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Georgia Supreme Court justice vacancy (November 2020)
| Georgia Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Blackwell vacancy |
| Date: November 18, 2020 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Shawn Ellen LaGrua |
| Date: December 1, 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.[1]
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.
The appointee
- See also: Shawn LaGrua
Before her appointment to the state supreme court, LaGrua was a judge for Atlanta Judicial Circuit of Georgia's 5th Superior Court District. She joined the court in 2010. Before that, she was the inspector general for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office (2007-2009). She worked for DeKalb County as the solicitor general from 2004 to 2007 and as the senior assistant district attorney from 2001 to 2004.[2] Click here for more information on LaGrua's career.
LaGrua earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Georgia in 1984, and received her J.D. from Georgia State University, College of Law, in 1987.[3]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
The Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) recommended four candidates to Gov. Kemp for consideration on March 27, 2020.[4]
- Judge Sara Doyle of the Georgia Court of Appeals
- Judge C. LaTain Kell of Cobb County Superior Court
- Judge Shawn LaGrua of Fulton County Superior Court
- Judge J. Wade Padgett of the Augusta Circuit Superior Court
Applicants
The Judicial Nominating Commission received 29 applicants to succeed Blackwell. The list included 20 nominees who applied to succeed Justice Robert Benham, who retired on March 1, 2020. Click here for more about the process for filling Benham's seat.[5]
- Tonya Boga, attorney
- Pamela Braswell, attorney
- Veronica Brinson of Macon, attorney
- Joshua Campbell, a senior policy adviser at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington
- Judge Verda Colvin of Bibb County Superior Court
- Samuel D'Entremont of the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office
- Judge Sara Doyle of the Georgia Court of Appeals
- C. Wilson DuBose, attorney
- Leonid Felgin, attorney
- Loranzo Muncel Fleming of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals in Atlanta
- T. Mills Fleming, attorney
- Judge Robert Guy of Camden County Superior Court
- Latoya A. Hutchinson, attorney
- Judge Horace Johnson Jr. of Alcovy Circuit Superior Court
- Judge C. LaTain Kell of Cobb County Superior Court
- Catherine Koura, attorney
- Judge Shawn LaGrua of Fulton County Superior Court
- Jacquelyn Luther, attorney
- Marc Mallon, Fulton County senior assistant district attorney
- Judge Carla W. McMillian of the Georgia Court of Appeals
- Francis Moran II of the Lumpkin County District Attorney’s Office
- Judge Hal Moroz
- Judge J. Wade Padgett of the Augusta Circuit Superior Court
- Jacqueline L. Payne of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society
- Naveen Ramachandrappa, attorney
- Joann B. Sharp, attorney
- Howard P. Slomka, attorney
- Michael D. Thorpe, attorney
- Teri Walker of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Decatur.
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Georgia and Georgia judicial elections
As of November 2020, if a vacancy occurred on the Georgia Supreme Court, the position was filled by assisted appointment. The governor chose an appointee from a list of candidates compiled by the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission.[6]
If appointed, the interim judge had to run in the next general election held at least six months after the appointment, and, if confirmed by voters, they could finish the rest of their predecessor's term.[6]
Georgia Supreme Court justices were otherwise primarily selected by popular vote in nonpartisan elections. They served six-year terms, after which they had to run for re-election in order to retain their seats.[6]
Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission
- See also: Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission
As of November 2020, the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) recommended candidates to fill vacancies on the Georgia Supreme Court, Georgia Court of Appeals, superior courts, and state courts. Before making a recommendation, the JNC solicited applications and interviewed applicants. The commission then submitted a list of five names to the governor for consideration. The governor was not required to select an individual from the list in order to appoint them.[7]
As of November 2020, the commission consisted of 18 members appointed by the governor. The commission was created by executive order by Governor Jimmy Carter (D) in 1972. The executive order indicated that appointments to the commission should be made "with a view toward equitable geographic representation and...[should] reflect the diversity of the State's citizenry."[7]
Makeup of the court
- See also: Georgia Supreme Court
When Blackwell announced his retirement, the Georgia Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Charlie Bethel | Appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal (R) in 2018 | |
| ■ Michael P. Boggs | Appointed by Gov. Deal in 2016 | |
| ■ John Ellington | Elected in 2018 | |
| ■ Harold Melton | Appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) in 2005 | |
| ■ David Nahmias | Appointed by Gov. Perdue in 2009 | |
| ■ Nels Peterson | Appointed by Gov. Deal in 2016 | |
| ■ Sarah Warren | Appointed by Gov. Deal in 2018 |
About Justice Blackwell
- See also: Keith Blackwell
Blackwell was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court by Governor Nathan Deal (R) in June 2012 to succeed Justice George H. Carley.[8] Blackwell was elected to a full term in 2014 after running unopposed.
Before joining the state supreme court, Blackwell was a judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals. He was appointed in 2010 by Gov. Sonny Perdue (R). Before that, he worked in private practice and as an assistant district attorney in Cobb County. 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.[9]
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.[10][9]
Trump SCOTUS shortlist
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.”[11][12]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2020
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2020
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2020. 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.
Noteworthy events
Georgia Supreme Court upholds canceled election, appointment of Blackwell's successor
- See also: Georgia Supreme Court elections, 2020
Blackwell's term was set to expire on December 31, 2020. His seat would have otherwise been up for election on May 19, 2020 (later delayed until June 9, 2020). The election was canceled after Blackwell announced his retirement, effective November 18, 2020. The supreme court announced that Gov. Kemp would appoint Blackwell's replacement. The appointment was challenged in court.
Below is a brief timeline of that litigation.
May 14, 2020: Georgia Supreme Court upholds canceled election
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled in a 6-2 decision that the governor could appoint a successor and that the secretary of state could not be compelled to hold an election. Presiding Justice David Nahmias wrote for the majority, "Even if Justice Blackwell’s office is not vacant yet, if his accepted resignation will undoubtedly create a vacancy in his office on November 18, his term of office will go with him, and the next six-year term of his office that would begin on January 1, 2021, will never exist."[13]
Ocmulgee Circuit Superior Court Judge Brenda Holbert Trammell dissented, joined by Fayette Circuit Superior Court Judge Scott Ballard. Trammell and Ballard were two of the five justices who replaced sitting justices that had recused themselves. In her dissent, Trammell wrote "an appointment is unlawful in this circumstance."[13]
Click here to read the full opinion.
March 23: Georgia Supreme Court grants an expedited review
The Georgia Supreme Court issued an order consolidating the cases Barrow and Beskin filed and ordering an expedited review. Five of the eight sitting justices recused themselves from the case. They were replaced by substitute justices. Chief Justice Harold Melton, Presiding Justice David Nahmias, and Justice Sarah Warren did not recuse themselves.[14] Click here to read the court's order.
March 18: Barrow appeals Fulton County judge ruling
Former Congressman John Barrow (D) filed an emergency request with the Georgia Court of Appeals to review a ruling from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Emily Richardson. Richardson held on March 16 that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) was not required to hold an election to select Blackwell's replacement.[15]
The state court of appeals transferred the case to the Georgia Supreme Court. Barrow filed a motion on March 19 asking the eight supreme court justices sitting at the time to recuse themselves.[16]
Former state Representative Beth Beskin (R) filed a separate motion appealing Judge Richardson's ruling.[16]
March 16: Fulton County judge upholds gubernatorial appointment process
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Emily Richardson denied petitions from former Congressman John Barrow (D) and former state Representative Beth Beskin (R), challenging the process by which Justice Blackwell's successor would be chosen. Richardson said Barrow and Beskin did not show they had "a clear right" to require Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to hold an election.[17]
Richardson said Blackwell's seat became vacant the day he submitted his resignation letter and the governor accepted it. Once this happened, she said, the secretary of state was no longer "under a statutory legal duty to hold qualifications for Justice Blackwell’s seat."[17]
March 6: Retirement announcement and lawsuit
Justice Blackwell announced in February that he was retiring on November 18, 2020. In the announcement, the supreme court said Governor Brian Kemp (R) would appoint Blackwell's replacement.[18]
Former Congressman John Barrow (D) and former state Representative Beth Beskin (R) both planned on filing to run for Blackwell's seat. When Barrow and Beskin showed up to file in March, state officials said the election was no longer taking place. The two candidates filed separate legal challenges in Fulton County Superior Court, asking the judge to order Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to put the election back on the calendar.[19]
Raffensperger's office said in a letter to Beskin and Barrow, "After speaking with the Attorney General’s office about the situation, our office determined that the most prudent course of action was to cancel qualifying for that seat."[19]
Media coverage
This section includes excerpts from articles about Blackwell's retirement, the replacement process, and the canceled election.
- Chris Cillizza, CNN (May 20, 2020): "Cillizza: This seems to set a dangerous precedent. Can't retiring judges and the governor game the system to avoid elections and keep their preferred party in power?
- [Greg Bluestein, of the Atlanta Journal Constitution]: That's exactly what critics fear. Instead of resigning immediately, other justices could follow Blackwell's lead and submit post-dated resignations that let them stay in office longer while allowing the governor to appoint his or her successor.
- They also worry that the decision could pave the way for a judge to set aside the election of anyone else to succeed him -- even after the election has already happened -- by simply resigning before the successor takes office.
- Barrow raised that possibility in a scathing response that said judges should 'not manipulate the law the way Brian Kemp and Justice Blackwell have manipulated this election. We'll continue to see these justices blaming the voters for their bad decisions -- until we replace them,' said Barrow."[20]
- Ian Millhiser, Vox (May 19, 2020): "As a practical matter, this decision is likely to prove very easy for retiring justices to game if they belong to the same political party as the incumbent governor. Indeed, under the court’s decision in Barrow, Blackwell likely could have announced that he would resign effective December 30 — just one day before his term would have expired — and Kemp still would have gained the power to name Blackwell’s replacement.
- Indeed, Kemp could potentially even appoint Blackwell to fill the vacancy created by Blackwell’s early resignation. That would effectively give Blackwell an eight-year term, rather than a six-year term. And nothing would prevent Blackwell from running for election again in 2022.
- The upshot of Barrow is likely to be that when a justice who belongs to the same party as the governor wishes to retire, they will submit a postdated resignation similar to the one Blackwell submitted to Kemp. That will effectively give that justice’s party an extra two years to hold on to the justice’s seat before the next election takes place."[21]
- Asher Stockler, Newsweek (May 16, 2020): "Appointments to Supreme Court seats for newcomers are the norm, not the exception, despite the Georgia Constitution requiring regularly held judicial elections. In more than 35 years, only one justice first joined the court after being duly elected.
- Critics worry that the court's decision further entrenches a system of incumbency, where appointees selected by the governor are given the upper-hand in any future election they may face.
- While judicial appointments are not a rare occurrence, this is the first time the Georgia Supreme Court has considered what should happen if a judgeship is vacated after an election, pitting two provisions of the state's Constitution directly against each other."[22]
- Ian Millhiser, Vox (March 16, 2020): "One of the central players in this narrative is the Republican governor who is widely viewed as an enemy by the voting rights community, due to credible allegations that he engaged in voter suppression that tilted the state’s 2018 gubernatorial race in his favor. ...
- As a constitutional matter, Raffensperger’s decision to cancel the election is highly dubious. The Georgia Constitution provides that 'all Justices of the Supreme Court and the Judges of the Court of Appeals shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis for a term of six years.' Though the governor may appoint people to the state Supreme Court when a vacancy arises, such an appointee typically 'shall serve for the unexpired term' of the person they were appointed to replace.
- So, while Kemp almost certainly can appoint someone to replace Blackwell, that replacement would serve from November 18 to December 31 of this year — and that’s it. The May election is intended to fill the seat beginning on January 1 of next year. ...
- One reason why this effort to cancel an election is potentially alarming is that Gov. Kemp was credibly accused of effecting changes in the voting system that benefited him while he held Raffensperger’s job."[23]
- The Associated Press, Ledger-Enquirer (March 13, 2020): "An attorney said in court Friday that Georgia's top election official followed the law when he canceled a May election to the state Supreme Court to allow the governor to appoint a replacement for a sitting justice who won't leave office until November. ...
- Russ Willard, a state attorney representing Raffensperger, said that under Georgia law, a seat is considered vacant and the appointment process can begin once a resignation is accepted by the governor. 'Once that resignation has been accepted, the mechanism for appointment begins,' Willard said. Willard argued that such an appointment process allows for smooth transitions of government."[24]
- Sara Swan, The Fulcrum (March 12, 2020): "It's a startlingly bold move, the legality of which is now being challenged in court: Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, already an enemy of voting rights groups nationwide, has canceled an election and says he'll fill a seat on the Georgia Supreme Court all by himself.
- After he won an extremely narrow election in 2018, Kemp's critics said it was entirely because, as secretary of state at the time, he used his power to suppress the vote for Democrat Stacey Abrams by aggressively purging the registration rolls, closing or moving polling stations, rebuffing voters with missing middle initials on their ID cards, and tossing absentee ballots for similarly small bureaucratic mistakes.
- Now, the governor has opened himself up to intense criticism that he'd rather stack the state's highest court with another fellow conservative than abide by the spirit (if not the letter) of the law."[25]
- Bill Torpy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (March 9, 2020): "The state Constitution tells us that judges — whether they be on Superior Courts, the Appeals Court, or the state Supreme Court — are to be elected. Judges are to be accountable to the people.
- Nod, nod. Wink, wink.
- In reality, hardly any of that civics lesson blarney exists in Georgia. The selection of judges, especially spots on the top two appellate courts, is the property of the governor, and those in the judiciary dutifully play along in this rigged game.
- To avoid the unwashed masses weighing in on their selection, judges have for decades retired or resigned before the end of their terms to allow the governor to pick a replacement. Sure, appointed judges later run for election, but by then they will be Incumbent Judges, and only the foolish or the brave challenge Incumbent Judges. In fact, no sitting Supreme Court justice has ever been defeated. Not. One."[26]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. News, "Georgia Supreme Court Justice Announces Plans to Resign," February 28, 2020
- ↑ Fulton Judicial Courts, "Judge Shawn Ellen LaGrua," accessed March 17, 2013
- ↑ Governor Brian P. Kemp, Office of the Governor, "Governor Kemp Appoints Judge Shawn Ellen LaGrua to Georgia Supreme Court," December 1, 2020
- ↑ Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission, "JNC recommends candidates for Southern Judicial Circuit and Supreme Court of Georgia," March 27, 2020
- ↑ Law.com, "29 Judges and Lawyers Apply for Blackwell's Seat," March 17, 2020
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia; Judicial Nominating Commissions," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Office of the Georgia Governor, Press Release: "Deal appoints Blackwell to Supreme Court of Georgia," June 25, 2012
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Office of the Governor, "Deal appoints Blackwell to Supreme Court of Georgia," June 25, 2012
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Blackwell, Dillard get Appeals Court judgeships," October 20, 2010
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Law.com, "GA Supreme Court Refuses to Compel Election for Justice Blackwell's Seat," May 14, 2020
- ↑ Calhoun Times, "Georgia Supreme Court to hear appeal of canceled election," March 23, 2020
- ↑ Online Athens, "Cancellation of Georgia court election headed for appeal," March 18, 2020
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Barrow, suing for high court vote, tells 8 justices: Recuse yourselves," March 20, 2020
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Law.com, "Judge Affirms Governor's Right to Appoint Justice Blackwell's Replacement," March 16, 2020
- ↑ Georgia Supreme Court, "Justice Keith Blackwell to resign in November," February 28, 2020
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 News4jax.com, "Lawsuits: Georgia illegally canceled election to high court," March 6, 2020
- ↑ CNN, "How Georgia Republicans canceled an election to get what they wanted," May 20, 2020
- ↑ Vox, "Georgia Republicans cancel election for state Supreme Court, meaning governor can appoint a Republican," May 19, 2020
- ↑ Newsweek, "Advocates decry Georgia Supreme Court's decision allowing governor to invalidate election results," May 16, 2020
- ↑ Vox, "Georgia Republicans’ constitutionally dubious attempt to cancel a state election, explained," March 16, 2020
- ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, "Attorney: Georgia followed law in canceling court election," March 13, 2020
- ↑ The Fulcrum, "Can he do that? Ga. governor, voting rights villain, cancels election." March 12, 2020
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "OPINION: Kemp and Company rigging the judicial system? Objection!" March 9, 2020
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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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