Governor Kemp Names New JNC
Gov. Brian Kemp. (Photo: John Disney/ ALM)
Gov. Brian Kemp has chosen the lawyers who will help him pick judges.
"As governor, I am honored to appoint this impressive coalition of attorneys to the Judicial Nominating Commission. Together, we will work tirelessly to ensure that members of the state's judiciary branch represent our values and serve with integrity and humility," Kemp said in a news release Thursday. "I thank each of these distinguished individuals for accepting this call to service on behalf of hardworking Georgians across our state."
The group traditionally accepts nominations for open judicial positions, screens and interviews the candidates and sends short lists of recommendations to the governor. The governor can pick from the short lists or ask for more candidates, as Deal did toward the end of his term.
Kemp has chosen three co-chairs. Deal had two.
The co-chairs are:
Mark Middleton of Atlanta, of counsel, Gilbert, Harrell, Sumerford & Martin.
Vincent Russo of Atlanta, partner, The Robbins Firm.
Shannon Wallace of Canton, district attorney, Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit.
The members are:
Neera Bahl of Atlanta, managing partner, One Path Legal.
Beth Beskin of Atlanta, Elizabeth A. Beskin P.C.
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Michael Boggs, whose hometown is Waycross.
Derek Bottoms of Atlanta, vice president for employment practices at The Home Depot. He also is the husband of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Lance Cooper of Marietta, founder of The Cooper Firm. Cooper is well-known nationally as the lawyer whose product liability case caused General Motors to recall millions of cars with an ignition switch defect.
Meg Heap of Savannah, Chatham County district attorney, Eastern Judicial Circuit.
Robert Highsmith of Atlanta, partner, Holland & Knight. Highsmith has served on the JNC since 2006 under both Govs. Nathan Deal and Sonny Perdue, now U.S. secretary of agriculture.
Drew Hill of Athens, shareholder, Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley.
Anne Kaufold-Wiggins of Vidalia, a partner at Balch & Bingham.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shawn LaGrua. She also presides over a felony accountability court and was short-listed last year for appellate appointments.
Anh Le of Decatur, director of operations and business development, King Commercial Properties Inc.
Quentin Marlin of Savannah, partner, Ellis, Painter, Ratterree & Adams.
John Mroczko of Cartersville, John T. Mroczko P.C.
Brooke Newby of Perry, managing partner, Walker Hulbert Gray & Moore.
Natalie Paine of Augusta, district attorney, Augusta Judicial Circuit.
Darrell Sutton of Marietta, founding partner, Sutton Law Group, and president-elect of the State Bar of Georgia.
Mack Taylor of Evans, Mack Taylor Law.
Trey Taylor of Dublin, Taylor Law LLC.
Ryan Teague of Atlanta, attorney, The Robbins Firm. Teague served the last two governors as executive counsel to Deal and deputy executive counsel to Perdue.
Frank Turner Jr. of Covington, partner, Greer, Stansfield & Turner.
Josh Waters of Perry, associate, Walker Hulbert Gray & Moore.
Kathleen Wilkinson of Atlanta, associate, Hall Booth Smith.
