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Georgia Supreme Court justice vacancy (July 2022)
| Georgia Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Nahmias vacancy |
| Date: July 17, 2022 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Andrew Pinson |
| Date: February 14, 2022 |
Governor Brian Kemp (R) appointed Andrew Pinson to the Georgia Supreme Court on February 14, 2022, to succeed Chief Justice David Nahmias. Nahmias retired on July 17, 2022. Nahmias stated that he would retire in order to spend more time with his family.[1][2][3] Pinson was Gov. Kemp's fourth nominee to the nine-member court.
At the time of the vacancy under Georgia law, midterm vacancies were filled by assisted appointment. The governor would select an appointee from a list of qualified candidates compiled by the judicial nominating commission. For each vacancy, the commission would recommend a maximum of five candidates. However, the governor could appoint a judge other than those on the commission's list.[4] If appointed, the judge must run in the next general election held at least six months after the appointment, and, if confirmed by voters, they may finish the rest of their predecessor's term.
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Georgia Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2022.
The appointee
- See also: Andrew Pinson
At the time of his nomination, Andrew Pinson was a judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. He was appointed to that court by Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on July 20, 2021, to replace Verda Colvin, who was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court.[5]
Prior to assuming the bench, Pinson served as the solicitor general of Georgia, the deputy solicitor general of Georgia, as an associate with law firm Jones Day, as a law clerk for United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, as a law clerk for United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Judge David Sentelle, as a law clerk with Fortson, Bentley & Griffin; as an intern to the Georgia Governor's office under Sonny Perdue (R), and as a finance and marketing intern with Zaxby's Franchising, Inc.[6]
Andrew Pinson earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia in 2008 and a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2011.[6]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Georgia
The nine justices on the Georgia Supreme Court are chosen by popular vote in nonpartisan elections. They serve six-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to retain their seats.[7]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
Chief justice
The chief justice is selected by peer vote and serves in that capacity for four years.[7]
Vacancies
If a vacancy appears on the court, the position is filled by assisted appointment. The governor chooses an appointee from a list of qualified candidates compiled by the judicial nominating commission. As of March 2023, the judicial nominating commission consisted of 35 members, each appointed by the governor. For each court vacancy, the commission recommends candidates, but the governor is not bound to the commission's choices and may choose to appoint a judge not found on the list.[4] If appointed, an interim judge must run in the next general election held at least six months after the appointment, and, if confirmed by voters, he or she may finish the rest of the predecessor's term.[7][8][9] There is one current vacancy on the Georgia Supreme Court, out of the court's 9 judicial positions. The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Georgia Supreme Court
Justices
Following Nahmias' retirement, the Georgia Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Michael P. Boggs | Appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal (R) in 2016 | |
| ■ Nels Peterson | Appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal (R) in 2016 | |
| ■ Charlie Bethel | Appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal (R) in 2018 | |
| ■ John Ellington | Elected in 2018 | |
| ■ Carla W. McMillian | Appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R) in 2020 | |
| ■ Sarah Warren | Appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal (R) in 2018 | |
| ■ Shawn LaGrua | Appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R) in 2020 | |
| ■ Verda Colvin | Appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R) in 2021 |
About the court
Founded in 1845, the Georgia Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has nine judgeships. The current chief of the court is Nels Peterson.
As of July 2025, eight judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor and one was initially selected in a nonpartisan election.
The Georgia Supreme Court meets in Atlanta, Georgia. The court sits for three terms: the December term (first Monday in December until March 31); the April term (first Monday in April until July 17); and the August term (first Monday in August until November 18).
In Georgia, state supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. There are 13 states that use this selection method. To read more about the nonpartisan election of judges, click here.
About Chief Justice Nahmias
- See also: David Nahmias
Justice Nahmias joined the Georgia Supreme Court in 2009. He was appointed to the court by Governor Sonny Perdue (R).
Nahmias' career experience includes working as a law clerk to Judge Laurence Silberman on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States. He practiced law with the firm Hogan & Hartson before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta in 1995. In 2001, he began working for the Department of Justice in the Criminal Division, where he became the deputy assistant attorney general a couple years later. He was appointed the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia on December 1, 2004, by President George W. Bush (R), a position he held until joining the Georgia Supreme Court in 2009.[10][11]
Nahmias earned an undergraduate degree from Duke University in 1986 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1991.[12][13]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2022
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2022
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2022. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Kemp Announces Four Judicial Appointments," February 14, 2022
- ↑ WTVM, "Georgia chief justice announces his resignation ," February 11, 2022
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "The Jolt: Kemp stuns with Clarence Thomas protege for state Supreme Court," February 15, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia; Judicial Nominating Commissions," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Governor Brian P. Kemp Office of the Governor, "Governor Kemp Announces Six Judicial Appointments," July 20, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 LinkedIn, "Andrew Pinson," accessed September 3, 2021
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Governor Brian Kemp, "Executive Order," accessed March 29, 2023
- ↑ Governor Brian Kemp, "Gov. Kemp Names 35 to Judicial Nominating Commission," October 27, 2021
- ↑ The United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Georgia, "DAVID E. NAHMIAS," accessed July 18, 2021
- ↑ Athens Banner Herald "Nahmias appointed to Georgia Supreme Court" August 13, 2009
- ↑ Supreme Court of Georgia, "Justice David E. Nahmias, accessed July 18, 2021
- ↑ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "New Georgia Supreme Court justice earns praise," February 15, 2016
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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
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