DALTON. Ga. — Superior Court judges will make a decision sometime this week on who will fill two positions on the Whitfield County Magistrate Court, Superior Court Administrator Brad Butler said Friday.

Chief Magistrate Haynes Townsend announced his retirement in March, effective this past Sunday. Judge Shana Vinyard, who has been on “voluntary paid leave” since October of last year as the result of an investigation by the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission, submitted her resignation to Gov. Brian Kemp in February, effective today. That will leave two vacancies on the four-person court.

The four Superior Court judges — Chief Judge William T. Boyett, Scott Minter, Cindy Morris and Jim Wilbanks — will appoint people to fill the remaining portion of both terms, which end on Dec. 31, 2020.

The judges took applications for both positions at the same time.

The deadline for applications closed March 15, with 38 people applying for one or both positions. Judges interviewed applicants this week.

Butler said earlier this month he could not release the names of any of the applicants.

Townsend said earlier this month Vinyard’s resignation effectively ended the investigation by the Judicial Qualifications Commission.

Townsend, who has been a judge on the Magistrate Court for 22 years and chief magistrate for 10 years, said he had planned to resign at the end of 2018 but Vinyard’s absence forced him to stay.

The qualifications to be a Magistrate judge are at least one year of residency in the county, the individual must be at least 25 years old and must have a high school diploma or its equivalent.

More than 14,000 cases came through Magistrate Court in 2018, and a judge is on call 24 hours a day to handle arrest and search warrants for law enforcement. The court handles a variety of cases, including evictions, civil disputes up to $15,000, violations of county ordinances and some misdemeanor crimes. The judges also handle first appearances, hearings in which defendants are informed of the charges against them and can make a plea or be referred to Superior Court, depending on the severity of the charges.