Process to start over for State Court judge appointment

Gov. Nathan Deal has decided to start the process over for appointing a new State Court judge for Jackson County. Applications are now being taken.

Former Gov. Sonny Perdue had asked a Judicial Nominating Commission to review the four applicants. That committee recommended Nick Primm and Jeff Perry as the top two applicants. Perdue didn’t have time to interview those two candidates before going out of office and didn’t make an appointment.

“We couldn’t get interviews scheduled in time, and didn’t feel it was right to name someone without going through the interview process,” said Bert Brantley, who served as director of communications for Gov. Perdue.

Four attorneys originally applied for the judgeship — Perry, Primm, Donna Sikes and Scott Tolbert.

The State Court duties have been handled by visiting judges since the fall when Judge Jerry Gray died.