Presiding Judge Sara L. Doyle of the Court of Appeals of Georgia (from left), Judge LaTain Kell of Cobb County Superior Court, Judge Shawn LaGrua of Fulton County Superior Court and Judge Wade Padgett of the Augusta Judicial Circuit Superior Court. (Photo: John Disney/ALM Courtesy photos)
Few in the United States wore masks or had heard the term “social distancing” in late February, when Justice Keith Blackwell announced that in about nine months he would leave the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Litigation started less than a week later, testing whether the governor or voters would choose Blackwell’s successor. By the end of March, the pandemic had upended almost everything, but Gov. Brian Kemp’s Judicial Nominating Commission managed to review 29 nominees for Blackwell’s seat and recommended four finalists for the spot.
