Keith Blackwell
Keith Blackwell is a former associate justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. He was appointed by Republican Governor Nathan Deal on June 25, 2020, to succeed Justice George H. Carley. Blackwell was sworn in on July 19, 2012.[1] Blackwell was elected to a full term in 2014 after running unopposed. Blackwell served on the court until his resignation on November 18, 2020, citing family obligations and a desire to return to private practice.[2] To learn more about the vacancy caused by Blackwell's resignation, click here.
Blackwell was included on President Donald Trump’s (R) June 2018 list of 25 potential Supreme Court nominees to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the court. Trump first released such a list during his 2016 presidential campaign and stated, “This list is definitive and I will choose only from it in picking future Justices of the United States Supreme Court.”[3][4]
Education
Blackwell received his B.A. in political science from the University of Georgia in 1996 and his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1999.[5][1]
Career
Blackwell was appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals in 2010 by Republican Governor Sonny Perdue. In 2012, he was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court by Republican Governor Nathan Deal.[1]
From 1999 to 2000, Blackwell served as a law clerk for Judge J.L. Edmondson of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Following his clerkship, Blackwell worked as an associate in the law firm of Alston & Bird, LLP. He became assistant district attorney in Cobb County in 2003 and later joined Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP in 2005.[1][5]
Awards and associations
Associations
- Adviser to the Business Courts Committee of the State Bar
- Chair of the Committee on Court Rules on the Court of Appeals
- Member of the Board of Advisors for the Atlanta Chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
- Member of the State Bar of Georgia
- Served on the Committee on State Practice and Legislation for the State Bar of Georgia - Appellate Practice Section
- Member of the Cobb Bar Association
- Member of the Atlanta Chapter of the Federal Bar Association
- Master of the Joseph Henry Lumpkin American Inn of Court
- Adviser to the House Judiciary Committee
- Member of the governor's Judicial Nominating Commission.[1]
Elections
2014
See also: Georgia judicial elections, 2014
Blackwell ran for re-election to the Georgia Supreme Court.
General: He won without opposition in the general election on May 20, 2014.
[6][7]
Appointments
2020
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) appointed Shawn LaGrua to the Georgia Supreme Court on December 1, 2020. LaGrua succeeded Justice Keith Blackwell, who retired on November 18, 2020. LaGrua was Kemp's second nominee to the nine-member court.
Blackwell announced his retirement on February 28, 2020. In a letter to Gov. Kemp, Blackwell said he wanted to return to private practice.[8]
Blackwell's seat was expected to be up for nonpartisan election on June 9, 2020. When Blackwell announced his retirement, the Georgia Supreme Court said the governor would appoint Blackwell's replacement. The appointment was challenged in court, and the state supreme court ruled in a 6-2 opinion on May 14, 2020, that the secretary of state could not be compelled to hold the election. Click here for more information.
Under Georgia law as of November 2020, supreme court vacancies were filled by assisted appointment. The governor chose an appointee from a list of candidates compiled by the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission.
Approach to the law
Blackwell considers himself a "conservative judge," but also said:
| “ | I think it’s actually very unfortunate that people tend to view the decisions through the lens of partisan affiliations and who the party of the appointing president or governor was. I can tell you uniformly on our court I am confident that there is not one of the 12 judges who would look at a case and ask how would the Democrats like this case to come out or how would the Republicans like this case to come out in deciding the case.[9][10] | ” |
Possible Donald Trump nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court
2018
Blackwell was listed by President Donald Trump (R) as a potential Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy announced he would retire from the court effective July 31, 2018.[11] Trump ultimately chose Brett Kavanaugh as the nominee. Click here to learn more.
2017
On November 17, 2017, Blackwell was included in a third list of individuals from which President Donald Trump would choose to fill vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court.
A White House statement announcing the nominees stated,[12]
| “ |
One year ago, President Donald J. Trump was elected to restore the rule of law and to Make the Judiciary Great Again. Following the successful confirmation of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States and the nomination of more than seventy Federal judges—including five individuals from his Supreme Court list—President Trump today announced that he is refreshing his Supreme Court list with five additional judges. President Trump will choose a nominee for a future Supreme Court vacancy, should one arise, from this updated list of 25 individuals. The President remains deeply committed to identifying and selecting outstanding jurists in the mold of Justice Gorsuch. These additions, like those on the original list released more than a year ago, were selected with input from respected conservative leaders.[10] |
” |
Noteworthy cases
Court finds no categorical right to counsel in civil contempt proceedings
A group of indigent parents who had all been jailed for civil contempt after failing to pay child support sought class certification so that they could file a class-action lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Human Services. Class certification would allow the plaintiffs to file a single lawsuit on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated indigent parents. The plaintiffs claimed that they had not been able to afford attorneys to represent them during the contempt proceedings and that the Department had not offered them access to legal counsel, even though the Department was represented by an attorney. They argued that their constitutional rights were violated because they were not provided with legal representation. The Georgia Court of Appeals denied class certification, ruling that the plaintiffs had not shown that they fulfilled the certification requirements.[13]
The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the court of appeals, but on different grounds. In an opinion authored by Justice Blackwell, the court ruled that “the Court of Appeals premised all of its conclusions on a fundamental misunderstanding of the constitutional right to counsel.” The court held that there was “no absolute, inflexible, and categorical right to appointed counsel in such proceedings.” Because parents had no categorical right to counsel in the contempt proceedings, Blackwell wrote, the plaintiffs “cannot show that their own claims are typical of those of the class” or “that classwide...relief is in order.”[13]
Justice Robert Benham dissented. He argued that “the State has fostered a fundamentally unfair system for collecting child support from indigent parents.” He would have concluded that the parents raised "a viable state constitutional claim on the merits to be resolved."[13]
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Office of the Georgia Governor, Press Release: "Deal appoints Blackwell to Supreme Court of Georgia," June 25, 2012
- ↑ Supreme Court of Georgia, "JUSTICE KEITH BLACKWELL TO RESIGN IN NOVEMBER", February 28, 2020
- ↑ CBS News, "Trump says Justice Kennedy's replacement will come from list of 25," June 27, 2018
- ↑ FindLaw, "Trump Revises His Supreme Court Picks," September 26, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Blackwell, Dillard get Appeals Court judgeships," October 20, 2010
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "2014 Qualifying Candidates List," accessed March 19, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, “Statewide Election Results,” May 20, 2014
- ↑ U.S. News, "Georgia Supreme Court Justice Announces Plans to Resign," February 28, 2020
- ↑ Rome News-Tribune, "Court of Appeals judges lay groundwork for election bid," August 30, 2011
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ CBS News, "Trump says Justice Kennedy's replacement will come from list of 25," June 27, 2018
- ↑ The White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Five Additions to Supreme Court List," November 17, 2017
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Georgia Supreme Court, Miller v. Deal Opinion, filed July 11, 2014
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
