Georgia Supreme Court Justice Andrew Pinson left a lectern empty at the Atlanta Press Club debates over the weekend.
On Wednesday, he spoke with the host of “Politically Georgia” about his decision to skip the event.
He said that with help from legal counsel his campaign “determined that the partisan-style debate that the Atlanta Press Club was going to put on would not be compatible with the code of judicial conduct.”
Pinson also said he would’ve been open to a forum-style debate.
“Now, we worked with the press club to find alternatives, including potentially a forum-style debate or something that would allow me to attend,” Pinson said. “I would have been happy to do that, but ultimately, it was to no avail.”
Pinson, 37, was appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Pinson is the only one of the four justices on the ballot to draw a major challenger this election cycle.
Former Democratic U.S. Rep. John Barrow is running against Pinson, hoping a voter backlash to abortion restrictions will help him win the nonpartisan race.
Pinson says that Barrow’s rhetoric on his record is false and damages the public’s opinion of courts.
“I think it is also unfortunate that my opponent has chosen to run a campaign in this way. We are seeing across the country a public who has lost confidence in our judiciary,” Pinson said. “That narrative comes from people’s real concern that judges are not doing law but acting as partisan politicians in black robes.”
The winner in the May 21 contest will have a six-year term on the state’s highest court.
If Barrow can unseat Pinson, that victory would not change the overall conservative leanings of the court.
Pinson ultimately hopes Georgians will vote for judges based on their character and thought process and not in an attempt to predict how they will rule on cases.
“When we vote for judges, we should not be looking for judges based on what outcomes we think they will give us. We should pick judges based on their view of how the process should work,” the University of Georgia law grad said. “Are they going to give Georgians a fair and impartial process to ultimately get to your decision?”
Thursday on “Politically Georgia”: We’ll have Pinson’s opponent, Barrow, on the show.
