Seven candidates running for appeals court opening

Four years ago, an open seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals generated eye-popping amounts of campaign cash and one of the strangest elections in state history.

This year, there is another opening on the 12-member court. With seven candidates, the non-partisan race will probably end with a runoff.

The vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge John H. Ruffin Jr., who served 14 years on the court, which handles both criminal and civil appeals.

The attorneys seeking to succeed him are: Lawrenceville lawyers Tamela Adkins and Mike Sheffield; Atlanta lawyers Sara Doyle and Bruce Edenfield; Douglasville lawyer Perry McGuire; Decatur lawyer Christopher McFadden; and State Sen. Michael Meyer von Bremen, an Albany lawyer.

Sheffield ran for an appeals court seat four years ago but missed getting into a runoff under unusual circumstances.

Marietta lawyer Debra Bernes was the top vote-getter but could not avoid a runoff. Sheffield and Howard Mead ran neck and neck for second, requiring a recount. After the ballots were tallied again, Sheffield won by 382 votes.

Bernes and Sheffield ramped up their campaigns and appeared together in a debate. Mead, meanwhile, challenged the vote on the basis his name had been incorrectly listed as “Thomas” on 481 ballots in Laurens County.

On the eve of the runoff, the Georgia Supreme Court, in a 4-3 ruling, upheld Mead’s challenge.

The decision came too late for elections officials to remove Bernes’ and Sheffield’s names from touch screens throughout the state’s voting precincts. Still, the votes for their runoff were never counted.

Another election, with Bernes, Mead and Sheffield on the ballot, was scheduled. In the ensuring weeks, Mead poured money into TV ads. He ultimately raised a record $3.3 million, most of it through personal loans.

This time, Bernes and Mead finished first and second, respectively, with Sheffield well behind. But once again, Bernes did not get enough votes to win outright. Three weeks later, in the final runoff, Bernes handily defeated Mead.

Sheffield, in a recent interview, said he still disagrees with the ruling to halt the first runoff.

“For all I know, I won, if they’d only counted those ballots,” he said. “But one thing’s for sure — nothing that crazy can happen again this time.”

Lawyers watching this year’s race say it has attracted a strong field:

• Adkins, 45, brings a unique experience to the court as a lawyer specializing in divorce and family law.

• Doyle, 40, a partner at one of the nation’s largest law firms, specializes in education law.

• Edenfield, 59, has served almost three decades as a special assistant attorney general.

• McFadden, 51, solely practices appellate law and has written a book on appellate practice.

• McGuire, 49, is a former Republican state senator and Chick-fil-A general counsel.

• Meyer von Bremen, 51, a Democratic state senator, chairs the Special Judiciary Committee.

• Sheffield, 58, a criminal defense attorney, is former president of the DeKalb and Gwinnett bar associations.

If fund-raising is an indication of support, Edenfield has the advantage so far. According to campaign disclosure reports, Edenfield listed $153,055 in contributions through the end of September. This includes $25,000 in personal loans.

McGuire, who unsuccessfully challenged Attorney General Thurbert Baker in 2006, lists $232,610 in contributions. But that includes a $200,000 personal loan.

Adkins believes she has an advantage.

In a recent interview, she acknowledged that knowing her name would be on the top of the ballot played a role in her decision to qualify. She waited until the final hours before signing up to run to make sure of it, she said.

“I do feel like I have an advantage because of the ‘A’ in my name,” Adkins said. “It does make a difference.”

In the last two contested elections for open appeal court seats, the candidates with names at the top of the ballot won.

THE CANDIDATES

Tamela Adkins

• Age: 45
• College: Meredith College
• Law school: University of Bridgeport
• Professional: Lawrenceville lawyer (Adkins & Hill)
• Pitch: Adkins specializes in divorce and child custody cases and says that expertise gives her a unique perspective for the court. A lawyer who appears in court often, she says her trial work gives her a good understanding of the law, the legal process and what is needed to review an appellate record.
• Quote: “I especially like working with dads who want to stay a part of their kids’ lives, and I pride myself for fighting for my clients in the trenches.”
• Supporters: Atlanta plaintiffs lawyer Thomas Malone, Gwinnett County developer Wayne Mason.
• Cash raised: $96,601 (includes a $5,240 personal loan)
• Cash on hand: $71,867

Sara Doyle

• Age: 40
• College: University of Florida
• Law school: Mercer University
• Professional: Atlanta lawyer (Holland & Knight)
• Pitch: Doyle touts her experience as a lawyer who has handled numerous appeals and litigated a wide variety of civil cases — contracts, torts, employment, insurance, real estate, trusts and estates. As a partner for one of the nation’s largest law firms, she is a member of the education team and has represented private academic institutions.
• Quote: “I bring all the things you would look for in a judge and don’t see this as a feather in my cap or a way to ease into retirement after a long legal career.”
• Supporters: Frank Strickland, chair of the Atlanta chapter of The Federalist Society, Robert Highsmith, counsel for Gov. Sonny Perdue’s personal political action committee.
• Cash raised: $72,036 (includes a $5,000 personal loan)
• Cash on hand: $37,312

Bruce Edenfield

• Age: 59
• College: University of Georgia
• Law school: Samford University
• Professional: Atlanta lawyer (Hedrick & Edenfield)
• Pitch: Edenfield says his 35-year legal career gives him more experience than his rivals and has a rich mix of both trial and appellate work. As a special assistant attorney general for almost three decades, he handled civil rights, free speech, employment and disability rights litigation, and, as a private attorney, litigated medical malpractice cases.
• Quote: “I remember my father [late U.S. District Judge Newell Edenfield], who was a great influence in my life, getting death threats in the 1970s for his rulings in civil rights cases.”
• Supporters: Former Gov. Roy Barnes, former state Attorney General Mike Bowers.
• Cash raised: $153,055 (includes $25,000 in personal loans)
• Cash on hand: $123,262

Christopher McFadden

• Age: 51
• College: Oglethorpe University
• Law school: University of Georgia
• Professional: Sole practitioner in Decatur
• Pitch: McFadden says he is best qualified because his practice is solely based on handling civil and criminal appeals. He co-founded the State Bar of Georgia’s appellate practice section and co-authored “Georgia Appellate Practice,” a book used by lawyers statewide and cited recently by the Georgia Supreme Court.
• Quote: “I literally wrote the book on appellate law and I’ve handled more cases in the Court of Appeals than all of the other six candidates combined.”
• Supporters: State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), former Atlanta City Councilwoman Myrtle Davis.
• Cash raised: $55,257 (includes $5,000 personal loan)
• Cash on hand: $2,735

Perry McGuire

• Age: 49
• College: Valdosta State University
• Law school: Georgia State University
• Professional: Douglasville lawyer (Taylor, Busch, Slipakoff & Duma)
• Pitch: A former Republican state senator, McGuire cites his experience on the Special Judiciary Committee and his current service as a member of the state Board of Juvenile Justice. He says he stands out among his competitors because of his corporate legal expertise as former in-house counsel to Chick-fil-A.
• Quote: “On the court, I will be what I believe Georgia voters want — a conservative who will apply the law and not make the law from the bench.”
• Supporters: Numerous GOP lawmakers, including Sen. President Pro Tem Eric Johnson and House Majority Leader Jerry Keen, Georgia Right to Life.
• Cash raised: $232,610 (includes $200,000 personal loan)
• Cash on hand: $214,814

Michael Meyer von Bremen

• Age: 51
• College: Mercer University
• Law school: Mercer University
• Professional: Albany lawyer (Hall, Booth, Smith & Slover), state senator
• Pitch: Meyer von Bremen says his experience as a legislator, including once serving as ethics committee chair and handling bills for the State Bar of Georgia, gives him a good understanding of the law and prepares him to be a judge. If elected, he said, he can draw from his general practice experience, which includes criminal, civil and appellate work.
• Quote: “As a Democrat, I was appointed chair of the Special Judiciary Committee when the Senate was under Republican control because I did what best for a bill, not what was partisan.”
• Supporters: Former Lt. Govs. Mark Taylor and Pierre Howard, numerous Democratic and Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Minority Leader Robert Brown (D-Macon).
• Cash raised: $79,684
• Cash on hand: $34,855

Mike Sheffield

• Age: 58
• College: Wake Forest University
• Law school: Emory University
• Professional: Sole practitioner in Lawrenceville
• Pitch: A former prosecutor and now a criminal defense attorney, Sheffield says he is well regarded by his peers, having been elected president of the DeKalb and Gwinnett bar associations. He says he was wrongly denied the chance to be in a runoff for a appeals court judgeship in 2004 when a new election was ordered because an opponent’s name was incorrectly listed on ballots in Laurens County.
• Quote: “I’ll always wonder what would have happened [in the 2004 race], if they’d only counted those ballots.”
• Supporters: Republican Party general counsel Randy Evans, Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister.
• Cash raised: $27,370 (includes $7,500 in personal contributions)
• Cash on hand: $12,487