Georgia gov appoints replacement for departing chief justice

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's governor has announced that a state Court of Appeals judge will fill the spot on the state Supreme Court that will be left open by the departure of the chief justice later this year.

Gov. Brian Kemp said he plans to appoint Judge Andrew Pinson to the high court. He will replace Chief Justice David Nahmias who Friday announced that he plans to resign from the court in July.

Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Ben Land will fill the vacancy on the Court of Appeals left by Pinson, Kemp said in a news release Monday.

Pinson has served on the Court of Appeals since Aug. 30 and previously worked as solicitor general in the office of Attorney General Chris Carr and in private practice at Jones Day in Atlanta. He also served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and then-Chief Judge David Sentelle on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Pinson is a Georgia native who received both undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia.

Land was appointed to the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Superior Court by then-Gov. Nathan Deal and has served on that court since February 2018, winning reelection in 2020. Prior to sitting on the bench he was a private practice attorney in Columbus for nearly 26 years.

He also holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia.