Nahmias, Adkins in Supreme Court runoff

By Bill Rankin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

David Nahmias is trying to keep the streak alive. As far back as court historians can determine, no sitting Georgia Supreme Court justice has been defeated in an election bid.

But Nahmias, appointed to the bench last year by Gov. Sonny Perdue, finds himself facing a stiff challenge from an unusual candidate in Tuesday's runoff.

On Nov. 2, Nahmias led a three-candidate field with 48.2 percent of the vote, not enough to win the race outright. He now faces Tamela "Tammy" Adkins, a Lawrenceville family law attorney, who got 35.2 percent of the vote even though she did not accept financial contributions or campaign during the general election.

Since getting into the runoff, however, Adkins has changed tacks. She is accepting financial contributions and has hit the campaign trail. And while Nahmias has the advantage of being the incumbent on Tuesday, Adkins' name will be first on the ballot.

The nonpartisan race is one of only two statewide races in Tuesday's runoff, the other being a contest for an open seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals. Voter turnout is expected to be minimal.

Political strategists expect turnout to be the highest in Athens and Columbus, where there are mayoral runoffs. There are also runoffs for local judgeships in Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties.

"The two biggest challenges are convincing voters to go back to the polls and getting voters information about qualifications," Nahmias, 46, said. He noted his campaign has not been able to raise enough money for television ads, but it is, in targeted areas, airing radio ads and using robocalls to inform voters.

Adkins, 47, said she did not campaign during the general election because she could not afford to shut down her law practice for six months, which she did two years ago when she narrowly missed getting into a runoff for a seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals. In March, she noted, she bought the building that houses her law office.

"I didn't have a paycheck from the taxpayers of Georgia that was being deposited in my bank account every two weeks," she said, referring to her opponent. "I had to make my own payroll. But when I found out I made the runoff, I shut down my office on Nov. 3 and I've been shocked by the support I've been receiving."

In August 2009, Nahmias (pronounced NAH-mee-iss) replaced Leah Ward Sears, the former chief justice who was considered to be the court's most liberal member. As expected, Nahmias quickly made his presence felt as he joined his conservative colleagues in a number of high-profile opinions.

This includes 4-3 decisions upholding a key provision of the state's tort reform law that makes it extremely difficult for patients to prevail in malpractice suits involving emergency care, and denying speedy trial motions filed by death-penalty defendants whose trials were delayed because the public defender system was unable to pay their attorneys.

Nahmias often asserts himself during the court's oral arguments, dominating the sessions with questions to lawyers in a style sometimes resembling a cross-examination.

Nahmias graduated from Briarcliff High School, where he was a STAR student. He finished second in his class at Duke University and graduated magna cum laude at Harvard Law School, where he served on the law review with Barack Obama. He then worked as a law clerk for two of the nation's leading conservative jurists, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Nahmias returned to Atlanta and served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office before working at the U.S. Justice Department after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, becoming deputy assistant attorney general. In late 2004, President George W. Bush appointed Nahmias to be the U.S. attorney in Atlanta.

"I have by far the most relevant experience and expertise deciding appeals of the most difficult legal issues," he said. "I have a proven record of public service and enforcing the law, and I have the broadest support which demonstrates my reputation for being fair and impartial."

Adkins grew up in North Carolina and worked her way through Meredith College in Raleigh. She then moved to Florida and started her own commercial cleaning company, winning contracts to clean up government buildings. In running the business, she began taking paralegal classes to help her understand business law. But when an instructor encouraged her to take the law school admission test instead, Adkins decided that her calling was the legal profession.

She obtained her law degree at the University of Bridgeport (Conn.) School of Law (now Quinnipiac College), where she graduated cum laude and served on the law review. Adkins says she has tried thousands of cases since she opened up a family law practice in Lawrenceville 18 years ago. These "trials," she said, involve the initial hearing in a divorce case, in which a judge decides which parent retains temporary custody of the children and which parent gets to stay in the family home, and the final trial on the case.

"For 18 years, I've represented normal, everyday Georgians from all walks of life," she said. "These cases involve divorce, family violence, juvenile issues, child custody, alimony, child support, the list goes on. There's no one on the court who has the unique perspective I do."