Atlanta, April 12, 2017 – Judge Jane C. Barwick of the Superior Court of Fulton County, Atlanta Judicial Circuit has been designated to serve in place of Justice Nels S. D. Peterson in the related appeals of Johnson Street Properties, LLC v. Clure (S17A0811) and Clure v. Johnson Street Properties, LLC (S17X0812). The Supreme Court of Georgia will hear arguments in the case on April 18, 2017 during its 10:00 A.M. session. In this Haralson County case, owners of an apartment complex are appealing a judge’s ruling that allows a lawsuit against them – brought by a woman who was hit by a tree – to go before a jury. In addition to hearing arguments, Judge Barwick will participate in the Court’s decision.
Judge Barwick, 62, is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the University of Georgia School of Law. She earned her Master’s in Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary.
Judge Barwick was elected to the Superior Court in 2014. She previously served as a Fulton County Family Division Judicial Officer and Magistrate Judge. Prior to being elected to the largest and busiest trial court in Georgia, she was the Senior Vice President and In-house Counsel for Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta. Judge Barwick was the sole proprietor of a law firm specializing in family law that began in 1995, and served as a contributing member of the Governor’s Commission on the Formation of Family Law Court and the Fulton County Task Force on Child Support. Through her experience, Judge Barwick is no novice to the complexities of domestic cases in Fulton County.
(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.)