Talk radio’s Neal Boortz is one of nearly three dozen lawyers who have been nominated for an opening on the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Governor Nathan Deal’s Judicial Nominating Commission has released the names it has received since asking the public for nominees a couple of weeks ago. The JNC is taking nominations through May 25, although anyone interested in the position must also complete the JNC’s application packet by that date to move forward in the process.

Our story in Tuesday’s paper (online now) says that the JNC received several brief emails nominating Boortz for the opening. Boortz, who is listed in the Georgia State Bar directory as an inactive member, told the Daily Report he would complete the JNC’s application.

Daily Report subscribers (or those who want to sign up for a free 30-day trial subscription) can find the full story here.

Grady High School’s Mock Trial Team from Atlanta has  won 2^nd place in the 28^th Annual National High School  Mock Trial Championship held last weekend in Albuquerque, N.M.   It is the sixth time that Grady High School students have competed at the national mock trial level and the team’s fourth top ten finish, according to the Georgia Mock Trial Office, a division of the State Bar of Georgia.

The Grady team placed 13^th nationally in 2000, 16^th in 2005, 8^th in 2009,  3^rd in 2010 and 4^th last year.

The mock trial team from Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico won the 2012 national title. The competition included 46 championship teams from 42 states as well as Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and South Korea.

Grady’s team included high school seniors Kenny Cochran, Atiana Johnson, Nally Kinnane, Shaun Kleber and Elizabeth McGlamry.  The team also included Grady juniors Ciena Leshley and Troy Kleber and Sophomore Archer Kinnane.

In mock trial competitions, team members play the roles of attorneys and witnesses in a mock criminal court case. Judges and lawyers from across the country made up the national competition judging panel. Teams were evaluated on their ability to make a logical, cohesive and persuasive presentation, according to the Mock Trial office here.

Gov. Nathan Deal’s Judicial Nominating Commission has recommended five people for two Enotah Judicial Circuit judge vacancies.

The JNC interviewed 15 applicants and released its short list on Thursday, which includes three lawyers, a judge and a city manager.

The candidates are:

• Raymond E. George – Sole Practitioner, Raymond E. George, Attorney at Law
• N. Stanley Gunter – Executive Director, Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia
• Stanley R. Lawson – Sole Practitioner, Stanley R. Lawson, Attorney at Law, P.C.
• Joy R. Parks – Chief Magistrate Judge, White County; Sole Practitioner, Joy R. Parks, Attorney, P.C.
• Richard H. Stancil – Hiawassee City Manager

The two vacancies arose in March after two judges, David Barrett and Lynn Akeley-Alderman, resigned in the wake of investigations by theJudicial Qualifications Commission for alleged misconduct.

History buffs may find an upcoming seminar in Savannah an appealing way to stock up on continuing legal education credits.

The seminar, set for May 24-25 at the federal courthouse in Savannah, will cover the city’s legal history. Presented by the Georgia Legal History Foundation, sessions will include reflections on the early life of Justice Clarence Thomas from his boyhood friends and remarks on the legacy of Eleventh Circuit Judge Phyllis Kravitch and her lawyer father, the late Aaron Kravitch. Old war stories as well as more recent controversies, such as the Troy Davis death penalty case, are on the agenda.

The seminar carries 9.5 hours of CLE credit—including an ethics credit. Those interested can use this registration form.

The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association announced its new president today: James “Jay” Sadd of Slappey & Sadd. Sadd will be presented Friday as the group’s annual convention at Loews Atlanta Hotel.

“It is a humbling honor to be a part of such a great organization that consistently serves its clients with an unparalleled passion for civil justice,” Sadd said in a statement released by GTLA. “I am looking forward to perpetuating the tradition of excellence at GTLA by getting more members involved in every aspect of our organization. Protecting the rights of all people in Georgia requires assembling a team of lawyers, and I intend to make it known that we need every member, everywhere, all the time, to help us see to it that all Georgians have access to the court system when they need it most.”

Sadd will serve as GTLA President until May 2013, according to the statement, which said the group was founded in 1956 and has 2,000 members.

“Jay is a remarkable leader with a deep commitment to the cause of justice. I am excited to see where Jay’s talent, passion, and leadership skills take GTLA,” Geoffrey  Pope of Pope & Howard, outgoing president, said in the statement.

Sadd was lead counsel for 37 injured victims of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing, the statement noted. Sadd is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, Atlanta Bar Association, Lawyers’ Club of Atlanta, American Association for Justice, West Virginia Bar Association, Sandy Springs Bar Association, and the DeKalb Bar Association. He was born and raised in West Virginia. He holds a J. D. from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University.

GTLA also announced other new officers for the  year: President-Elect Brian “Buck” Rogers of Fried Rogers Goldberg; Executive Vice President Linley Jones of Linley Jones; Secretary Darren Penn of Harris Penn Lowry & Del Campo; Treasurer Pope Langdale of Langdale Vollotton; and Parliamentarian Frank Burns of J. Franklin Burns.

The Daily Report is currently accepting nominations for Legal Department of the Year and for On The Rise.

With Legal Department of the Year we seek to honor the state’s best in-house legal departments. Fill out a Legal Department of the Year online nomination form here. Deadline is Friday, June 8.

On the Rise awards will spotlight up-and-coming, young Georgia lawyers – those under 40. The deadline for nominations is also Friday, June 8, and the On the Rise nominating form is here.

U.S. District Judge Charles Pannell Jr. of the Northern District of Georgia says he has notified the White House that he will take senior status after he turns 67 next January.  Pannell said he notified the White House, the U.S. Administrative Office of Courts  and Northern District Chief Judge Julie Carnes in March of his intent to take senior status after his Jan. 24 birthday.

Pannell said that by then he will have served 13 years as a federal judge.  At that time,  Pannell’s age and years of service on the federal bench will total 80 — qualifying him for senior status, making him eligible for a reduced case load and opening up his slot for a new federal appointment.

Pannell said that federal judges are generally requested to give a year’s notice before they step down.

Pannell was appointed to the federal bench in 1999 by President Bill Clinton. A graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, Pannell served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1971 to 1972. He left the U.S. Attorney’s office for private practice with Pittman and Kinney in Dalton. In 1976, he was elected district attorney of the Conasauga Circuit, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties.  In 1979 he became a Superior Court judge for the circuit, a post he held for 20 years.

Right now, the Northern District has two judicial vacancies. The White House had nominated U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Walker and Natasha Perdew Silas, an attorney with the Federal Defender Program in Atlanta, to fill the posts but withdrew both nominations at the end of last year after Georgia’s U.S. senators refused to lend their support to Silas.

The White House has not nominated their replacements.

Aaron Hale of the “Gainesville Times” reports that Atlanta criminal defense attorney Ed Garland drew applause during his keynote address at the local bar association’s Law Day banquet when he praised state leaders for passing a criminal justice reform bill aimed at reducing the prison population and encouraging accountability courts.

But Garland got a different reaction in Governor Nathan Deal’s hometown when he suggested another way to cut prison costs and crowding. “Garland blamed an overloaded court system on what he described as overzealous laws on drugs,” the Times report said. “There were some uncomfortable looks and antsy shifts in chairs from some attendants during a portion of his speech when Garland suggested loosening those laws to repair the system.”

The Times quoted Garland saying, “If we decriminalized and regulated the distribution of drugs, people wouldn’t go and break into your homes or break in to kill to get drugs to feed their habits.”

The occasion was the Gainesville-Northeastern Circuit Bar Association’s Law Day banquet at the Gainesville Civic Center, the Times reported. The theme: “No courts, no justice, no freedom.” Honored: Sam Harben Jr. of Harben, Hartley & Hawkins, Judge A.R. Kenyon Award; Mark Ruis, Hall County Pretrial Services Division, Liberty Bell Award; Carla Walker, Whelchel, Dunlap, Jarrard and Walker, Leadership Award.

A former U.S. Navy petty officer was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to serve three years in prison for stealing and selling the identities of U.S. Navy recruits, which were later used to file fraudulent tax returns, the U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Georgia announced.

Kevon Kerr, 36, of Atlanta – who was originally charged in an 42-count indictment that included three other metro Atlanta defendants – pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public money and one count of aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said in her announcement.

According to federal prosecutors and court records, Kerr stole recruits’ identities while he was assigned to an in-processing center for new and prospective recruits at Fort Gillem in Forest Park where he was entrusted with Navy personnel files.

Read more »

Women from village of Maijanjaré.

CARE’s general counsel, Kent Alexander, tells the Daily Report in a story today about his first trip to a crisis zone. He journeyed through Niger, where severe drought has caused a food crisis, and saw at first hand the relief agency’s work in the West African country.

Alexander chronicled his journey for CARE’s blog in an entry called “The Real Hunger Games,” which gives a more detailed account of his impressions, plus photos.