Phipps to become new chief judge

Judge Herbert E. Phipps will become the new chief judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals on July 1, the court said.

Phipps, a former Superior Court judge in Albany, was appointed to the appellate court bench by Gov. Roy Barnes in 1999. Phipps will be sworn into his new position on June 25. He will succeed Chief Judge John Ellington and serve a term of two years.