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Christian Coomer
Christian Coomer was a judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. He assumed office on October 31, 2018. He left office on August 16, 2023.
Coomer ran for re-election for judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. He won in the general election on June 9, 2020.
Gov. Nathan Deal (R) appointed Coomer to the court September 14, 2018, to replace elevated Judge Charlie Bethel. Coomer's appointment was effective October 31.[1][2]
Coomer is a former Republican member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing District 14 from 2011 to 2018.
Coomer was removed from the Georgia Court of Appeals following an investigation initiated by Georgia’s Judicial Qualifications Board. That decision was upheld by the Georgia Supreme Court on August 16, 2023. [3]
Biography
Coomer earned a bachelor's degree from Lee University and obtained his J.D. from the University of Georgia. At the time of his appointment to the Georgia Court of Appeals, Coomer's professional experience included operating his own law practice in Cartersville, GA. He also served as a judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force Reserve's JAG Corps.[1]
Career
Prior to his judicial appointment, Coomer served as a Republican member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing District 14 from 2011 to 2018.
State legislative tenure (2011-2018)
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Banks and Banking |
| • Ethics |
| • Judiciary - Non-Civil |
| • Juvenile Justice |
| • Retirement |
| • Rules |
| • Transportation |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Coomer served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Banks and Banking |
| • Judiciary - Non-Civil |
| • Juvenile Justice |
| • Retirement, Vice chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Coomer served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Retirement, Vice Chair |
| • Banks and Banking |
| • Judiciary - Non-Civil |
| • Juvenile Justice |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Coomer served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Children and Youth |
| • Defense and Veterans Affairs |
| • Judiciary - Non-Civil |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Georgia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 29.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on children's education.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 9 through March 31.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 11 through March 24.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 12 through April 2.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 21.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 21.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 9 through March 29.
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Elections
2020
See also: Georgia intermediate appellate court elections, 2020
General election
General election for Georgia Court of Appeals
Incumbent Christian Coomer won election in the general election for Georgia Court of Appeals on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Christian Coomer (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 1,916,688 |
| Total votes: 1,916,688 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2018
General election
General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 14
Incumbent Christian Coomer won election in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 14 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Christian Coomer (R) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 14
Incumbent Christian Coomer advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 14 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christian Coomer | 100.0 | 3,195 |
| Total votes: 3,195 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Elections for the Georgia House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 24, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 11, 2016.
Incumbent Christian Coomer ran unopposed in the Georgia House of Representatives District 14 general election.[4][5]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 14 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Christian Coomer Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 18,677 | |
| Total Votes | 18,677 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Christian Coomer ran unopposed in the Georgia House of Representatives District 14 Republican primary.[6][7]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 14 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Christian Coomer Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Georgia House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014, with runoff elections taking place where necessary on July 22, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Incumbent Christian A. Coomer was unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[8][9][10]
2012
Coomer ran in the 2012 election for Georgia House of Representatives District 14. Coomer ran unopposed in the Republican primary on July 31, 2012. The general election took place on November 6, 2012.[11] Coomer won re-election in the general election.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chrisian Coomer Incumbent |
100% | 16,348 | |
| Total Votes | 16,348 | |||
2010
Coomer defeated Dan Ledford (D) in the November 2 general election.[13]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 14 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Christian Coomer (R)
|
10,954 | 78.5% | ||
| Dan Ledford (D) | 2,993 | 21.5% | ||
Coomer came in first in the July 20 primary.[14]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 14 - Republican Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Christian Coomer
|
1,982 | 39.5% | ||
| Shep Helton
|
1,978 | 39.4% | ||
| Greg Bowen | 1,063 | 21.2% | ||
He faced Shep Helton in a primary runoff on August 10, defeating him 2,369-2,237.[15]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 14 - Republican Primary Runoff (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Christian Coomer
|
2,369 | 51.4% | ||
| Shep Helton | 2,237 | 48.6% | ||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Christian Coomer did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
Coomer was endorsed by:
- The Newsvine Tea Party[16]
Noteworthy events
Suspension for ethics violations (2021)
On January 5, 2021, the Georgia Supreme Court suspended Judge Coomer with pay while the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) investigated allegations of misconduct and ethics violations.[17]
In December 2021, Coomer, a former state House member, paid a $25,000 fine to settle the ethics charges. The complaint filed by the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission stated that Coomer used campaign funds for personal means and violated Georgia's campaign finance laws.[18] In response to the settlement, Coomer’s lawyer, Doug Chalmers, stated that, "As the commission confirmed in the settlement agreement, while some mistakes were made years ago in the handling of his House of Representative campaign, the judge has not been personally enriched and he owes no money to the campaign, there were no knowing or willful violations, and the judge self-reported certain transactions.”[18]
Fraud and legal malpractice investigation
In March 2020, the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission opened an investigation of allegations made against Coomer. A lawsuit filed by a former legal client of Coomer's alleged that Coomer engaged in fraud and legal malpractice over a six-month period in 2018. Coomer responded, telling The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “I completely and utterly deny the allegations of fraud. I can’t deny it strongly enough, because it’s absolutely untrue.”[19]
In May 2020, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation opened a criminal investigation related to the allegations. Coomer declined to comment on the GBI investigation at the time.[20] Two months later, in July, the lawsuit was settled and dismissed in court.[21]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Coomer and his wife, Heidi, have two children.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Governor Nathan Deal, Office of the Governor, "Deal announces judicial appointments," September 14, 2018
- ↑ Associated Press, "Coomer to be sworn in Oct. 31," October 13, 2018
- ↑ ‘’Atlanta Journal-Constitution‘', "Georgia Supreme Court removes appeals judge from office," August 16, 2023
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed August 17, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General Election results," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed March 13, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General primary results," accessed May 24, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed March 10, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed May 28, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed November 13, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State Elections Division, "Candidate List," accessed May 29, 2012
- ↑ Georgia Elections Division, "2012 Election Results" accessed November 16, 2012
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official 2010 Election results," accessed April 16, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official 2010 Primary election results," accessed April 16, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "August 10, 2010 State Representative primary runoff results
- ↑ Newsvine.com
- ↑ Supreme Court of Georgia, "Case Nos. S21Z0595," accessed February 24, 2022
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Suspended Georgia Appeals Court judge agrees to $25K fine over ethics accusations," accessed February 24, 2022
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "State Appeals Court judge accused of fraud, malpractice," March 25, 2020
- ↑ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "GBI investigating fraud allegations against Court of Appeals judge," May 6, 2020
- ↑ Patch, "Coomer Settles Malpractice Lawsuit With Cartersville Client," July 29, 2019
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Georgia Court of Appeals 2018-2023 |
Succeeded by J. Wade Padgett |
| Preceded by - |
Georgia House of Representatives District 14 2011-2018 |
Succeeded by - |
| ||||||||||
Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Georgia, Northern District of Georgia, Southern District of Georgia • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Georgia, Northern District of Georgia, Southern District of Georgia
State courts:
Georgia Supreme Court • Georgia Court of Appeals • Georgia Superior Courts • Georgia State Courts • Georgia Business Court • Georgia Tax Court • Georgia Juvenile Courts • Georgia Probate Courts • Georgia Magistrate Courts • Georgia Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Georgia • Georgia judicial elections • Judicial selection in Georgia
