The sudden death of Augusta Chief Magistrate William Jennings in early 2020 left a vacancy on its busiest court that Gov. Brian Kemp has yet to fill.
That means the Augusta Judicial District’s busiest court, the Magistrate Court, has one active judge, the honorable LeJoi N. Williamson.
Augusta’s Superior Court also has a vacancy due to Judge Michael Annis’ retirement in early 2020.
Kemp has not taken steps to fill it either, even though final nominees for both judicial offices have been submitted and received by the governor.
Vacancies on the Judicial Retirement System Board are waiting to be filled as well.
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Augusta District Attorney Jared Williams says that the lack of a gubernatorial appointment to the
Magistrate’s Court is a problem because that court handles the majority of cases heard on a daily
basis in the Augusta.
“That court is responsible for issuing warrants and presiding over preliminary hearings, all the
while hearing cases of feuding neighbors and other civil disputes,” Williams says. “While I
applaud Judge Williamson and her staff for stepping up, that is a ton of work to put on one
person “
Georgia Representative Barry Fleming agrees with Williams but offers a perspective from the
state level. Fleming says that many times, judicial appointees from a specific region get lumped
together for the governor to consider all at once.
“One thing that is definitely slowing the process with the Superior Court appointment is the
situation with Columbia County wanting to create its own court district,” Fleming explains. “The
governor is likely waiting to see how that plays out.”
District Attorney Williams praised the staff in both of the courts.
The Governor’s Office did not respond to requests for comment on judicial appointments in
Augusta.
Scott Hudson is the Managing Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
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