Amanda Mercier was sworn in as the new chief judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday at the Nathan Deal Justice Center. She was joined by Judge Trenton Brown, newly sworn in as vice chief judge. Both will begin two-year terms in their new roles on July 1.

Mercier will be the fifth woman to serve as chief judge on the court. Her predecessors, state Court of Appeals Presiding Judges Anne Barnes and Yvette Miller and Sara Doyle and Senior Judge Dorothy Beasley, the first woman to ever serve as chief judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals, were in attendance.

All four women who have served as chief judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals attended newly sworn-in Chief Judge Amanda Mercier’s investiture on Thursday. They are (from left) Presiding Judge Sarah Doyle, Senior Judge Dorothy Beasley, Chief Judge Amanda Mercier and Presiding Judges Anne Barnes and Yvette Miller. (Photo: Alex Anteau/ALM)