Gov. Nathan Deal has tapped two influential attorneys to co-chair the panel that recommends lawyers and judges to fill judicial vacancies in the state trial and appellate courts.
Randy Evans of the McKenna Long & Aldridge law firm and Pete Robinson of Troutman Sanders will replace former state attorney general Mike Bowers, who headed the Judicial Nominating Commission for Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Under Bowers, the commission stayed busy in the past two years as a number of state court judges resigned in disgrace. The panel also helped Perdue fill two vacancies on the state Supreme Court and a number of openings on the Court of Appeals.
Evans has served as Deal's attorney. He fought an ethics complaint that was filed against Deal when he was in the U.S. House of Representatives and recently helped the new governor put his financial holdings in a blind trust.
An insurance litigator from Atlanta, Evans is Newt Gingrich's confidant. His clients have included Sarah Palin and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. He currently sits on the Georgia Board of Elections.
Robinson, who served on Deal's transition team, co-founded and now chairs Troutman Sanders' lobbying arm, which has more than 20 federal and state lobbyists in offices in Atlanta, Washington and Richmond.
Robinson, who lives in Columbus, is a former state legislator. While in the Senate, he served as both majority leader and president pro tem.
"I'm excited, humbled and appreciate the confidence the governor has placed in Randy and me," Robinson said Wednesday.
The 20 members of the commission include state Attorney General Sam Olens, DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James, Douglas County DA David McDade and Atlanta lawyers Mary Paige Adams, Dwight Davis, Scott Delius, Robert Highsmith and Frank Strickland.
Dan Summer, a criminal defense attorney from Gainesville, thanked Deal for choosing him to serve on the panel. "It's our hope to make solid recommendations to the governor," he said. "Because judges wield such tremendous power over the daily lives of Georgia citizens, it's very important that we place the best men or women in those positions."
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