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Case Intel

• A Georgia probate judge admits to years of delays but insists removal is “absolutely wrong.”
• One ruling sat on his desk for seven years, drawing outrage from litigants and watchdogs.
• Judicial watchdogs weigh immediate removal as critics say delays undermine justice statewide.

By SAMUEL LOPEZ
USA HERALD — August 29, 2025

When judges take the bench, they shoulder an immense responsibility: to interpret the law, protect rights, and ensure that cases move forward in a timely manner. The promise of justice is not only about fairness in rulings but also about delivering those rulings when people need them most.

In Georgia, that promise has been shattered by Chatham County Probate Judge Thomas Bordeaux, who admitted this week to years-long delays in issuing rulings and decisions but still insists, “it would be absolutely wrong to remove me.”

The 71-year-old judge defended himself before the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC), arguing that his removal “would only send his Savannah-area office into further disarray.”

He went so far as to suggest, “Ms. Veal mentioned suspending me from office. Please — suspend me from office so I can go home and get some sleep, or go out and hike. That doesn’t help the court. If I can’t go into work, less work gets done, so that would not make any sense.”

But critics, myself included, see the situation very differently. The amount of harm this judge did to people with cases before him far outweighs any disruption that his immediate removal would cause. This type of conduct from our judicial officers cannot be tolerated any further. Without real consequences, this type of behavior will continue with other judges following his lead.

The Seven-Year Delay

Perhaps the most shocking fact to surface in these hearings: one case, that required a final ruling, languished before Judge Bordeaux for seven years before a ruling was entered. Seven years is not justice delayed — it is justice denied. In probate court, where families are often grieving or struggling with guardianship, inheritance, or medical decision-making, a delay of even months can cause lasting damage. Estates sit unresolved, assets remain locked up, and vulnerable individuals are left in limbo. For litigants, such delays are more than inconveniences — they are life-altering harms.

“It is outrageous. Seven years! That’s unacceptable,” one observer told me, and I couldn’t agree more.

Judge Bordeaux has admitted the delays but denies that they rise to “willful misconduct” or “conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.” Instead, he blames the county’s lack of funding. “It was rather glaring that the office he inherited was underfunded and understaffed,” testified Pat Monahan, a former county official and Bordeaux’s longtime friend.

But that defense rings hollow. What Bordeaux fails to understand is that we don’t need him anymore. He can leave all of his cases right where they are, and somebody else can come in and take over. His type of “lazy judging” is not needed on the bench. He wasn’t getting work done then, and he has instilled no confidence that if left in place he would do any better.