The sole African-American judge on the Chattahoochee Circuit's Superior Court for the past 21 years has asked Governor Nathan Deal to consider color—the "face of justice"—in filling two seats on the seven-member bench. Judge John Allen, who will retire as the court's chief judge on Oct. 31, wrote in a memo sent to the governor and his Judicial Nominating Commission that an all-white and male judiciary in the Columbus area circuit would be "egregiously unrepresentative of the population served."
In addition to Allen's seat, the governor will appoint someone to a new seat created by the Legislature. The JNC is accepting applications through Sept. 16. Of six nominations the JNC had received as of Sept. 5, at least one was African American—Alonzo Whitaker, chief assistant district attorney in the Chattahoochee Circuit.
