Political Insider
Political Insider

Meet Nathan Deal's three new appointments to the Court of Appeals

By
Oct 29, 2015

Our AJC colleague Bill Rankin sends the following report:

The appointments are: Brian Rickman, district attorney of the three-county Mountain Judicial Circuit; Nels Peterson, vice chancellor for legal affairs and secretary to the Board of Regents; and Superior Court Judge Amanda Mercier of the three-county Appalachian Judicial Circuit.The new appointments take effect Jan. 1, when the appeals court expands from 12 to 15 members.

A little biographical information to go with each:

All told, that means Deal could have the chance to appoint a majority of the top court's judges and nearly a majority of the Court of Appeals bench.

House Speaker David Ralston's office sends along this statement about Mercier:

"Georgians should be proud to have such a capable and experienced judge joining the Court of Appeals.  I offer her my heartfelt congratulations on this well-deserved appointment."

About the Author

Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.

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