Verda M. Colvin (born 1964/1965) is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia and former judge of the

Georgia Court of Appeals The Georgia Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the U.S. state of Georgia. History Founding of the court The genesis of the Court of Appeals began with a report by the State Bar of Georgia in 1895, suggesting that the G ...

Education

Colvin received her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from Sweet Briar College and her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it among the oldest American university law sc ...

in 1993.

Legal career

Previously, she served as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for the Middle District of Georgia, Assistant District Attorney for the Clayton County District Attorney's Office, Assistant General Counsel for

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Found ...

, Assistant Solicitor for the Solicitor's Office in Athens-Clarke County, and as an associate for Ferguson, Stein, Watt, Wallas, and Gresham.

Judicial career

State court service

Colvin was appointed to the Macon Circuit Superior Court by

Georgia Governor The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...

Nathan Deal John Nathan Deal (born August 25, 1942) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 82nd governor of Georgia from 2011 to 2019. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party in 1992 a ...

on March 24, 2014. A March 25, 2016, address by Colvin to a group of students as part of a “Consider the Consequences” program for at-risk students that Judge Colvin was unaware was being recorded went viral and was viewed hundreds of thousands of times, picked up by local, national and international media, and played by teachers for their students.Rankin, Bill (July 20, 2021).
Kemp appoints Colvin to fill vacancy on Georgia Supreme Court
" ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

''. Retrieved on July 20, 2021. In June 2019, she was appointed to a state judicial commission.

Appointment to Georgia Court of Appeals

On March 27, 2020, Governor

Brian Kemp Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Kemp served as the 27th secretary of state of Georgia from 2010 t ...

appointed Colvin to the

. She was sworn in on April 10, 2020. She is the state's first African-American female appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals by a Republican governor.

Appointment to Georgia Supreme Court

On July 20, 2021, Colvin was appointed to the Supreme Court of Georgia by Governor Brian Kemp, to the seat vacated by justice

Harold Melton Harold David Melton (born September 25, 1966) is a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Early years and education A 1984 graduate of Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, Melton received a Bachelor of Science from A ...

, who retired on July 1, 2021.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin, Verda 1960s births Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges African-American judges Assistant United States Attorneys District attorneys in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Court of Appeals judges African-American women lawyers People from Atlanta Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state) North Carolina lawyers Sweet Briar College alumni University of Georgia School of Law alumni 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people