Atlanta, Oct. 11, 2017 – Chief Judge Albert B. Collier of the Clayton Judicial Circuit has been designated to serve in place of Justice Nels S.D. Peterson in the appeal of Barnett et al. v. Caldwell (S17G0641). The Supreme Court of Georgia will hear arguments in the case on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017 during its 2:00 P.M. session. In this case, the parents of an Atlanta teenager, who died after he and another student were roughhousing in class, are appealing a Georgia Court of Appeals ruling that the teacher who left the students unsupervised is immune from being sued. In addition to hearing arguments, Chief Judge Collier will participate in the Court’s decision.

Chief Judge Collier, 62, was elected to the Clayton County Superior Court in 1998. He has been reelected four times and plans to retire at the end of 2018. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Chief Judge Collier was an Assistant District Attorney in Clayton County from 1983 to 1998. He began his career as a Probation/Intake Officer with the Clayton County Juvenile Court.

Chief Judge Collier graduated from Valdosta State University with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and an emphasis on Criminal Justice. While employed as a Probation/Intake Officer, he attended law school in the evening. In 1982, he graduated with his law degree from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law. In 1987, he obtained a Masters of Law in Litigation from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law.

Chief Judge Collier presided over the Clayton County Adult Felony Drug Court from 2009 to 2017. He has served as an adjunct professor with Clayton College & State University, teaching Criminal Procedure in the Paralegal Program. He also served on the Clayton/Fayette Advisory Board at the Jonesboro Corps of the Salvation Army.

A resident of Clayton County since 1966, Chief Judge Collier and his family are longtime members of the First Baptist Church of Jonesboro, where he serves as a deacon. Chief Judge Collier has been married to Patti for 38 years and has three adult children.

(Designated judges are appointed when a justice must recuse himself or herself from a particular case. The Supreme Court of Georgia maintains a list of select judges from around the state and when the need arises, the Court appoints the next judge on the list.)