Doraville’s municipal court operations depend so heavily on fines and fees generated by traffic and city ordinance violators that its judges have a strong motive to maximize revenues when adjudicating cases, a federal judge in Gainesville ruled Tuesday. 

“Judges have a strong enough motive to maximize those revenues to warrant a reasonable fear of partisan influence in decisions related to ordinance violations and the assessing of criminal penalties,” U.S. District Senior Judge Richard Story of the Northern District of Georgia ruled in a 30-page order rejecting Doraville’s motion to dismiss the case.