Georgia Supreme Court

Court Information
Justices: 9
Founded: 1845
Location: Atlanta
Salary
Chief: $179,112

Associates: $179,112

Judicial Selection
Method: Nonpartisan election
Term: 6 years
Active justices

Carla W. McMillian
Charlie Bethel
David Nahmias
John Ellington
Michael P. Boggs
Nels Peterson
Sarah Warren
Shawn LaGrua
Verda Colvin

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 David Nahmias.

As of September 2021, 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. As of November 18, 2021, there are 13 states that use this selection method. To read more about the nonpartisan election of judges, click here.

## Contents

* 1 Jurisdiction
* 2 Justices
* 3 Judicial selection
* 3.1 Qualifications
* 3.2 Chief justice
* 3.3 Vacancies
* 4 Elections
* 4.1 2020
* 4.1.1 Judges with expiring terms
* 4.2 2018
* 4.3 2016
* 4.3.1 Candidates
* 4.3.2 Results
* 4.4 2014
* 4.5 2012
* 4.6 2010
* 4.7 2008
* 4.8 2006
* 5 Caseloads
* 6 Analysis
* 6.1 Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)
* 6.1.1 Summary of cases decided in 2020
* 6.2 Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
* 6.3 Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
* 7 Ethics
* 7.1 Removal
* 8 History of the court
* 8.1 Notable firsts
* 9 Courts in Georgia
* 10 Party control of Georgia state government
* 11 See also
* 12 External links
* 13 Footnotes

## Jurisdiction[edit]

The 1983 Georgia Constitution gives the Georgia Supreme Court exclusive appellate jurisdiction over constitutional cases and election contest cases. The court also has general appellate jurisdiction over land title, will and equity cases, divorce and alimony cases, certified cases, death penalty cases, and writs of habeas corpus or certiorari. The court may also exercise jurisdiction over Georgia Court of Appeals cases found to be of great public importance.[1]

The following text from Article VI, Section 6 of the Georgia Constitution covers the organization and jurisdiction of the court:

“  | General Appellate Jurisdiction of Supreme Court

Unless otherwise provided by law, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction of the following classes of cases:

(1) Cases involving title to land;

(2) All equity cases;

(3) All cases involving wills;

(4) All habeas corpus cases;

(5) All cases involving extraordinary remedies;

(6) All divorce and alimony cases;

(7) All cases certified to it by the Court of Appeals; and

(8) All cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed.

Review of all cases shall be as provided by law. [2]

|  ”

|
|

—Georgia Constitution, Article IV, Section 6

## Justices[edit]

The table below lists the current judges of the Georgia Supreme Court and the appointing governor.

Judge | Appointed By

|

Michael P. Boggs

Nathan Deal (R)

David Nahmias

Sonny Perdue (R)

Nels Peterson

Nathan Deal (R)

Charlie Bethel

Nathan Deal (R)

John Ellington

Elected

Carla W. McMillian

Brian Kemp (R)

Sarah Warren

Nathan Deal (R)

Shawn Ellen LaGrua

Brian Kemp (R)

Verda Colvin

Brian Kemp (R)

## Judicial selection[edit]

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.[3]

### Qualifications[edit]

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

* a resident of Georgia and
* admitted to practice law for at least seven years.[3]

### Chief justice[edit]

The chief justice is selected by peer vote and serves in that capacity for four years.[3]

### Vacancies[edit]

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

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. The judicial nominating commission consists of eighteen members, each appointed by the governor. For each court vacancy, the commission recommends five candidates (unless fewer than five are found to be qualified), 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.[3]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

## Elections[edit]

In Georgia, judges are elected to six-year terms in nonpartisan elections. The governor appoints judges with the help of a nominating commission in the event of a midterm vacancy.

### 2020[edit]

See also: Georgia Supreme Court elections, 2020

The terms of four Georgia Supreme Court justices expired on December 31, 2020. The four seats were up for nonpartisan election on May 19, 2020.

#### Judges with expiring terms[edit]

This is a list of the justices who had to stand for nonpartisan election in 2020 in order to remain on the bench. Justices could choose not to stand for election.

■ Charlie Bethel
■ Sarah Warren

### 2018[edit]

See also: Georgia Supreme Court elections, 2018

The terms of five Georgia Supreme Court justices expired on December 31, 2018. Those justices stood for nonpartisan election by voters in 2018 in order to remain on the bench. The general election took place on May 22, 2018. Harold Melton, Michael P. Boggs, Nels Peterson, and Britt Grant were retained. John Ellington won election to the seat formerly held by Carol Hunstein, who did not file for retention.

### 2016[edit]

#### Candidates[edit]

■ David Nahmias (Incumbent/Unopposed)

#### Results[edit]

Georgia Supreme Court, David Nahmias' Seat, 2016

Candidate | Vote % | Votes
David Nahmias Incumbent (unopposed) | 100.00% | 775,214
Total Votes (159 of 159: 100%) | 775,214
Source: Georgia Secretary of State Official Results

### 2014[edit]

Unopposed|  Judge Harris Hines (Hines)

|

Unopposed|  Judge Keith Blackwell (Blackwell)

|

Unopposed|  Judge Robert Benham (Benham)

|

* Click here for 2014 General Election Results from the Georgia Secretary of State.

* Election history, 2006-2012 (click to expand)

### 2012[edit]

Candidate| Incumbency| Primary Vote| Election Vote

|
|
|

HunsteinCarol Hunstein A| Yes| | 99% A
MeltonHarold Melton (Georgia) A| Yes| | 99% A
ThompsonHugh Thompson A| Yes| | 99% A

### 2010[edit]

Georgia Supreme Court, Associate Justice
2010 General election results

Candidates  |  Votes  |  Percent
David Nahmias |  176,627 |  67%
Tammy Lynn Adkins |  86,938  |  33%
* Click here for 2010 General Election Results from the Georgia Secretary of State.

### 2008[edit]

Georgia Supreme Court, Associate Justice
2008 General election results

Candidates  |  Votes  |  Percent
Harris Hines |  2,801,588 |  100%
Against retention  |  0  |  0%
Georgia Supreme Court, Associate Justice
2008 General election results

Candidates  |  Votes  |  Percent
Robert Benham |  2,812,875 |  100%
Against retention  |  0  |  0%
* Click here for 2008 General Election Results from the Georgia Secretary of State.

### 2006[edit]

Georgia Supreme Court, Associate Justice
2006 General election results

Candidates  |  Votes  |  Percent
Harold Melton |  1,605,179 |  100%
Against retention  |  0  |  0%
Georgia Supreme Court, Associate Justice
2006 General election results

Candidates  |  Votes  |  Percent
George Carley |  1,609,144 |  100%
Against retention  |  0  |  0%
Georgia Supreme Court, Associate Justice
2006 General election results

Candidates  |  Votes  |  Percent
Robert Benham |  1,596,458 |  100%
Against retention  |  0  |  0%
Georgia Supreme Court, Associate Justice
2006 General election results

Candidates  |  Votes  |  Percent
Carol Hunstein |  1,170,973  |  63.1%
Mike Wiggins  |  683,483  |  36.9%
* Click here for 2006 General Election Results from the Georgia Secretary of State.

## Caseloads[edit]

The table below details the number of cases filed with the court and the number of dispositions (decisions) the court reached in each year. As of September 2019, data from 2014 to 2017 was not available.

Georgia Supreme Court caseload data

Year  | Filings  | Dispositions
2019 | 1,670 | 1,539
2018 | 1,627 | 1,781
2017 | N/A | N/A
2016 | N/A | N/A
2015 | N/A | N/A
2014 | N/A | N/A
2013 | 1,936 | 1,944
2012 | 1,936 | 1,963
2011 | 2,107 | 2,037
2010 | 2,036 | 1,869
2009 | 1,979 | 1,958
2008 | 2,060 | 2,160
2007 | 1,875 | 2,038

## Analysis[edit]

### Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)[edit]

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters, a study on how state supreme court justices decided the cases that came before them. Our goal was to determine which justices ruled together most often, which frequently dissented, and which courts featured the most unanimous or contentious decisions.

The study tracked the position taken by each state supreme court justice in every case they decided in 2020, then tallied the number of times the justices on the court ruled together. We identified the following types of justices:

* We considered two justices opinion partners if they frequently concurred or dissented together throughout the year.
* We considered justices a dissenting minority if they frequently opposed decisions together as a -1 minority.
* We considered a group of justices a determining majority if they frequently determined cases by a +1 majority throughout the year.
* We considered a justice a lone dissenter if he or she frequently dissented alone in cases throughout the year.

#### Summary of cases decided in 2020[edit]

* Number of justices: 9
* Number of cases: 347
* Percentage of cases with a unanimous ruling: 96.3% (334)
* Justice most often writing the majority opinion: Justice John Ellingtin (38)
* Per curiam decisions: 35
* Concurring opinions: 12
* Justice with most concurring opinions: Justice Keith Blackwell (4)
* Dissenting opinions: 11
* Justice with most dissenting opinions: Justices Charlie Bethel and Harold Melton ((3))

For the study's full set of findings in Georgia, click here.

### Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)[edit]

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship

Last updated: June 15, 2020

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.

The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation, based on a variety of factors. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on the political or ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. To arrive at confidence scores we analyzed each justice's past partisan activity by collecting data on campaign finance, past political positions, party registration history, as well as other factors. The five categories of Confidence Scores were:

* Strong Democrat
* Mild Democrat
* Indeterminate[5]
* Mild Republican
* Strong Republican

We used the Confidence Scores of each justice to develop a Court Balance Score, which attempted to show the balance among justices with Democratic, Republican, and Indeterminate Confidence Scores on a court. Courts with higher positive Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Republican Confidence Scores, while courts with lower negative Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Democratic Confidence Scores. Courts closest to zero either had justices with conflicting partisanship or justices with Indeterminate Confidence Scores.[6]

Georgia had a Court Balance Score of 6.78, indicating Republican control of the court. In total, the study found that there were 15 states with Democrat-controlled courts, 27 states with Republican-controlled courts, and eight states with Split courts. The map below shows the court balance score of each state.

### Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)[edit]

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Georgia was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Georgia received a score of 0.09. Based on the justices selected, Georgia was the 20th most conservative court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.[7]

## Ethics[edit]

The Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Georgia. It consists of four overarching canons:

“  |

* Canon 1: "Judges shall uphold the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of their activities"
* Canon 2: "Judges shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially, competently, and diligently"
* Canon 3: "Judges shall regulate their extra-judicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with their judicial duties"
* Canon 4: "Judges shall refrain from political activity inappropriate to their judicial office"[8][2]

|  ”

|
|

The full text of the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

### Removal[edit]

Judges in Georgia may be removed in one of two ways:

* By the Judicial Qualifications Commission of Georgia, which may discipline, remove, or retire a judge. The removal or retirement of a judge must be approved by the Georgia Supreme Court.
* By an impeachment of the judge by the Georgia House of Representatives and a conviction by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Georgia State Senate.[9]

## History of the court[edit]

In 1858, the Georgia legislature passed an act "decreeing that the decisions of the 13-year-old court had the force of law."[10] The first session of the court was held in Talbotton, Georgia on January 26, 1846. Three judges were chosen by the General Assembly, and were paid $2,500 per year. The men were Joseph Henry Lumpkin of Athens, Eugenius A. Nisbet of Macon, and Hiram Warner of Greenville. There were eleven superior court circuits, and the Supreme Court traveled to those courts. The Constitution of Georgia was amended in 1896 to allow for an additional three justices and provided the direct election of justices by the people. In 1945, the Constitution was amended to include a seventh justice.[11]

The Georgia General Assembly passed a bill in March 2016 to expand the number of justices from seven to nine.[12] Governor Nathan Deal signed the bill on May 3.[13] In November 2016, Gov. Nathan Deal (R) appointed Georgia Solicitor General Britt Grant and Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Nels Peterson to these two expansion seats.[14] They took the bench on January 1, 2017.

### Notable firsts[edit]

* Former Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears became the first woman and the youngest person ever to serve on Georgia's Supreme Court in 1992 when she was first appointed by then-governor Zell Miller. Justice Sears was also the first African-American female Chief Justice on a state supreme court in the United States.[15]
* Joseph Henry Lumpkin was the first Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.

## Courts in Georgia[edit]

See also: Courts in Georgia

In addition to the federal courts in Georgia, there are two types of appellate courts, one general jurisdiction trial court, and six limited jurisdiction trial courts. Their infrastructure and relationship are illustrated in the flow chart below.

The structure of Georgia's state court system.

## Party control of Georgia state government[edit]

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. A state supreme court plays a role in the checks and balances system of a state government.

Georgia has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

## See also[edit]

Georgia | Judicial Selection | More Courts

|
|

Courts in Georgia Georgia Court of Appeals Georgia Supreme Court |  Elections: 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Georgia |  Federal courts State courts Local courts

## External links[edit]

* Georgia Supreme Court Official Site
* Georgia Supreme Court Blog
* Georgia judicial qualifications commission

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Georgia Supreme Court Official Site, "Home," accessed September 10, 2021
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia," archived October 2, 2014
4. ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia; Judicial Nominating Commissions," archived October 2, 2014
5. ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
6. ↑ The Court Balance Score is calculated by finding the average partisan Confidence Score of all justices on a state supreme court. For example, if a state has justices on the state supreme court with Confidence Scores of 4, -2, 2, 14, -2, 3, and 4, the Court Balance is the average of those scores: 3.3. Therefore, the Confidence Score on the court is Mild Republican. The use of positive and negative numbers in presenting both Confidence Scores and Court Balance Scores should not be understood to that either a Republican or Democratic score is positive or negative. The numerical values represent their distance from zero, not whether one score is better or worse than another.
7. ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
8. ↑ Judicial Council of Georgia: Administrative Office of the Courts, "Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct," accessed September 10, 2021
9. ↑ National Center For State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Removal of Judges," accessed May 9, 2015
10. ↑ "[F]rom and after the passage of this act the decisions of the Supreme Court of this State...shall not be reversed, overruled or changed; but the same is hereby declared to be, and shall be considered, regarded and observed by all the Courts of this State, as the law of this State, when it has not been changed by legislative enactment, as fully, and to have the same effect, as if the same had been enacted in terms by the General Assembly. Acts of 1858, pp. 74-75.
11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `history`
12. ↑ Georgia General Assembly, "House Bill 927," accessed March 24, 2016
13. ↑ The Florida Times-Union, "Georgia governor OK's bill expanding state Supreme Court by 2," May 4, 2016
14. ↑ Daily Report, "Deal Appoints Five New Appellate Judges," November 9, 2016
15. ↑ ABC News, "Leah Ward Sears, African-American Woman, on Obama's Short List for High Court," April 12, 2010

Georgia courts

* * *

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 Juvenile Courts • Georgia Probate Courts • Georgia Magistrate Courts • Georgia Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in Georgia • Georgia judicial elections • Judicial selection in Georgia

v • e

Georgia Supreme Court
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|

Current|

Chief Justice: David Nahmias • John Ellington • Michael P. Boggs • Shawn LaGrua • Charlie Bethel • Carla W. McMillian • Verda Colvin • Nels Peterson • Sarah Warren

Former|

Leah Ward Sears • Carol Hunstein • Robert Benham (Georgia) • George Carley • Hugh Thompson • Harris Hines • Harold Melton (Georgia) • Norman Fletcher • Joseph Henry Lumpkin • Willis Hunt • Joseph Rucker Lamar • Robert Hall (Georgia) • Keith Blackwell • Britt Grant •

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