Atlanta, June 29, 2021 – David E. Nahmias will be sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia on Thursday, July 1, at the State Capitol. Michael P. Boggs will be sworn in as the new Presiding Justice. Outgoing Chief Justice Harold D. Melton will swear in both Justices, who were unanimously elected by their colleagues on March 11, 2021.
The investiture will take place at 3:00 p.m. in the House Chamber. A host of dignitaries plan to attend the celebration, including the other Supreme Court Justices and five former Chief Justices, Judges of the Georgia Court of Appeals, a number of other state and federal judges, former Georgia Governors Nathan Deal and Sonny Perdue, and FBI Director Christopher Wray and former Deputy Attorney General of the United States Sally Yates, who are friends of Justice Nahmias. Also planning to attend are Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and Solicitor General Andrew Pinson. The Right Reverend Bishop Robert C. Wright of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta will give the invocation. In addition to outgoing Chief Justice Melton, speakers will include former Justice Keith Blackwell, now with the law firm of Alston & Bird, and Elizabeth Fite, the new President of the State Bar of Georgia.
The Chief Justice is the head of Georgia’s judicial branch of government and is the spokesperson for the state’s highest court. He presides over the Court’s oral arguments and the meetings at which the Court deliberates about cases, although he has only one vote as does each of the nine Justices. The Chief Justice also chairs the Georgia Judicial Council, the policy-making body for the judicial branch. The Presiding Justice serves in the Chief Justice’s absence and is the vicechair of the Judicial Council. Both are elected to the positions by their fellow Justices and serve a four-year term.
Chief Justice Nahmias (pronounced NAH-mee-iss) has served on the Supreme Court since his appointment by Governor Perdue in August 2009, winning statewide elections to six-year-terms on the Court in 2010 and 2016. He will preside over oral arguments for the first time as Chief Justice on Aug. 24. Presiding Justice Boggs has served on the high court since his appointment by Governor Deal in 2016. He won statewide election to a six-year term in 2018.
Media are welcome to attend the investiture, although due to limited seating, the event is open to invited guests only. If you are media and wish to attend, please fill out a Media Request form and familiarize yourself with the Media Rules. Both are available on our website: www.gasupreme.us. If you did not already receive a media pass during the last legislative session, please contact Camille Taylor at the Capitol at 404-831-4090. You can also view a live-stream of the ceremony by going to our website which will link you to: https://livestream.com/accounts/25225474/events/8824297