Georgia Chief Justice to Step Down
Chief Justice Harold Melton's decision to leave the high court allows Gov. Brian Kemp to appoint a new Justice
Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton announced on Friday that he will leave the court effective July 1 after 16 years on the bench.
The 54-year-old Melton was first appointed to the high court in 2005 by Gov. Sonny Perdue, making him the first Justice to be appointed by a Republican Governor since Reconstruction. He became Chief Justice in 2018. He briefly considered competing for the Senate seat left vacant by Sen. Johnny Isakson, but was ultimately not chosen for the coveted spot.
Melton issued a statement on Friday announcing his decision, which read:
“July 31 will mark my 30th year working in state government, 16 years with the Court. This fall, all of our three children will be attending college at the same time.”
“Now is the best time for me to explore opportunities for the next season of life that will allow me to best serve our legal community and my extended family. I do not now know what my next move will be. With this announcement, I can begin the search process in earnest.”
His retirement will allow Gov. Brian Kemp to make his third appointment to Georgia’s highest court. The Governor, who is running for re-election next year, has tried to prioritize women and minorities for high-profile positions. After he chose Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds to lead the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Gov. Kemp appointed chief magistrate judge Joyette Holmes to succeed Reynolds as Cobb DA. She became the first woman and the first Black DA in Cobb County history. She ran for a full term in 2020, but was ultimately defeated by Democrat Flynn Broady.
There’s also Gov. Kemp’s appointment of Kelly Loeffler to Johnny Isakson’s seat in the U.S. Senate. The rationale behind her appointment at the time was that she would help the Republican Party win back suburban women, a demographic that has been bleeding from the party in recent election cycles. She of course went on to lose the special election for the seat to Democrat Raphael Warnock.
Kemp has even made historic appointments to the Georgia Supreme Court. Last year, he appointed Appeals Court Judge Carla Wong McMillian to serve as a Justice on the state’s high court. McMillian, who previously served as a judge in Fayette County, became the first Asian-American woman to ever serve on the Georgia Supreme Court. According to the AJC, her grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from China in the 1920s and her mother is a native of Hong Kong.
It remains to be seen who Gov. Kemp will choose to fill Melton’s seat, but based on his previous appointments to top positions, it’s safe to assume that it will be a minority, particularly a female minority.