Atlanta, June 15, 2016 – Superior Court Judge Philip C. Smith of the Bell-Forsyth
Judicial Circuit in Cumming has been designated to serve in place of Justice Harold Melton in
the appeals of In the Interest of M.D.H., a Child (S16G0428) and In the Interest of D.V.H., a
Child (S16G0546). The Supreme Court of Georgia will hear arguments in the cases on Monday,
June 20, 2015 during its 10:00 A.M. session. At issue in both cases –from Cherokee and Jasper
counties – is whether delinquency petitions against two minors should have been dismissed
because state prosecutors failed to meet the filing deadline set by a Georgia statute. In addition to
hearing arguments in the cases, Judge Smith will participate in the Court’s decision.

Judge Smith, 61, was appointed to the Superior Court of the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit
by Gov. Nathan Deal in January 2013. He was elected to a full term without opposition in 2014.
Prior to his appointment to the Superior Court, he served as a Forsyth County State Court judge.
He served as Chief Judge of State Court from 2003 until his appointment to Superior Court.
Before becoming a judge, Gov. Zell Miller appointed him in 1998 as the first District Attorney of
the newly created Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit. Judge Smith was in private practice as a trial
attorney from 1979 to 1998.

Judge Smith earned his bachelor’s degree in 1976 from Vanderbilt University and his law
degree in 1979 from the University of Georgia. He has been a member of the Georgia State Bar
since 1979. Judge Smith has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar of
Georgia since 1994. Currently he serves as a member of the Council of Superior Court Judges
with assignments to the Committees on Continuing Education and Legislation. Judge Smith is a
member of the Executive Committee of the National Conference of State Trial Court Judges of
the American Bar Association.

Locally, Judge Smith is a member of the South Forsyth Rotary Club and is on the Board
of Directors of the Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce. He is married to Pamela Boles, a
Reserve Army Colonel who has served two tours of active duty in Saudi Arabia (Desert Shield,
Desert Storm) and Kosovo (Peacekeeping). Col. Boles currently sits as a Magistrate Court Judge.
(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 judges from around the state
and when the need arises, the Court appoints the next judge on the list.)