Governor to appoint new Columbus Superior Court judge as one of seven in circuit resigns
One of Columbus’ seven Superior Court judges in the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit is resigning this month, with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to appoint his replacement.
Judge Ron Mullins notified the governor he will leave his current position on Jan. 31, and asked Kemp to appoint him a senior Superior Court judge, who is semi-retired and serves only when needed in any judicial circuit in the state.
Mullins said Friday that his case load initially will be handled by a senior Superior Court judge until Kemp appoints a new judge to take it over. The timetable for that is up to the governor.
Typically the state Judicial Nominating Commission reviews candidates for the position before recommending finalists for the governor to interview, but he is not confined to those nominees, and may choose any qualified candidate.
Mullins, 72, sent Kemp a resignation letter dated Dec. 28.
The Harris County native has served 10 years on the bench, having been appointed by then-Gov. Nathan Deal in 2013.
Mullins graduated in 1973 from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in political science, and got his law degree there in 1976.
He first worked in Augusta for the law firm Fulcher, Hagler, Harper & Reed before joining Kelly, Denney, Pease & Allison as a partner in Columbus in 1980. For 10 years he was a partner with the Columbus firm Page, Scrantom, Sprouse, Tucker & Ford.
Mullins said Friday that he was honored to have held the job for a decade.
“I think one of the highlights for me was working with the other members of the court system here in Columbus,” he said. “I have a really high regard for the other judges that I worked with.”
He said the senior judges whose ranks he hopes to join helped guide him after his appointment. Mullins in his early career had focused on civil law, not criminal.
He said senior judges such as Bill Smith, John Allen and the late Kenneth Followill “were all available to me and helped me in this position.”
He also owed a debt to the colleagues with whom he practiced early on in his career, he said.
“I learned how to be a good lawyer by hanging out with those people,” he said. “And I tried enough cases before I went on the bench that I knew the difference between a good judge and a bad judge. I knew enough not to be a bad judge, and my goal was to be as competent and good a judge as I possibly could be, based on what I had seen in court.”
