Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission
| Judicial nominating commissions |
|---|
 |
| Individual nominating committees |
| Select a committee in the dropdown below and click "Submit" to view information about that committee. |
| Methods of judicial selection |
| Partisan elections |
| Nonpartisan elections |
| Michigan method |
| Retention elections |
| Assisted appointment |
| Bar-controlled commission |
| Governor-controlled commission |
| Hybrid commission |
| Legislative elections |
| Gubernatorial appointment |
The Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission is an independent state commission in Georgia established by executive order in 1972 by former Governor Jimmy Carter (D) that plays a role in the state's judicial selection process. The governor appoints all of the commission's members.[1]
Georgia uses nonpartisan elections to select judges for its state courts, but interim vacancies in the appellate and general jurisdiction courts are filled by the assisted appointment.
The commission is a governor-controlled commission, which means that there is a majority of members chosen by the governor. As of September 10, 2025, 11 states used this type of commission. To learn more about controlling majorities in judicial selection commissions, click here.
Members
Last updated: April 2025
The members of the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission are appointed by the Governor of Georgia. The executive order establishing the commission states that the appointments to the commission should be "made with a view toward equitable geographic representation and . . reflect the diversity of the State's citizenry." In December 2024, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) named 38 people to the commission.[2][3]
| Members of the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission, April 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Location | |
| Co-chair Vincent Russo, Esq. | Atlanta | |
| Co-chair Mark Middleton, Esq. | Atlanta | |
| Co-chair - Hon. Shawn LaGrua | Atlanta | |
| Hon. Michael P. Boggs | Atlanta | |
| Kristi Connell, Esq. | Augusta | |
| Lance Cooper, Esq. | Marietta | |
| Tye Darland, Esq. | Atlanta | |
| Walter W. Davis, Esq. | Atlanta | |
| Sheetal Desai, Esq. | Duluth | |
| Hon. Charles E. Evans, Jr. | Evans | |
| T. Mills Fleming, Esq. | Savannah | |
| Patrick Flynn, Esq. | Albany | |
| Robert S. Highsmith, Jr., Esq. | Atlanta | |
| Drew Hill, Esq. | Athens | |
| Soo Hong, Esq. | Marietta | |
| Hon. Jamie Inagawa | Fayetteville | |
| Anne Kaufold-Wiggins, Esq. | Atlanta | |
| Hon. Benjamin Land | Atlanta | |
| Anh Le, Esq. | Atlanta | |
| James B. Manley, Esq. | Atlanta | |
| Quentin Marlin, Esq. | Savannah | |
| Harold D. Melton, Esq. | Atlanta | |
| Hon. Shondeana C. Morris | Decatur | |
| Brooke Newby, Esq. | Perry | |
| Natalie Paine, Esq. | Evans | |
| Hon. Samir J. Patel | Cartersville | |
| Haynes M. Studstill, Esq. | Valdosta | |
| Darrell Sutton, Esq. | Marietta | |
| W. Ryan Teague, Esq. | Atlanta | |
| Hon. Pythias "Pete" Temesgen | Columbus | |
| Frank Turner, Jr., Esq. | Covington | |
| Richard Valladares, Esq. | Atlanta | |
| Hon. Holly Veal | McDonough | |
| Hon. Shannon Wallace | Canton | |
| Josh Waters, Esq. | Perry | |
| W. Thomas Worthy, Esq. | Atlanta | |
Process
On its website, the commission lays out the following steps for filling a judicial vacancy:[4]
- The commission co-chairs notify the commission of the vacancy and set a timetable for the filling of the vacancy.
- The co-chairs compile a list of interested applicants.
- The co-chairs prepare packets for members of each applicant.
- The commission convenes either in person or by phone to interview applicants.
- After the interviews, the commission meets to discuss the applicants and make recommendations
- The co-chairs submit the list of recommendations to the governor for consideration.
- The governor may interview individuals on the list of recommendations.
- The governor selects a nominee from the list of recommendations.
The commission has a list of required application materials and its applicant questionnaire available here.
Duties
As of April 2025, the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission website did not list specific duties for members of the commission.
Control of judicial selection commissions
Assisted appointment is a method of judicial selection in which a nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list.[5]
At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types, based on the makeup of the judicial nominating commissions. Those types are:
- Governor-controlled commission - The governor is either responsible for appointing a majority of the members of the nominating commission or may decline to appoint a candidate from a list provided by the nominating commission.
- Bar-controlled commission - Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the members of the nominating commission.
- Hybrid - There is no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state Bar Association. The membership of these commissions is determined by different rules in each state.
Twenty-three courts in 22 states used assisted appointment to select state supreme court justices as of June 2021.[6][7] Georgia used a governor-controlled commission. The table below shows the number of courts using each variation of assisted appointment at the state supreme court level.
| Assisted appointment methods in state supreme courts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Courts (of 23) | ||
| Governor-controlled majority | 10 | ||
| Bar-controlled majority | 1 | ||
| Hybrid | 12 | ||
The map below highlights the states that use each of the three types of assisted appointment.
About judicial selection
Each state has a unique set of guidelines governing how they select judges at the state and local level. These methods of selection are:
Election
- Partisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot alongside a label designating political party affiliation.
- Nonpartisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot without a label designating party affiliation.
- Michigan method: State supreme court justices are selected through nonpartisan elections preceded by either partisan primaries or conventions.
- Retention election: A periodic process whereby voters are asked whether an incumbent judge should remain in office for another term. Judges are not selected for initial terms in office using this election method.
Assisted appointment
- Assisted appointment, also known as merit selection or the Missouri Plan: A nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list.[5] At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types:
- Bar-controlled commission: Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees that they must choose from.
- Governor-controlled commission: The governor is responsible for appointing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees they must choose from.
- Hybrid commission: The judicial nominating commission has no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state bar association. These commissions determine membership in a variety of ways, but no institution or organization has a clear majority control.
Direct appointment
- Court appointment: Judges are selected by judges in the state judiciary.
- Gubernatorial appointment: Judges are appointed by the governor. In some cases, approval from the legislative body is required.
- Legislative election: Judges are selected by the state legislature.
- Municipal government selection: Judges are selected by the governing body of their municipality.
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission
- Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission Members
Footnotes
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia; Judicial Nominating Commissions," accessed October 7, 2021
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Kemp Names 38 to Judicial Nominating Commission," December 13, 2024
- ↑ Governor Brian Kemp, "Executive Order," accessed March 29, 2023
- ↑ Judicial Nominating Commission, "Process," accessed April 11, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 American Bar Association, "Judicial Selection: The Process of Choosing Judges," June 2008 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "ambaroverview" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ As of June 2021, Oklahoma had two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
- ↑ North Dakota uses this method only for vacancies.
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
