Happy Fall, Georgia Courts Journal readers!
Several Judicial Branch entities held meetings this month. The Criminal Case Data Exchange (CDX) Board convened a hybrid meeting hosted at the AOC. Congratulations to the Council of Accountability Court Judges, which held its annual conference in Athens and continues to commemorate its 10th anniversary year. The Supreme Court of Georgia Committee on Justice for Children held a quarterly meeting and hosted a two-day Root Cause Analysis to address delays to reunification in foster care cases. Over the course of those two days, multidisciplinary teams from Chatham, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett Counties, along with experts from DHS/DFCS, worked with facilitators from the American Bar Association to review state and county-level data and explore the ways in which agency and court practices affect the time from removal to reunification for children in Georgia’s foster care system.
Congratulations to the Georgia Council of Court Administrators, which received a proclamation from Governor Kemp declaring September 22–26, 2025, to be “Georgia Court Administrators Week” and convened mid-month in Savannah for its Fall Conference & Annual Business Meeting. The Georgia Child Support Commission, hard at work preparing for its 2026 Economic Study, recently held two public listening sessions, one in Macon and the other online, and continues to accept public comment on its website. The Judicial Council Standing Committee on Technology and the Ad Hoc Committee on Georgia Case Management System (CMS) both met on September 25th discussing several topics including the great progress made thus far during the CMS Project Build Phase.
We’ve added to our ongoing video series “Meet the Members of the Judicial Council.” This month we feature Judge Dustin Hightower and learn about his inspirational upbringing and time as an Ocoee River guide. We also feature Chief Judge Jason Deal and learn about his passion for accountability courts and love of animals. We celebrated Constitution Day—a time to reflect on the framework of our democracy—by revisiting some of our most meaningful #ConstitutionDay moments over the last few years. We enjoyed interviewing and are pleased to introduce you to Jeff Comlin, the new Director of Information Technology at the Georgia Court of Appeals.
The Supreme Court of Georgia’s Study Committee on Legal Regulatory Reform—charged with determining whether regulation of the practice of law can be modified to improve civil legal access for Georgians—seeks public comment regarding its final report. Comments should be sent via email to comments@gasupreme.us by October 2, 2025. The Georgia Court of Appeals recently heard oral argument in Valdosta and hosted lawyers & government officials from various African countries in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley of the Eastern Judicial Circuit recently spoke as a panelist at an event in Savannah for the Georgia Department of Community Supervision. Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill of the Cobb Judicial Circuit was honored by Girls, Inc. of Greater Atlanta. Athens-Clarke County State Court Judge Ryan Hope frequently volunteers at pop-up legal clinics in Athens. Five judges were reappointed to the Board of Commissioners of the Judges of the Probate Courts Retirement Fund of Georgia: Dooly County Probate Court Judge Ronney L. Bowen, III; Cook County Probate Court Judge Chase Daughtrey; Americus Municipal Court Judge Mike Greene; Calhoun County Probate Court Chief Judge Annie Holder; and Walton County Probate Court Judge Bruce Wright. Likewise, two judges were reappointed to the Board of Trustees of the Judicial Retirement System of Georgia: Lowndes County State Court Judge Ellen Golden and Chief Judge for the Flint Judicial Circuit Holly Veal. The Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism is accepting nominations for the 26th Annual Justice Robert Benham Awards for Community Service through November 11, 2025. We leave you with an invitation to stay updated on the Georgia Case Management System project by attending a Weekly Roundtable or by visiting the project’s website.
Call on us anytime. Talk to you in October.
Your JC/AOC Courts Journal team: Noelle Lagueux-Alvarez, Bruce Shaw, JoAnna Deering, and our contractor, John Ramspott