Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs was appointed to the Supreme Court of Georgia on December 7, 2016 by Governor Nathan Deal. He was re-elected state-wide in 2018. Previously, Chief Justice Boggs served in elective office as a Judge on the Court of Appeals of Georgia, as a Superior Court Judge for the Waycross Judicial Circuit, and as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives.
Chief Justice Boggs was raised in Waycross and obtained his undergraduate degree in Political Science and Psychology from Georgia Southern College in 1985. Upon graduation, Chief Justice Boggs worked as a legislative aide in Washington, D.C. for Georgia Congressman J. Roy Rowland for two years. In 1990, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from Mercer University School of Law, where he was a member of the Moot Court Board and the ABA/Law School Division moot court competition team, was awarded membership in the Order of Barristers, and was elected to the Student Government Association.
Following his graduation from law school, Chief Justice Boggs practiced insurance defense litigation in Atlanta until returning to his hometown of Waycross. In Waycross, he maintained a general civil trial practice until his election to the Superior Court bench, focusing primarily on personal injury, domestic relations, and real estate matters while also serving as a County Attorney, Special Assistant Attorney General, and as Counsel to the regional Development Authority. In 2000, he won election as a State Representative to the Georgia General Assembly, where he served on the Judiciary, Public Safety, and Government Affairs Committees, and as chair of the Probate Law and Elections Law subcommittees. He was selected as the Outstanding Freshman Member of the General Assembly by the Legislative Alumni Association in 2002, and was also recognized by the Editors of Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the “40 under 40” leaders in Georgia.
While in the Legislature, Chief Justice Boggs received numerous awards, including the “Legislative Award” from the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, the University System of Georgia Foundation Regents Award for Excellence, the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association “Leadership Award,” and the District Attorneys’ Association of Georgia’s “Commitment to Justice Award” for his support of law enforcement and victims’ rights legislation.
After his election to the Superior Court in 2004, Chief Justice Boggs founded the Waycross Judicial Circuit Drug Court Program, served as its Presiding Judge, and served as a member of the Judicial Council of Georgia’s Standing Committee on Accountability Courts. In 2007, he received recognition for his support of the Magnolia House Shelter for abused women and child victims of domestic violence in Waycross, and was awarded the Boy Scouts of America “Golden Eagle” Award for his service to the community.
Chief Justice Boggs served as a member of Georgia’s Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform in 2011, and as co-chairman of the Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Council from 2012 to 2018 upon his appointment by Governor Nathan Deal. He currently serves as a member of Governor Brian Kemp’s Georgia Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, where he serves as chairman of the Mental Health Courts and Corrections subcommittee. He also serves as an appointee of Governor Kemp to the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission, and as chairman of the American Rescue Plan Act Funding Committee of the Judicial Council of Georgia, a committee established to assist in providing funding for courts to address case backlogs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chief Justice currently serves as chairman of the national steering committee of Justice Counts, an initiative led by the Council of State Governments Justice Center and supported by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, working to improve the availability and utility of criminal justice data in policy-making decisions. He also serves as an advisory member of the Council on Criminal Justice, a national criminal justice policy organization and serves as a member of the Council’s Veterans Justice Commission. Chief Justice Boggs serves as the immediate past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Council of State Governments Justice Center, a national nonpartisan criminal justice policy organization, and previously served as a member of the National Center for State Court’s Evidence Based Sentencing Peer Group, and the Task Force on Fines, Fees and Bail Reform. Chief Justice Boggs received the prestigious St. Thomas More Award from the St. Thomas More Society of Atlanta for his work in leading the state in criminal justice reform, and in 2019 received the “Spirit of Justice” award from the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Georgia.
Chief Justice Boggs serves as Chairman of the Judicial Council of Georgia, the policy-making body for the judicial branch that includes the State Bar President and 26 judges who represent the appellate courts and all classes of trial courts in the state. Chief Justice Boggs serves as a member of the Mercer University Board of Trustees, the Mercer University School of Law Board of Visitors, and the Board of Directors of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation.
Chief Justice Boggs lives in Pierce County with his wife Heather, a kindergarten teacher in the Ware County public school system.
