Greetings Courts Journal readers:
May kicks off each year with Law Day, and this year’s theme, as set by the American Bar Association, was Voices of Democracy. 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 Judge Christopher Ballar of the Gwinnett County Probate Court, Chief Magistrate Court Judge Cassandra Kirk of Fulton County and Judge Leisa Blount of the Dougherty County Probate Court for participating in award ceremonies for Georgia’s talented and inspiring young artists (some of whom were featured in their local paper). We also enjoyed the many posts of judges speaking at Law Day events. There were a number of bill signing ceremonies this month, including HB 456, HB 873, SB 212, and the Judicial Council’s SB 508 which allowed for great gatherings, conversations, and pictures. The Committee on Court Interpreters, in partnership with ICJE, held an interactive virtual class. Public Service Recognition Week/State Employee Recognition Week began on May 5th. To mark that occasion, we collected quotes answering the question, “why does one choose public service?”
May is also Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and we celebrated by creating a collage of our Georgia judges and by visiting Judges Nguyen and Pham for an interview about their inspiring paths to the bench, which both began in Vietnam. The Council of Juvenile Court Judges held their Spring Conference where Bartow County Judge Neal Brunt was sworn in as the new President. Multiple Judicial Council committees met recently including: Access to Justice, ARPA Funding, Technology, and the Subcommittee for Automated Data Collection. We learned a lot from hosting NCSC staff for the Justice Counts project. Our IT team published another issue of their Court Tech Talk newsletter and we encourage you to read the Council of Accountability Court Judges May newsletter. Don’t miss the latest episodes of the Good Judge-ment Podcast: Ep. 146: Special Masters and Ep. 145: Eviction Actions.
The Supreme Court of Georgia hosted a lovely ceremony for the portrait unveiling of former Chief Justice Hugh P. Thompson. We also enjoyed the unveiling of a portrait of Conasauga Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge William T. Boyett who served as Chair of the Judicial Council Grants Committee for many years and recently retired. Thank you to Butts County Magistrate Court Judge Megan Kinsey for speaking at our All Staff Meeting. Congratulations to newly appointed Carolyn “Tippi” Cain Burch who will serve on the Superior Court for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit; Presiding Judge Yvette Miller who received the Randolph Thrower Lifetime Achievement Award from the State Bar’s Committee to Promote Inclusion in the Profession; Justice Shawn Ellen LaGrua who received the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers’ Kathleen Kessler Award; Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren who was inducted into the American Law Institute; and Debra Nesbit who received the Bob Bray Award from the Council of State Court Judges. The Supreme Court announced that all appellate judges recently completed security training (which is also getting national attention) and a panel of Court of Appeals judges traveled to UNG’s Dahlonega Campus.
We mourn the loss of Senior Judge Dorothy Toth Beasley of the Georgia Court of Appeals, a trailblazing jurist in our state. In 1977, she became the first woman appointed and then elected as judge to the State Court of Fulton County. She then became the first woman to serve on the Court of Appeals of Georgia when Governor Joe Frank Harris appointed her in 1984. We leave you with statements from the Georgia Court of Appeals and Chief Justice Boggs about her legacy.
”Presiding Judge Dillard also noted that Judge Beasley had many notable accomplishments during her judicial career, but one of the most talked-about achievements from her tenure as chief judge of the Court of Appeals was amending the Court’s motto, which was carved into marble behind the bench in the former Judicial Building courtroom. The motto said, “Upon the integrity, wisdom, and independence of the judiciary depend the sacred rights of free men.” Judge Beasley had the court add “and women.” Presiding Judge Dillard recalls that when Judge Beasley placed the order to add those two words, she directed that the additional words be carved in a slightly larger font, as “a subtle, but powerful reminder that it took far too long to make this important change.”
-from the Court of Appeals of Georgia statement on the passing of Senior Judge Dorothy Toth Beasley
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