Atlanta, April 26, 2017 – Presiding Judge M. Yvette Miller of the Georgia Court of Appeals has been designated to serve in place of Justice Nels S. D. Peterson in the appeal of Williams v. State (S17A0954). The Supreme Court of Georgia will hear arguments in the case on May 2, 2017 during its 2:00 P.M. session. In this Cobb County case, a man is appealing his conviction for murdering his girlfriend by beating her to death with a hammer. In addition to hearing arguments, Judge Miller will participate in the Court’s decision.

Judge Miller was appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals in 1999 as the 65th judge and its first female African American judge. From 2009 to 2011, Judge Miller served as Chief Judge of the Court. During her tenure as Chief Judge, she implemented electronic filing (e-filing), which has improved access to the appellate court for attorneys and parties throughout the state of Georgia.

Prior to her appointment to the Court of Appeals, Judge Miller was a judge on the State Court of Fulton County. She also served as one of the first female assistant district attorneys in the office of the Fulton County District Attorney.

Judge Miller attended Mercer University where she earned her B.A. cum laude and received her Juris Doctorate from Mercer’s Walter F. George School of Law. She later received her LL.M. in litigation from Emory University School of Law and an LL.M. in the Judicial Process from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Judge Miller has received numerous awards for her professional achievements, including being named a Fellow of the American Bar Association and the Jurist of the Year Award from the National Bar Association. She was also inducted into the “Academy of Women Achievers.”

A native of Macon, Judge Miller is a life-long member of Steward Chapel AME Church in Macon. She currently resides in Cobb County and is a member of Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta.

(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.)