COVINGTON, Ga. — The probate and magistrate courts, district attorney and public defender offices and the legal community are represented on the list of nominees to replace Chief Judge John Ott on the Superior Court bench.
Georgia's Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) released the names of nine nominees Thursday to replace Ott, including the Newton County Probate and Magistrate judge and associate judge; the Alcovy Judicial Circuit's district attorney and his chief assistant DA for Walton County; a Walton County associate Magistrate judge; and four attorneys from both counties.
The vacancy will be created when Ott retires Dec. 31 after 32 years on the Superior Court bench in the Alcovy Judicial Circuit, which includes Newton and Walton counties.
Nominees include Newton County Probate and Magistrate Judge Melanie Bell, who was elected in 2020 to her second term leading the Probate Court; and District Attorney Randy McGinley, a Walton County resident in his first term as DA for both counties.
Others are Destiny H. Bryant, who is associate Probate and Magistrate judge for Newton County; G. Kevin Morris, who is associate Magistrate judge for Walton County; and W. Cliff Howard, who is chief assistant District Attorney for Walton County. Bryant lost to McGinley in the 2020 General Election for District Attorney.
Other nominees include Chief Assistant Public Defender Jennifer Arndt and attorneys Bryan H. Frost of Covington and Anne T. LaMalva and Michael R. Malcom, both of Monroe.
Nominees are not required to accept the nomination. However, the JNC is in the process of interviewing those who wish to be considered for the judgeship.
Bell said she was "honored to be considered by the JNC for the upcoming vacancy created by Judge Ott’s well-deserved retirement."
"I love being the Probate Judge and Chief Magistrate for Newton County, but would also welcome the opportunity to serve the citizens of the Alcovy Circuit in a different, but equally challenging way," Bell said.
"I pride myself on being a fair and efficient judge, and if chosen, would bring that same demeanor to the Superior Court bench," she said.
McGinley declined comment.
The JNC typically selects three finalists it will recommend to the governor, who is required to make the final appointment, said JNC chairman Vincent Russo.
The governor often makes his choice from the recommended finalists, though he also can reject the JNC's recommendations and ask it to recommend a different set of names. He also can reject the recommended finalists altogether and appoint someone not on the list, Russo said.
This will be the third Superior Court judge the governor will appoint in three years for the Alcovy Judicial Circuit.
Kemp appointed former DA Layla Zon in April 2020 to replace Judge Samuel Ozburn when Ozburn chose not to complete his final term after announcing his retirement.
The governor also appointed former Henry County assistant DA Cheveda McCamy as a judge to replace Horace Johnson Jr. after Johnson died of a COVID-related medical condition in July 2020.
Some names not included on the list of nominees that may surprise some Newton County voters include Covington attorneys Stephanie Lindsey, who challenged Ott for his judge's seat in 2012, and Robert Stansfield, who lost to Jeff Foster in a 2020 runoff for another Superior Court judgeship.
Superior Courts in Georgia have exclusive, constitutional authority over felonies, divorces, equity cases and matters regarding title to land.
According to the Georgia Constitution, the governor will appoint Ott's successor to serve until the next election for the judgeship in 2024.
Though not required, the governor may be set to appoint someone from Walton County to replace Ott to maintain the traditional split of Superior Court judges from Newton and Walton counties in the Alcovy Circuit.
Traditionally, Newton residents filled a majority of the Superior Court judge seats based on the county having a majority of the population in the two-county judicial circuit. Currently, the circuit's Superior Court judges include Newton residents Cheveda McCamy, Ken Wynne and Layla Zon and Walton residents Ott and Jeffrey Foster.
Judges are elected on a nonpartisan basis. Ott was most recently re-elected in 2020 without opposition and his current term was to end in December 2024.
If appointed as a senior judge as expected, Ott may hear cases in any judicial circuit at the request of a local judge, administrative judge or the governor, he said.
