s sense of urgency, then I’ll use the tools available to me under the City’s Code to refocus his or her attention on the matter.”
