Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced his appointments to the following judicial posts: the Honorable Ryan Hope to the State Court of Clarke County, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Ethelyn Simpson; Claire Chason and Lawton Heard to the South Georgia Judicial Circuit, filling vacancies created by the resignation of the Honorable Kevin Chason and the passage of House Bill 624; District Attorney Chris Arnt to the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Ralph Van Pelt, Jr.; Clayton Fuller to the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney vacancy created by the appointment of Chris Arnt; the Honorable Michael Hubbard to the Carroll County State Court, filling a vacancy created by appointment of the Honorable Erica Tisinger to the Superior Court of the Coweta Judicial Circuit; and Katherine Paulk to the Coffee County State Court, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Robert H. Preston.
Ryan Hope has served as Judge of the Municipal Court of Athens-Clarke County since 2017. In this role, he sits by designation as both a State Court Judge in the State Court of Athens-Clarke County and as a Superior Court Judge assisting Chief Superior Court Judge Eric Norris. He previously served as Chief Assistant Solicitor in the Solicitor General’s Office of Athens-Clarke County. Prior to that, he worked as a public defender for the UGA Legal Aid Clinic and the Western Judicial Circuit Public Defender Office. Judge Hope received his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Georgia. He is active in his community, serving as a board member for Timothy Road Elementary School PTO, board president for People Living in Recovery, and Treasurer for the Executive Committee of the Council of Municipal Court Judges. He and his wife have two children and reside in Athens.
Claire Chason is the sole practitioner at Chason Law Firm,…
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