Judge to head judicial watchdog group
A southwest Georgia judge has been tapped to oversee the daily operations of the state’s judicial watchdog group.
Superior Court Judge Ronnie Joe Lane of the Pataula Judicial Circuit will become director of the Judicial Qualifications Commission on July 1. He succeeds Jeff Davis, who is leaving to become executive director of the State Bar of Georgia.
Lane, 67, whose chambers are in Donalsonville, has served 20 years on the bench, six years as a Juvenile Court judge and the past 14 years as a Superior Court judge.
Lane said he sought the new job to make sure that the watchdog agency, which has ousted dozens of wayward judges over the past several years, will remain vigilant and aggressive.
“There were people who thought I’d be lax on judges because I am a judge,” Lane said. “Those people don’t know me.”
Lane will resign as Superior Court judge at the end of the month to take his new position.
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
