The flags will fly at half-staff in Columbia County in recognition of the community’s loss on Nov. 28 death of Superior Court Judge Michael N. Annis.
Annis served 16 years as a superior court judge handling criminal, civil and domestic matters in Richmond, Columbia and Burke counties until announcing he would retire effective Feb. 1, 2020. He was appointed to the bench in September 2003 by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Columbia County Judicial Circuit Chief Judge James G. Blanchard Jr., who asked the county commissioners to lower the flags until Annis’ interment, shared an office with Annis for some time and knew him for many years. In all of that time he never saw Annis angry or heard a harsh word from him, Blanchard said.
“He was always friendly, congenital and wore a smile on his face,” Blanchard said. “A true gentleman in every sense of the word. He was (also) always prepared for court and pronounced fair decisions.”
Columbia County Assistant District Attorney Natalie Paine worked on the team in Annis’ courtroom for seven years. He was the first judge she was assigned to, and that first year was hard, Paine said.
“But looking back, I know he was trying to teach me,” Paine said.
He expected a lot from attorneys, but he also knew how to let them be trial lawyers, she said. She pushed on a couple of cases that made new law, Paine said. None of the cases she tried before Annis were reversed, and she believes that was due to Annis’ determination to get it right the first time and not create bad law, she said.
Annis was very humble and kind, Paine said.
“He never got mad at anybody,” she added.
But he could be a trial for those who attended his court hearings.
“All Day Annis” was a nickname bestowed by someone because of the time Annis would work on the bench. He always let everyone have their say in court, Paine said. It led to long days, but it also meant no one left feeling they weren’t heard or were disrespected, Paine said.
Before he was appointed to a judgeship in 2003, Annis worked in the prosecutor’s office and in private practice for 23 years. He earned his law degree at Mercer University school of Law.
One of Annis fellow law school students was Augusta Judicial Circuit Superior Court Chief Judge Daniel J. Craig.
“I met Mike when he was a first-year law student at Mercer. We had much in common, both of us having been raised in Augusta. Other than his one-year detour through tax school, our law careers were very similar, including long periods in private practice and in prosecution, before taking the bench.
“His example was helpful to me in many ways. Although I never achieved his level of patience and prudence on the bench, his professional manner served as a standard I have tried to emulate. He earned the public trust and served our community with dignity and compassion,” Craig wrote of Annis.
