Happy Summer Courts Journal readers:
June opened with the State Bar of Georgia’s Annual Meeting during which Justice Ellington gave the invocation before Chief Justice Boggs swore in the new State Bar officers, including President of the State Bar of Georgia, Ivy N. Cadle, who will serve ex officio for the coming year on the Judicial Council of Georgia. Also during that meeting, Chief Justice Boggs addressed the State Bar’s Board of Governors highlighting, among other things, the work of the Judicial Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on ARPA Funding and Standing Committee on Judicial Security and Chief Judge Amanda Mercier reported on the Court of Appeals of Georgia.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Chief Justice P. Harris Hines Awards for Outstanding Advocacy for Children in Dependency Proceedings: attorney, Amber Walden, and DFCS case manager, Tara Brodhead. Kudos to Presiding Judge Renata Deann Turner of the Fulton County Juvenile Court, who was honored with the Judge Willie Lovett Award for Advancing the Field of Juvenile Law. We also celebrate DeKalb County State Court Judge Alvin T. Wong who was honored with the Distinguished Service Award from the State Bar of Georgia; Superior Court Judge Cheveda McCamy of the Alcovy Judicial Circuit who received the Thomas R. Burnside, Jr. Excellence in Bar Leadership Award for her work with the Walton County Bar Association and retired State Court Judge Bill Adams—President of Middle Georgia Justice, a non-profit providing legal assistance to those in need in Bibb, Houston, Peach, Crawford, Monroe, Jones, and Twiggs Counties—who received the Chief Justice Thomas O. Marshall Professionalism Award. Congratulations as well to Superior Court Judge Lawton E. Stephens of the Western Judicial Circuit who received the Tradition of Excellence Award from the State Bar of Georgia’s General Practice and Trial Law Section and to Fulton County Juvenile Court Judge Juliette W. Scales who received the Spirit of Justice Award from the State Bar’s Judicial Section. Finally, the Council of Municipal Court Judges held its Annual Summer Business Meeting. We applaud Chief Judge Willie Weaver who received a Lifetime Achievement Award and Chief Judge Robert Cowan who received the President’s Award as well as all the awardees from the Council of Municipal Court Judges.
June also brought over 100 Magistrate Court Clerks together from across the state for their annual conference, learning about important topics such as retention schedules, garnishments, post judgments, criminal basics, warrant applications, and transfers to other counties. The week of June 10-14, 2024 was Municipal Court Clerks Week noted with a proclamation from the Governor. We are grateful to our Municipal Court Clerks for their professionalism and service to our state. The Committee on Justice for Children and the Criminal Case Data Exchange Board met this month. The Commission on Dispute Resolution approved a new Best Practices Manual for registered neutrals in Georgia. We loved the many social media posts featuring summer interns and Judge Doyle’s full-circle moment when a former intern was sworn in to practice before the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Congratulations to Henry County Superior Court Judge Holly W. Veal who was appointed by Governor Kemp to the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System and to retired Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Benham, a 1970 graduate of the UGA School of Law, who will receive the 2024 Footsteps Award, which honors the legacies of Hamilton Holmes, Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Mary Frances Early.
The JC/AOC Governmental Affairs Team has published the annual Summary of Enacted Legislation, reflecting bills and resolutions pertinent to the judiciary passed during the 2024 Legislative Session. Don’t miss Good Judge-ment Podcast episodes, Ep. 148: Wilson v. State and Ep. 147: Beall v. Beall. We leave you with pictures from the “changing of the guard” retirement party of Court of Appeals Clerk/Court Administrator Steve Castlen who will be succeeded by longstanding Deputy Court Administrator Christina Smith. We are so grateful for your good service, Steve, both to our country and state and we know you leave us in good hands.
Call on us anytime. Talk to you in July.
Your JC/AOC Courts Journal team: Michelle Barclay, Noelle Lagueux-Alvarez, Bruce Shaw, and our contractor, John Ramspott