The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed Judge Julie Carnes to serve on the Atlanta-based U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the first judicial vacancy filled in Georgia since 2011.

Carnes, an Atlanta-based U.S. District Court judge since 1992, cleared the Senate 94-0. She was nominated by President Barack Obama as part of a package with Georgia’s Republican senators to fill a slew of longstanding vacancies, four of which are considered “judicial emergencies” by the U.S. Courts.

In a floor speech, Georgia Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson spoke about Carnes’ long service on the bench — including the last five years as the senior judge.

“Her nomination is of someone with immense capacity, outstanding integrity and outstanding ability, just the type of person you and I would want to go to the bench,” Isakson said.

Five more judicial nominees have cleared the Senate Judicial Committee, while the controversial sixth — Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Michael Boggs — has been held up as Democrats and liberal groups have attacked his state House voting record as a conservative South Georgia Democrat in the early 2000s.

The other nominees are: Atlanta attorney Jill Pryor for the 11th Circuit; Atlanta attorney Leigh Martin May, Atlanta attorney Mark Cohen, and DeKalb County state court Judge Eleanor Ross for the U.S. District Court in Atlanta; and federal prosecutor Leslie Abrams for the U.S. District Court in Albany.

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Then-former President Donald Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp greet each other during the press event at the Columbia Performing Arts Center on Friday, October 4, 2024, in Evans, Georgia. (Hyosub Shin / AJC)

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