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Judges appointed by Brian Kemp
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This page lists judges appointed by Brian Kemp (R) during his term as Governor of Georgia. As of today, the total number of Kemp appointees was 38. For the full profile of Kemp, click here.
As of January 2019, governors in Georgia were responsible for appointing judges to the nine-member Georgia Supreme Court and the 15-member Georgia Court of Appeals, as well as the 202 judges of the Georgia Superior Courts, in the event of a midterm vacancy.
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some Georgia judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. Kemp.
Appointed judges
The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state. These lists are updated automatically with new appointments.
State Courts
Supreme Court
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Georgia Supreme Court |
July 29, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Georgia Supreme Court |
July 20, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Georgia Supreme Court |
July 24, 2025 - Present |
|
|
Georgia Supreme Court |
April 10, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Georgia Supreme Court |
January 19, 2021 - Present |
Court of Appeals
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Georgia Court of Appeals |
April 3, 2024 - Present |
|
|
Georgia Court of Appeals |
April 10, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Georgia Court of Appeals |
July 11, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Georgia Court of Appeals |
April 10, 2020 - 2021 |
|
|
Georgia Court of Appeals |
August 30, 2021 - July 20, 2022 |
|
|
Georgia Court of Appeals |
July 20, 2022 - July 24, 2025 |
Other State Courts
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Georgia Business Court |
2022 - Present |
|
|
Georgia Business Court |
August 1, 2020 - June 23, 2022 |
Local Courts
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Cobb County State Court |
May 1, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Cobb County State Court |
January 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Coweta Judicial Circuit |
June 17, 2019 - Present |
|
|
DeKalb County State Court |
2019 - Present |
|
|
DeKalb County State Court |
2019 - Present |
|
|
DeKalb County State Court |
2022 - Present |
|
|
DeKalb County State Court |
2022 - Present |
|
|
Douglas Judicial Circuit |
March 16, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Georgia 2nd Superior Court District Tifton Circuit |
November 18, 2024 - Present |
|
|
Georgia 3rd Superior Court District Chattahoochee Circuit |
March 24, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Georgia 3rd Superior Court District Houston Circuit |
November 18, 2024 - Present |
|
|
Georgia 4th Superior Court District Stone Mountain Circuit |
April 11, 2023 - January 1, 2025 |
|
|
Georgia 4th Superior Court District Stone Mountain Circuit |
June 17, 2019 - January 1, 2025 |
|
|
Georgia 4th Superior Court District Stone Mountain Circuit |
June 14, 2019 - January 1, 2025 |
|
|
Georgia 4th Superior Court District Stone Mountain Circuit |
2022 - January 1, 2025 |
|
|
Georgia 5th Superior Court District Atlanta Circuit |
February 1, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Georgia 5th Superior Court District Atlanta Circuit |
2019 - Present |
|
|
Georgia 5th Superior Court District Atlanta Circuit |
August 12, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Georgia 5th Superior Court District Atlanta Circuit |
2024 - Present |
|
|
Georgia 6th Superior Court District Flint Circuit |
January 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Georgia 7th Superior Court Cobb Circuit |
January 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Georgia 9th Superior Court District Gwinnett Circuit |
June 17, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Griffin Judicial Circuit |
2020 - Present |
|
|
Henry County State Court |
December 29, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Houston County State Court |
Judicial selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Georgia
| Judicial selection in Georgia | |
 | |
| Georgia Supreme Court | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 6 years |
| Georgia Court of Appeals | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 6 years |
| Georgia Superior Courts | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 4 years |
| Georgia Probate Courts | |
| Method: | Partisan election and Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 4 years |
| Georgia State Courts | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 4 years |
Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.
This article covers how state court judges are selected in Georgia, including:
- Georgia Supreme Court,
- Georgia Court of Appeals,
- Georgia Superior Courts, and
- Limited jurisdiction courts
As of March 2023, selection of state court judges in Georgia occurred primarily through nonpartisan elections, though interim vacancies in the appellate and general jurisdiction courts were filled by assisted appointment, where the governor selects a nominee from a list provided by a nominating commission.[1] The limited jurisdiction courts vary in their selection methods, employing a mix of appointment, partisan elections, and nonpartisan elections.[2]
Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.
| Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method[3] |
|---|
|
|
| State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia[3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Supreme Court (of 53)[4] | Courts of Appeal (of 46) | Trial Courts (of 147) |
| Partisan elections (PE) | 8 | 6 | 39 |
| Nonpartisan elections (NPE) | 13 | 16 | 34 |
| Legislative elections (LE) | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA) | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Assisted appointment (AA) | 22 | 18 | 46 |
| Combination or other | 3[5] | 1[6] | 17[7] |
State profile
| Demographic data for Georgia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Georgia | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 10,199,398 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 57,513 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 60.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 30.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 3.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.1% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 9.1% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 85.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 28.8% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $49,620 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 21.1% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Georgia. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Georgia
Georgia voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Georgia, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[8]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Georgia had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Georgia coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Georgia
- United States congressional delegations from Georgia
- Public policy in Georgia
- Endorsers in Georgia
- Georgia fact checks
- More...
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia; Limited Jurisdiction Courts," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
- ↑ Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
- ↑ Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.
- ↑ Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.
- ↑ Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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
