There’s a new short list for the Georgia Court of Appeals and Columbia County Superior Court Judge J. Wade Padgett remains a contender.
Padgett was one of five candidates recommended by the Judicial Nominating Commission in March for an opening on the state appeals court.
Gov. Brian Kemp selected Jeffrey A. Watkins for the appeals vacancy in May.
Then in August, the Supreme Court of Georgia removed suspended Court of Appeals Judge Christian Coomer from the bench, creating another opening.
After selecting five additional candidates to interview from its original pool of 19, the Judicial Nominating Commission returned five recommendations for the vacancy last week that included Padgett.
“After considering all the candidates, the commission is sending the candidates on our prior short list who want to be reconsidered and two additional candidates for your consideration,” commission co-chairs Vincent R. Russo and Mark Middleton wrote to Kemp Dec. 7.
Padgett is a former Columbia County Chief Magistrate who was appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to the Augusta Judicial Circuit bench in 2009. He became a Columbia County Superior Court judge when the circuit split in 2021. Padgett has written a book about the history of the Augusta Judicial Circuit and has served as president of the Georgia Council of Superior Court Judges.
Also remaining on the short list from March are:
- Carolyn “Tippi” Burch – Sole Practitioner/Owner, The Burch Firm of Columbus and a former U.S. attorney, appellate division for the Northern District of Georgia
- Jeremy U. Littlefield – Member and Co-Founder, Robbins Alloy Belinfante Littlefield LLC of Atlanta
Added to the list were:
- Brian C. Lea – Partner, Jones Day of Atlanta. A former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Lea filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce and PCS Nitrogen in opposition to the Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to replace the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam with a rock weir
- Paige Reese Whitaker – Superior court judge for the Fulton County Judicial Circuit since 2017, and former senior assistant attorney general for 14 years
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
