Third judgeship in circuit moving through legislature
By Skeeter Parker
Judge Clay Tomlinson came to the Capitol to testify for HB 55, a bill that would add a third judgeship to the Alapaha Judicial Circuit. Pictured from left are Rep. Chas Cannon, Rep. John Corbett, Rep. Jaclyn Ford, Judge Clay Tomlinson, and Speaker Jon Burns.
The wheels of justice are one step closer to moving more quickly in the Alapaha Judicial Circuit after HB 55 passed by a vote of 166-1 in the Georgia House of Representatives last week.
New State Representative Jaclyn Ford took to the House floor to speak on the need for a third judgeship in the Circuit before its almost unanimous passage last Wednesday.
The bill now moves to the Georgia Senate for consideration.
A lot has happened in the five counties of the Alapaha Judicial Circuit since Judge W.D. Knight became its second judge in June 1977. The population of the circuit has increased by 33%. Divorce rates have doubled. A Child Support Division has been created along with an Accountability Court. A Public Defender’s Office has been established. The Prosecuting Attorney’s staff has tripled. The number of probation officers has gone from 3 to 20. The caseload has increased by 50%, but the number of judges has remained at two.
Chief Judge Clay Tomlinson said that he and Judge Dick Perryman currently oversee a combined caseload of nearly 8,000 cases circuit wide per year. This demand on the Superior Court has been building for years, and the state of Georgia recognizes the Alapaha Circuit has the highest case per judge count in the State.
“The State judicial branch identified eight superior court circuits that qualify for an additional judgeship,” wrote Tomlinson, pointing out that historically, the Legislature creates 2-3 new positions per year statewide. The 2025 Judicial Council New Judgeship List has the Alapaha Circuit as the #1 candidate needing an additional judge.
“Representative Jaclyn Ford has led the charge in the House of Representatives for the third Judgeship. Joined by Representatives John Corbitt and James Burchett, Ford has gotten the bill to create the third Judge passed in the House of Representatives,” commented Judge Tomlinson.
“Senator Russ Goodman is working diligently to have the third judgeship approved in the senate,” he continued. If passed in the Senate, the Governor will appoint the new judge in 2026, with an election to follow thereafter.
Tomlinson stated that additional court staff will be made available as a result of the third judgeship, including an additional state prosecutor and public defender position.
District Attorney Chase Studstill concurred with the Superior Court Judges’ need for a third partner. “Our Judges work judiciously, diligently, and efficiently in running the Courts of these five counties, and I fully believe the addition of a third judge can only help supplement and better an already efficient court system,” wrote Studstill.
Studstill also pointed out not only the caseload but the large geographic footprint of Atkinson, Berrien, Clinch, Cook, and Lanier counties, the five counties making up the Alapaha Judicial Circuit. To put it into perspective, Studstill said the Circuit stretches roughly 82 miles from its southern boundary at the Okefenokee Swamp in Clinch County at the Florida line to a northern boundary in Berrien County north of US Highway 82.
Lengthwise, it is a distance of approximately 60 miles from a point in the Okefenokee Swamp southeast of Argyle in Clinch County on the east to a point northwest of Lenox in Cook County on the west end.
