Dear Courts Journal Readers:
The Judicial Council of Georgia, chaired by Chief Justice Peterson, held a General Session in person at the Nathan Deal Judicial Center in Atlanta on August 28th, which was live-streamed and archived. During that meeting, the Judicial Council heard reports from Legislation, Budget, Artificial Intelligence and the Courts, Court Reporting Matters, Judicial Security, Technology, ARPA Funding, Judicial Workload Assessment, Georgia Case Management System, and Grants Committees. Several Judicial Council Committees also met this month. The Judicial Council Standing Committee on Access to Justice, co-Chaired by Justice Verda Colvin and Judge Sara Doyle, met and discussed several initiatives including forms for pro se litigants and modernizing the dissemination of court notices. The Judicial Council Standing Committee on Legislation, chaired by Presiding Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren, met to prepare for the 2026 legislative session. The Judicial Council Standing Committee on Budget, chaired by Justice Charlie Bethel, met to consider budget requests for Georgia’s fiscal year 2027. The Judicial Council Ad Hoc Committee on American Rescue Plan Act Funding will open a grant application period from September 1 – September 19, 2025, for requests to amend existing awards for CYs 2023-2025 and requests for new awards, subject to available funding.
Former Chief Justice David Nahmias was honored on August 7th with a portrait unveiling at the Nathan Deal Judicial Center. Congratulations to Senior Superior Court Judge Andrew Fuller of the Northeastern Judicial Circuit who was unanimously designated by the judges of the Court of Appeals to assist their court on a temporary basis starting on August 5th. Kudos to the Georgia State-wide Business Court, which marked its fifth anniversary on the first of the month; we were pleased to interview Judge Hamrick and his staff in honor of that occasion.
Congratulations to the many judges who were recently appointed by Governor Kemp to various boards, councils, and commissions: Judge Lisa Colbert was reappointed to the Board of Juvenile Justice, Judge Nancy Bills and Judge Ron Freeman were reappointed to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and Justice Ben Land was reappointed to the Georgia Child Support Commission. Cobb County judges—Kellie S. Hill, Angela Z. Brown, Sonja N. Brown, Ashley Palmer, and Mellori Lumpkin-Dawson—supported a “Stuff the Bus” campaign, donating backpacks and school supplies for children living in foster care, group homes, or facing homelessness in metro Atlanta. Georgia judges across the state generously welcomed interns to their chambers this summer, including Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Dillard and Fayette County Magistrate Court Judge David Moore. Child Support Commission members, Judge Emory Palmer and Katie Connell, Esq., and Commission staffers spoke on statutory changes to Georgia’s Child Support Guidelines at the National Child Support Engagement Association’s Leadership Symposium, which was held in Atlanta this year. We were pleased to see reports that Chief Superior Court Judge John Morse and staff are settling in and enjoying the new Eugene H. Gadsden Courthouse in Savannah.
The Georgia Courts Case Management System is over halfway through the initial build phase, iteratively developing a state-wide case management system to increase consistency and efficiency and streamline the administration of justice. We invite you to visit that project’s website where you may peruse project highlights, get involved, register for Weekly Roundtables, or view archived Roundtables. Georgia’s accountability courts are transforming lives all over Georgia; Fulton County recently hosted an accountability court graduation and produced this inspirational video and Superior Court Judge Ann Harris recently presided over a Mental Health Court graduation in Cobb County. Kudos to Municipal Court Judge Dexter Wimbish for establishing the “Back on Track” Pretrial Diversion Program in Greensboro. We encourage you to listen to the Georgia Council of Court Administrators In Recess podcast episode 15 for a discussion about practical safety strategies for courthouse personnel with Major Rick Petrie, head of Courthouse Security for the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office.
Call on us anytime. Talk to you in September.
Your JC/AOC Courts Journal team: Noelle Lagueux-Alvarez, Bruce Shaw, JoAnna Deering, and our contractor, John Ramspott