Gov. Kemp to fill court vacancies with three Columbus men. Who are they?
Three Columbus men will take new posts as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp fills state judicial vacancies in a series of moves that leave two local positions still open.
Superior Court Judge Ben Land will fill the vacancy on the Georgia Court of Appeals left by Judge Andrew Pinson’s departure. Kemp appointed Pinson to serve on the Supreme Court of Georgia, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Chief Justice David E. Nahmias, who will leave the bench at the end of the 2022 court term in July.
Land was appointed by then-Gov. Nathan Deal to the Superior Court for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit and was sworn in on Feb. 7, 2018. Before that, Land was a private practice attorney in Columbus for nearly 26 years. He is the brother of federal court Judge Clay Land.
“I love the State of Georgia and the justice system, and I am honored to be given the opportunity to serve in this new role,” Land said in a statement, adding he does not take the responsibility lightly. “The people of Georgia deserve judges who are committed to the rule of law and the delivery of justice to all who come before them. That is what I intend to do every day that I am privileged to serve.”
State Court Judge Ben Richardson will take Land’s place on the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Superior Court.
Richardson was appointed by Gov. Deal to the Muscogee County State Court and sworn in on Jan. 1, 2014. He previously served as Muscogee County Solicitor General, becoming the first African American to hold that position.
Richardson’s appointment leaves a vacancy that Kemp must fill later. The governor also has yet to appoint a new district attorney, for the judicial circuit, having asked for nominations by Jan. 28.
Kemp appointed Columbus attorney John T. Martin to fill the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Superior Court vacancy left by Judge William Rumer’s retirement in August. Martin is a partner at The Martin Law Firm, LLP, where he has practiced since 1995. He is the son of the late Columbus Mayor Frank Martin.
He was among three finalists the state Judicial Nominating Commission sent to Kemp in September. Richardson was another finalist, as was Wesley Lambertus, a former prosecutor now with the private firm Brown & Adams.
Because Kemp has yet to appoint a new district attorney after Mark Jones’ November guilty plea for felonies he committed while in office, Acting District Attorney Sheneka Terry currently serves as the six-county judicial circuit’s chief prosecutor.
Kemp on Jan. 21 sent notice to the state bar association that he wanted nominations for district attorney in a week. Terry said she is among the candidates who have applied for that appointment.
Besides Muscogee, the circuit’s other counties are Harris, Chattahoochee, Talbot, Taylor and Marion.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 6:50 AM.