Kemp appoints Fulton judge to appeals court after her election loss

Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker to the Georgia Court of Appeals after her loss in last month’s election to retain her county bench seat.

The move could void the result of the nonpartisan election that Whitaker, a judge since 2017, narrowly lost to judicial newcomer Nikia Smith Sellers, a prosecutor in the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Georgia law allows the governor to appoint a judge when there is a vacancy on the bench, and that person serves a shorter term until the next nonpartisan election. The process has previously been challenged in court when its timing has voided an election.

Whitaker’s current elected term in Fulton ends Dec. 31. Her appointment to the Court of Appeals officially ends that term early and creates a vacancy in Fulton to be filled by Kemp. His appointee would likely be subject to election in 2028, based on the timing of the appointment.

Kemp said Whitaker brings extensive trial and appellate experience to her new position.

“As a senior assistant attorney general for the state for over a decade, she handled complex litigation in Georgia’s trial and appellate courts, while as a deputy district attorney in Fulton County, she headed the appeals division of the state’s largest and busiest district attorney’s office,” he said Friday.

A spokesperson for Kemp did not comment on the impact on last month’s election results.

Whitaker and Sellers did not comment Friday.

Whitaker, who spent over six years as a Fulton prosecutor before becoming a judge, is highly regarded within Georgia’s legal community. She was shortlisted in October to fill the Court of Appeals vacancy created in July by Kemp’s appointment of Judge Benjamin Land to the Georgia Supreme Court.

In a public social media post, Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Dillard congratulated Whitaker, saying she is “a dear friend, a committed public servant, and an excellent jurist with substantial appellate experience.”

“I look forward to serving with her for many years to come,” he said.

Kemp will soon have another opportunity to appoint someone to the Court of Appeals, as Judge Brian Rickman is stepping down next month to return to private practice. Rickman is in the middle of a six-year elected term and plans to join personal injury litigation firm Cathey & Strain.