Dougherty County Court Clerk Evonne Mull to call it a career after 57 years

ALBANY – A fire in 1966 destroyed the Dougherty County Courthouse, and it would be three years before the current Judicial Building re-opened. In between the fire, which resulted in court functions being moved to the National Guard armory building and personnel moving into the new building in 1969, a new young clerk would be employed by the county.

That clerk, who started her career in 1967, would be one of those who moved into the new building. And she has remained in that position over the ensuing years, becoming one of the most integral employees to the functions of the courts to this day.

As the county’s Clerk of Court since 2002, Evonne Mull has faced one opponent, that being in 2001, when she and another court employee vied for the position. After her husband, “Smokey” Mull, died in January of the election year, she decided to take a shot in the political ring when the clerk at the time decided not to seek re-election.

“I decided back then, I will win either way,” she said. “Win or lose, I will recover, and I won. Nobody’s ever run against me since then.

“There were a lot of people running (in elections) that year. You were hitting the streets and putting up signs, sending out postcards.”

Now, approaching her 78th birthday in September, the feisty Mull is calling it the end of her tenure in the role of overseeing the various court functions, from recording land deeds to criminal courts. With her children encouraging her to retire for some time, she has decided the time is right to move on to her life’s next chapter.

Prior to her successful political campaign for the clerk’s position, Mull worked under several Clerks of Court, including J.W. Bush and Hinson Royce.

“I started in 1967 as a floating clerk,” she said. “I studied and worked every position. Judge George Sabados was our judge.”

Mull’s position as a floating clerk meant she spent time working in various capacities in the building. She took advantage of the knowledge and even used her spare time to learn more.

“Even on my lunch hour, when I first got hired I would go down and read the old records books from ‘A’ to ‘Z, and that was from the 1800s,” she said. “Who the judges were, who the DAs were. That was instructive. I learned a lot about Dougherty County. You get interested in all of it whether you realize it or not.”

The clerk’s office handles everything from keeping records of real estate transactions and deeds and keeping records for the various courts, including Dougherty County State Court and Dougherty County Superior Court.

Those courts handle civil and criminal legal cases, from traffic tickets to serious cases including murder.

During her tenure, Mull’s philosophy has been providing service, whether to the public or the court personnel and attorneys.

“You want to be the best clerk Dougherty County can have,” she said. “I never worried about being the (state) clerk of the year or all that stuff. It was about being the clerk for Dougherty County.

“People come in with a problem, and you try and help them deal with the courts, deal with the public, answer the phones. We don’t close unless the judge closes the building.”

The Judicial Building has been closed for more than a few days on a few occasions, including the 1994 Great Flood that had Mull worried about the records stored in the basement as the water approached the building. Although the building didn’t flood, some water seeped into the walls, and records were moved above ground. Since then the basement walls have been sealed to protect the historical documents stored in the area.

“We were very concerned about how strong that wall was,” Mull said. “You could see the water. When you got right in front of the courthouse, it was over the sidewalk. It (water) went underground. That was how it got down to the bottom floor. I didn’t want anything to happen to the records.”

COVID-19 caused a lengthy closure of the building to the public, but court employees continued working through most of the pandemic. At about the time COVID appeared in Dougherty County, a murder trial was held from which, court officials later learned, a juror who was infected had been on the case. A number of cases were traced back to that juror.

“We started using webex, and we use that every day,” Mull said. “I had people who had COVID in here. I didn’t get it. I think I had six that had it, and some of them got it again.”

In the spring of 2021, a hose connected to a commercial coffee machine on the third floor malfunctioned over a weekend, with the water making its way down through the other floors and into the lobby. No court records were damaged from that episode, but court functions were affected.

A lot has changed from the 40-pound criminal court dockets that were the norm at one time, and the office got its first computer in 1978.

“Computers help, especially when doing case dispositions,” she said. “It’s still time-consuming. It still takes the same amount of paper.”

In her retirement, the long-time county employee said she plans to spend some time around the house.

“All my neighbors have lawns; I have a yard,” she said. “So I’m going to work on that. I’m going to work in the yard, build my strength up, stay active.”

After having stomach and colon surgery in 2022, Mull started thinking about whether to seek another term, and she has been encouraged by her children to retire.

“It’s time for younger people to take over,” she said.

Taking over will be Phyllis Johnson, the only candidate who qualified to run for the position.

Mull said the office will be in good hands with Johnson, who worked in the courts in real estate prior to going to work with Superior Court Judge Victoria Darrisaw. Mull, whose term ends at the end of 2024, asked Johnson to return to work in the clerk’s office from that position.

As the Clerk of Court, Mull was impressive, retired Dougherty County Superior Court Judge Loring Gray said.

“She’s got an encyclopedic mind,” he said. ”She can remember a case with the scantest of information and remember where the case file is. She’s been a wonderful clerk. She was a real pleasure to work with. She always had a wonderful demeanor about her.”

The retired judge said he wishes Mull the best in retirement.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]

Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin