New chief justice selected for Georgia Supreme Court
Presiding Justice Harold Melton unanimously elected as Georgia Supreme Court’s new chief justice
From Staff Reports
ATLANTA — Presiding Justice Harold D. Melton has been unanimously elected as the new chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, succeeding Chief Justice P. Harris Hines. The court has also unanimously elected Justice David E. Nahmias to become the new presiding justice.
Hines, who was appointed to the court in 1995 by then-Gov. Zell Miller, plans to retire Aug. 31. Both justices will be sworn into their new positions in a ceremony at the Georgia House of Representatives chambers on Sept. 4.
Georgia’s chief justice presides over the state’s judicial branch, as the governor leads the executive branch of government and as House and Senate leaders lead the legislative branch. The presiding justice serves in the chief justice’s absence.
The chief justice is the spokesperson for the court as well as for the entire judiciary, presiding over oral arguments and running meetings in which the court deliberates about cases. He or she serves one four-year term and also chairs the Georgia Judicial Council — the policy-making body for the judicial branch that is made up of the president of the State Bar in Georgia and 26 judges who represent the appellate courts and all classes of trial courts in the state.
Melton, who was sworn in as presiding justice on Jan. 6, 2017 by Gov. Nathan Deal, was appointed to the state’s highest court by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue in July 2005. Prior to his appointment, Melton served as Perdue’s executive counsel, representing the governor on a number of legal issues.
Before that, Melton worked 11 years in the Georgia Department of Law, dealing with issues ranging from the creation of the Georgia Lottery Corporation to the administration of Georgia’s tobacco settlement.
A native of Washington, D.C., Melton received a bachelor of science degree from Auburn University, where he was the first African-American president of the student government. He earned his law degree from the University of Georgia. Melton serves on the board of Atlanta Youth Academies and is also active with the Young Life youth ministry.
Nahmias was appointed to the court by Perdue in August 2009, previously serving as United States Attorney in Atlanta for five years. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he served as a senior Justice Department official in Washington, D.C., where he oversaw terrorism cases.
A native of Atlanta, Nahmias graduated summa cum laude from Duke University and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. He served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
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