New court director hopes to bring stability, diversion program

When the city of Vestavia Hills decided to create the position of municipal court director, replacing the former job of magistrate supervisor with a broader position to lead the court system, Umang Patel said it was right up his alley.

“It helps having someone familiar with courts over the courts,” Patel said.

Patel graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in accounting and computer science and later finished law school at Samford’s Cumberland School of Law. He passed the state’s bar exam and went to work for the city of Hoover full-time as a magistrate, where he had previously worked as an intern.

While the magistrate supervisor focused solely on magisterial functions, City Manager Jeff Downes said the city wanted to create the new position and widen the skill set of the court’s leader. With his expertise in both accounting and IT work, as well as his experience in a court system, Patel was a “unique find” for the city, Downes said.

“I think that Umang brings a sense of professionalism, skill and energy to the court that will assist the city in its continuing efforts to have professional leadership in all key leadership positions in the city,” Downes said.

Patel oversees the entire court system in what he called a “hybrid role,” where he will handle budgets, IT work and overseeing magistrates. After several years of turnover and changes in Vestavia’s court system, Patel said he hopes to bring stability and organization to the department, as well as ensuring the city’s actions are in compliance with the law.

In addition to bringing his years of experience from Hoover to Vestavia, Patel is also hoping to bring a pretrial diversion program to the city. The program comes as Mayor Ashley Curry ramps up the city’s involvement to fight back against a growing opioid problem in the region, Patel said.

The diversion program would allow some first-time offenders the ability to go through classes and counseling in order to keep the charge off of their record, Patel said. If there was a victim or complainant in the case, such as a police officer who pulled over a drunk driver, Patel said the city would have to obtain their permission to put the offender through the program. 

“Everyone makes mistakes,” Patel said.

The goal of the program is to equip offenders with the tools and resources they need to ensure they do not end up back in the court system, Patel said. The program will be aligned with statewide programs, meaning there’s no added financial or personnel constraints on the city to join in with what some other municipalities are already doing.

“They do work,” Patel said. “You’re always going to have recidivism, … but in general, they do work.”

As part of his previous job, Patel read letters written by those who went through the program. The letters, he said, revealed men and women who had learned life lessons as a result of the program.

The program was approved by the City Council at the Aug. 13 meeting after Patel answered a few questions from the council.

A few months into his new role, Patel said the transition has gone smoothly, and credits Curry and Downes for allowing him to run his department.

“They trust me and my decisions, and allow me to run my court,” Patel said.