Georgia Judiciary Appointees Andrew Pinson and Benjamin Land were sworn onto the state bench in promotional appointments made by Governor Brian Kemp (R) on Wednesday.
“Today, I had the honor of swearing in Andrew Pinson to the #SupremeCourtGA and Ben Land to the @AppealsCourtGA, its first judge from Columbus. They both have upheld wisdom and integrity on the bench, and they will continue to do so in the important cases that come before them,” Governor Kemp said.
A native of DeKalb County who finished first in his class at the University of Georgia’s Lumpkin School of Law, Pinson replaced Judge David Nahmias on the Georgia State Supreme Court.
“The Honorable Andrew A. Pinson was officially sworn in today to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia,” the court said in a statement on Wednesday.
Pinson served as a law clerk under United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who recently played a senior role in the SCOTUS decision to overturn 1973’s Roe v. Wade.
“Busy week in GA…Congrats to our newest @SupremeCourtGA Justice Andrew Pinson and @AppealsCourtGA Judge Ben Land!” Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth Gobeil tweeted on Thursday.
Pinson’s work includes the successful defense of the Peach State’s water resources in the “water wars” litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court, wherein Georgia and Alabama fought over the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa basin, and both states plus Florida contested for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint basin.
“[Judge Pinson] is a brilliant jurist having learned from some of our nation’s top legal minds – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge David Sentelle on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia – and his career thus far demonstrates to me that he will fairly apply the rule of law as written and do right by our citizens,” Gov. Kemp said.
The first Columbus-born Georgian to ascend to the Court of Appeals in its 116-year history, Judge Land was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to serve as a Superior Court judge for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit in February 2018.
“[I’m] proud to be surrounded by family and friends today as I took my oath as the newest judge for the Court of Appeals of Georgia. It has been a true honor to work as a lawyer and Superior Court judge over the last 30 years. I am now excited and ready to put my experience to work all of Georgia,” Judge Land said on Wednesday.
Justice Land has obtained “several record setting verdicts” and successfully defended multiple class-action lawsuits at the national level.
“Congratulations to Justice Andrew Pinson of @SupremeCourtGA and Judge Ben Land of @AppealsCourtGA. Both of these outstanding judges will serve our state well and with distinction in their new positions. #appellatetwitter,” Georgia Appeals Court Chief Judge Stephen Dillard said.
As a result of the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge David Nahmias, Justice Nels S. D. Peterson was also sworn in as presiding justice of the Supreme Court and current Presiding Justice Michael P. Boggs was elected chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court by his peers.
“Congratulations to our new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia!” Georgia Supreme Court Justice Carla Wong McMillian said on Twitter.
Pinson currently serves on the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism (CJCP), a group which congratulated Judge Peterson for his promotion.
“Justice Nels S. D. Peterson is sworn [in] as Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Congratulations!” the CJCP said.
To fill the vacancy created by Judge Land’s appointment to the Court of Appeals, Gov. Kemp appointed the Honorable Benjamin Richardson to the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Superior Court.
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Addison Basurto is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Follow Addy on Twitter and GETTR. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Andrew Pinson” by University of Georgia School of Law. Photo “Ben Land” by Judge Ben Land. Background Photo “Georgia State Capitol” by connor.carey. CC BY-SA 3.0.
