Atlanta, Dec. 6, 2017– Judge Paige Reese Whitaker of the Fulton County Superior Court has been designated to serve in place of Justice David E. Nahmias in the appeal of Holt v. Ebinger (S18A0052). The Supreme Court of Georgia will hear arguments in the case on Dec. 12, 2017 during its 10:00 a.m. session. In this case, the Georgia Attorney General is appealing a lower court’s order that set aside a man’s aggravated assault conviction based on the incompetence and ineffective legal counsel he received from both his trial attorney and his appeals attorney. In addition to hearing arguments, Judge Whitaker will participate in the Court’s decision.
Judge Whitaker, 50, was appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal and sworn in to the Fulton Superior Court on Feb. 27, 2017. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Whitaker served as a Deputy District Attorney with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office from September 2010 to February 2017. She was a Senior Assistant Attorney General with the Georgia Department of Law from December 1992 to June 2007.
Judge Whitaker graduated Magna Cum Laude from the College of Charleston in 1989. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Duke University School of Law in 1992. Judge Whitaker is active in numerous bar and civic organizations, including the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Georgia, the Legislative Committee of the Council of Superior Court Judges, and the Leadership Committee for the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. She is also a registered mediator.
Judge Whitaker is married and has two sons. She is a parishioner at the Cathedral of Christ the King.
(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.)