Dear Courts Journal Readers:
The investiture of our new Chief Justice and Presiding Justice was held on April 1. While that date invited a few lighthearted references to April Fool’s Day, the ceremony and the keynote remarks by Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson were profoundly inspiring. It sparked State Bar President Ivy Cadle to issue a message congratulating our new leadership and applauding the Chief’s reminder that “the rule of law plays a foundational role in our society.” Just ten days later, in their new roles as Chair and Vice Chair of the Judicial Council of Georgia, Chief Justice Peterson and Presiding Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren presided over the April 2025 Judicial Council General Session, which was held at and livestreamed from the Nathan Deal Judicial Center. During that meeting, Chief Justice Peterson provided his vision for Judicial Council priorities and gave a final report on the legislative session , Judicial Council/AOC Chief Budget Officer Andrew Zoll provided a final budget report, and Judge Stephen Kelley, Co-Chair for the Judicial Council’s Standing Committee on Technology and Vice Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence and the Courts, remarked extensively about AI. We enjoyed learning that Justice Charlie Bethel served as the Hines Jurist in Residence at UGA School of Law this semester and delivered the Hines Lecture titled “Getting Underway–Thoughts on a Successful Life After Law.” We look forward to seeing continued press coverage of the Court of Appeals offsite oral arguments in Judge Gobeil’s hometown of Savannah on April 24 and in Elberton on May 1, which will also celebrate Law Day and the 60th anniversary of the Appellate Practice Act.
Following hundreds of submissions from students all over the state, Judicial Council members recently voted to select the winners of the 2025 Law Day Art Contest. We look forward to the award ceremonies which will occur on Law Day (May 1) and throughout the month of May. We enjoyed interviewing Judicial Council members Chief Superior Court Judge Shondeana Morris of the DeKalb Judicial Circuit and Chief Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Michelle Harrison for our “Meet the Members of the Judicial Council of Georgia” webpage. The Judicial Council/AOC Governmental Affairs Team is preparing our annual Summary of Enacted Legislation that will be published after the Governor’s signing deadline, which is May 14, 2025. The Judicial Council/AOC Research team recently attended a Data Analytics Conference. We have launched a Weekly Roundtable and a new website to provide updates on the progress of the Georgia CMS project until its completion. The Judicial Council Ad Hoc Committee on AI and the Courts, chaired by Justice Andrew Pinson, met on April 22. The Judicial Council Committee on Grants met as well, and the grant application cycle is open for providers of civil legal services to victims of family violence, kinship care families, and medical-legal partnerships. The deadline to apply is May 15, 2025. For more information, please visit: https://jcaoc.georgiacourts.gov/entity/standing-committee-on-grants/
Thank you Judge James L. Prine of the Superior Court for the Southern Judicial Circuit for your remarks at our All Staff Meeting this month, especially your insights on creating a mental health court. We are grateful to Superior Court Judges Gil McBride and Ben Green for their local civics education work as well as to several judges in Fulton County: Juvenile Court Chief Judge Renata Turner, Sandy Springs Municipal Court Chief Judge David Will, and Magistrate Court Judge Robert Wolf for their participation in the Hometown Heroes program. Congratulations to the awardees of the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service: Judge Bryan Ramos; Judge Sonja Brown; and Judge William McClain. Congratulations as well to Judge Berryl Anderson who received the 2025 Romae Turner Powell Award for Judicial Service from the Atlanta Bar Association’s Judicial Section; District Court Administrator T.J. BeMent who received GCCA’s Bill Herndon Lifetime Achievement Award and the Council of Probate Court Judges Awardees, who were honored during their successful April Conference. District Representatives for the Council of Magistrate Court Judges met on April 22 for a planning session for the upcoming year. We applaud Chief Judge Wanda Dallas for expanding the Lions of Justice Mentorship program to Riverdale, which has its official roll out on May 2. We have created the 2025-2026 Georgia Courts Directory. Please contact us if you would like us to send you a spiral-bound copy. The printed version captures just a snapshot in time as contact information changes frequently. You can always check our online directory: https://georgiacourts.gov/georgia-courts-directory/. We leave you with this beautiful drone footage of the blooming azaleas, towering pines, and flowering dogwoods of Augusta made by #theMasters.