August 26, 1997

Mr. Louis A. Thompson

505 Mall Boulevard, Res. 401

Savannah, Georgia 31406

Dear Mr. Thompson:

This is in response to your three letters dated August 19, 1997 and received August 22, 1997. In response to your letter concerning Court of Appeals docket numbers: A97D0165 , A97A1813 and A97A2283 , please be advised, that as my July 22nd and August 1st letters to you stated, the three cases discussed in your letter referencing the above cases were randomly assigned to the Third Division by the Court's computerized docketing system. I shall neither confirm nor deny that all cases are or are not assigned to the same judge.

Article VI, Section I, Paragraphs I, II and IV, as well as Official Code of Georgia Annotated ( OCGA ) Section 15-3-1(b) gives the court the inherent right to administer its own caseload and manage its cases as it sees fit.

The cases you discussed were randomly assigned by the Court's computerized docketing system. The Court's computerized docketing system was done at the Court's own initiative, however, nothing in the Constitution, the law or the statutes would prevent the chief judge from assigning cases however the chief judge so determined.

The decision of the Court to assign cases as it does, or to choose not to produce any internal rule, does not violate OCGA Section 45-10-1(IX). In response to your letter referencing Louis A. Thompson v. St. Joseph's Hospital, Inc. et. al., docket number A97A2283 , please be advised that responsive briefs have been filed in A97A1813 , A97A1814 , A97A1815 and A97A1816 . These briefs were filed on June 10th and 11th. The four motions to require responsive appellee briefs have not been ruled on, but are still pending before the Court. However, since the briefs have been filed, the Court may deem the motions moot and may not rule upon them.

Mr. Louis A. Thompson

August 26, 1997

Page Two

Enclosed please find the order and the request for appellees' extension of time to file brief. As I stated earlier, appellees'

briefs have been filed.

Sincerely,

William L. Martin, III

Administrator/Clerk

Court of Appeals of Georgia

WLM , III/ld

Enclosures