Peterson picked as next Supreme Court of Georgia chief justice

Presiding Justice Nels S.D. Peterson has been unanimously elected by his colleagues to become the next chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

He will succeed Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs, who is resigning from the Court on March 31, after two decades as a judge at various state court levels, including eight as a justice.

The court also unanimously elected Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren as its next Presiding Justice. The new roles take effect April 1, 2025.

The chief justice serves one four-year term and leads Georgia’s judicial branch. The chief justice is the spokesperson for the Supreme Court, as well as for the entire state judiciary.

While the justice presides over the Supreme Court’s oral arguments and its deliberation of cases, he has only one vote, as does each of the eight other justices.

The Chief Justice also chairs the Judicial Council of Georgia, the judicial branch policy-making body created by the Supreme Court that includes the State Bar President and 26 judges who represent all classes of courts in the state. The Presiding Justice serves in the Chief Justice’s absence and is the vice-chair of the Judicial Council.