Dear Courts Journal Readers:
May begins each year with Law Day, and this year’s theme, as set by the American Bar Association, was The Constitution’s Promise: Out of Many, One. To honor that civic holiday, the Judicial Council of Georgia held a Law Day Art Contest and received hundreds of beautiful submissions, from which the members of the Judicial Council selected 12 winners–a first, second, and third place in four categories grouped by grade. Thank you State Court Judge Jason Thompson of Fayette County, Probate Court Judge Christopher Ballar of Gwinnett County, Chief Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bagley of Forsyth County, Magistrate Court Judge Lumpkin-Dawson of Cobb County, Chief Magistrate Court Judge Phinia Aten of Rockdale County, and Probate Court Judge Leisa Blount of Dougherty County for making these award ceremonies really special for Georgia’s inspiring young artists. We also enjoyed posts of judges speaking at Law Day events and a Franklin High School student won the Northern Judicial Circuit Juvenile Court’s Law Day Essay Contest organized by Judge Warren C. Caswell. Finally, for Law Day 2025, the Georgia Court of Appeals held oral arguments in Elberton and in addition celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Georgia Appellate Practice Act.
2025 Law Day Art Contest Celebrations.
May is also Military Appreciation Month and we took the opportunity to recognize our Georgia judges who are veterans. May is also Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which gives us another opportunity to highlight Georgia judges, and we were moved by a profile of Superior Court Judge Tony Baker and his reflections on his journey to Georgia during the fall of Saigon. May 7 was National Interpreter Appreciation Day and we enjoyed making this video with Justice Carla Wong McMillian, Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson, Judge Amber Patterson, and others to explain the access to justice connection. We are also grateful to our seasoned teachers who led our recent Court Interpreter Orientation– Carola Lehmacher-Richez and Paul Panusky. We enjoyed interviewing Judicial Council/AOC Court Tools Manager Amber Range for a staff profile and we remind you that we have Weekly Roundtables as well as regular website updates on the Georgia Case Management System project. Judicial Council/AOC Staffer Carley Fant received a SANS challenge coin for her cybersecurity achievements and a number of Judicial Council/AOC attorneys attended a CLE seminar presented by the Georgia General Assembly, which provided insight into Georgia’s legislative process.
Celebrating Georgia’s Veteran Judges
Recognizing AAPI Excellence in Georgia’s Judiciary.
Court Interpreters are Essential to Justice.
Thank you Fulton County Chief Magistrate Court Judge Cassandra Kirk for your inspiring remarks during our All Staff Meeting this month. Thank you as well to Fulton County Judges: Juvenile Court Chief Judge Renata Turner, Municipal Court Chief Judge David Will, and Magistrate Court Judge Robert Wolf for participating in Hometown Heroes events at several elementary schools. Chief Superior Court Judge Dean C. Bucci presided over the Paulding County Drug Court graduation ceremony and recently welcomed Child Support Commission staff to his courtroom to observe proceedings. The Georgia Bar Journal featured “A Guide to Winning Your eDiscovery Dispute…” by Cobb County Superior Court Judge Jane Manning and highlighted the Good Judge-ment Podcast (don’t miss the latest episodes). We noticed a number of judges are deeply involved in local mock trial programs, including Probate & Municipal Court Judge John D. Rasnick who hosted 4 homeschool teams for a thrilling mock trial at the Meriwether County Courthouse and State Court Judge Russell McClelland who hosted a mock trial for 8th grade students from Classical Conversations in Forsyth County.
Judges participated in civics lessons, mock trials, and accountability court graduations across Georgia.
We celebrated State Employee Recognition Week with a fitness challenge, a healthy breakfast, and by gathering quotes from Judicial Council/AOC staffers about why they choose a career in public service. Several Court Councils held conferences recently, which feature leadership changes and awards including: Council of Magistrate Court Judges; Council of Juvenile Court Judges; Council of State Court Judges; and Council of Municipal Court Judges. The Judicial Council of Georgia/AOC’s Governmental Affairs team has published the 2025 Enacted Legislation Report, summarizing newly enacted laws affecting the judiciary. Georgia judges and court staff also took part in several bill signing ceremonies, including those for HB 85; HB 86; and HB 426. We enjoyed this 2025 Milvain Lecture on advocacy by Judge Stephen Dillard. And we leave you with this wonderful interview of recently retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Boggs by the Council of State Governments.
Many court councils convened in May. For more pictures visit: https://georgiacourtsjournal.org/2025/05/27/new-business-new-leadership-court-councils-convened-in-may/
Call on us anytime. Talk to you in June.
Your JC/AOC Courts Journal team: Michelle Barclay, Noelle Lagueux-Alvarez, Bruce Shaw, and our contractor, John Ramspott