KELLI C. RUTHERFORD IN HER OFFICAL CAPACITY v. JOSH MOODY, A25A1300

Background

April 26, 2023 juvenile delinquency hearing charged P.T. with aggravated battery (a Class A designated felony) and other offenses; hearing was attended by the public and resulted in adjudication on two counts of simple battery. A court reporter took down the hearing but no transcript appears in the record.
Plaintiffs (Josh and Laura Beth Moody), parents of the victim, later sued third parties in superior court and sought inspection/copies of the juvenile-court hearing records for use in that civil suit; Judge Kelli C. Rutherford denied the request.
Plaintiffs filed a mandamus action in superior court seeking access to juvenile-court records, a transcript (offered to pay), the audio recording and materials reviewed in camera, and attorney fees under OCGA § 13-6-11.
The superior court granted plaintiffs inspection rights of the juvenile file but denied any right to copy, denied an order compelling a transcript, and denied attorney fees; both sides appealed (companions A25A1299, A25A1300).
The Court of Appeals reviewed de novo legal questions and affirmed the superior court: the hearing was open to the public, the public has inspection but not copy rights under OCGA § 15-11-704, plaintiffs lacked standing to compel a transcript, and attorney fees were not recoverable from the judge.

Issues

Issue	Moody Argument	Rutherford Argument	Held
Whether the April 2023 delinquency hearing was open to the public	Hearing involved allegations of a Class A designated felony (aggravated battery); thus public access attached	The petition did not satisfy OCGA § 15-11-522(5), so the hearing was not an "open" proceeding	Court: Hearing was open under OCGA § 15-11-700(b)(1) and (5); public attended and juvenile court did not close it beforehand
Whether the public may copy juvenile-court files/records from an open hearing	Public (Moody) sought right to inspect and copy the records, including transcript once prepared	Only inspection, not copying, is permitted to the general public under OCGA § 15-11-704; copying reserved to specified state agencies	Court: OCGA § 15-11-704(b) grants inspection only; copying authority is separately granted to certain state entities, so no public right to copy
Whether plaintiffs could compel preparation/production of a transcript or obtain the audio recording	Plaintiffs claimed rights under OCGA §§ 15-14-5 and 17-8-5 and offered to pay for transcript; sought audio and in-camera materials	Judge argued no obligation to produce transcript/audio to nonparties; superior court procedures govern reporter duties	Court: Plaintiffs lack standing under § 15-14-5 (only parties may compel reporter); audio recordings not filed with court are not court records per Undisclosed; no right to compel transcript or audio here
Whether plaintiffs could recover attorney fees under OCGA § 13-6-11 from the judge	Plaintiffs sought fees after prevailing on access to inspect	Judge asserted judicial immunity and that actions were in judicial capacity and not extra‑jurisdictional	Court: Denied fees; judicial immunity bars fee recovery absent showing of nonjudicial act or absence of jurisdiction; plaintiffs did not meet that standard

Key Cases Cited

BCG Operations v. City of Homer, 366 Ga. App. 535 (appellate review standards and mandamus discretion)
Undisclosed LLC v. State of Georgia, 302 Ga. 418 (court reporter audio not filed with court is not a court record)
Florida Pub. Co. v. Morgan, 253 Ga. 467 (no historical constitutional presumption of openness for juvenile proceedings)
Withers v. Schroeder, 304 Ga. 394 (judicial immunity: when judge loses absolute protection)
Roberts v. Cuthpert, 317 Ga. 645 (discussion of waiver of sovereign immunity in attorney-fee contexts and mandamus)
Earl v. Mills, 275 Ga. 503 (denial of attorney fees against judge based on judicial immunity)
In the Interest of J. H., 335 Ga. App. 848 (consequences of Designated Felony adjudication on dispositional options)