[Use banner design on front page of chapter?]

Court of Appeals Centennial Celebration 2006

(Photo of 2006 Whole Court here)

In 2006, the Court of Appeals began a year-long celebration of the Court's first 100 years. The 100th birthday of the Court was recognized by the Governor on January 24, 2006 in a Proclamation Ceremony held in the State Capitol Rotunda. Chief Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr. welcomed the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House and an audience of judges, legislators, court employees and the public to the ceremony. Presiding Judge J. D. Smith narrated a short video history of The Court from 1906 to 2006 noting that the original courtroom for both the sessions of the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals had been in Room 341, now the Appropriations Room of the very building, the State Capitol, in which the ceremony was being held. It was 50 years later, in 1956, when the construction of the current Judicial Building was completed to house the state's two appellate courts.

The apex of the program occurred when Governor Sonny Perdue proclaimed 2006 the Court of Appeals Centennial Year and recognized the Court's role of ensuring that "Georgians received fair treatment in the trial courts and in the final resolutions of disputes." (Proclamation Text here) Proclamations were also presented by Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor and Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson.

Activities honoring the 100th year of the Court were planned and implemented by a Centennial Committee ( List of committee members) under the theme "A Century of Serving Justice." These activities were planned to reach not only the legal community, but students and ordinary adult citizens throughout the state.

To symbolize the Court during the Centennial year, the Court adopted a new

seal (shown above) which includes the Centennial Theme, the dates 1906-2006, and a representation of the Lady Justice taken from the image on the front doors of the State Judicial Building.

In order to bring the Centennial commemoration to communities throughout Georgia, the Court held oral arguments in twelve locations in the state during 2006. (List of Argument Dates and Locations) Holding arguments in these locations was intended to bring a better understanding of the Court and its processes to students and the public. In May 2006, the Court held arguments in Savannah in the Historic City Hall which had been dedicated in the same year as the creation of the Court of Appeals. Attending the Court's session in the vintage building gave the arguments an aura of stepping back into the past. In Chickamauga, the Court not only held scheduled oral arguments, but heard the arguments of Gordon Lee High School students who presented lively mock arguments based on an actual appeal which had been disposed of in the prior year. and who were rewarded with constructive criticism from the panel judges, Presiding Judge Gary Andrews, Judge Anne Barnes and Judge Deborah Bernes .

On September 9, 2006, the Court continued its celebration by organizing and sponsoring a statewide high school oratorical contest on the subject of "The Separation of Powers and the Judicial Branch of Government". Jill Pryor of Bondurant, Mixson and Elmore, LLP and a member of the Centennnial Committee served as Chair of the contest. She was ably assisted by Ms. Roberta Earnhardt, Assistant District Attorney, Rockdale Judicial Circuit, and a number of volunteers including the final round judges, Justice George H. Carley, Supreme Court of Georgia, Chief Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr. , Judge Anne Elizabeth Barnes, and Judge M. Yvetter Miler of the Court of Appeals of Georgia and Judge Sidney L. Nation, Judge, Superior Court, Rockdale Judicial Circuit.

The contest finals were held at the State Bar Center in Atlanta. The first place winner was Mr. Caleb Smith, Cartersville, High School, Cartersville whose oration was entitled" The Judicial Branch: Guardian of the Constitution." (Show photo of 1st-
4th place winners with caption) The first through fourth place winners and quarter-
finalists all received scholarships provided by Justice Served, Inc., a charitable foundation dedicated to educating the public about the judicial system.

As well as sponsoring education promoting understanding of the judicial system by students and the general public, the Court sponsored two continuing legal education opportunities for Georgia attorneys during the Centennial year.

First, a panel discussion was held at the State Bar Annual Meeting on the subject of Separation of Church and State on June 1, 2006. The program included remarks and discussion by Chief Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr. and Judge Anne Elizabeth Barnes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia; A. James Elliott and John Witte, Jr. of the Emory University School of Law; Angie Wright-Rheaves, Court of Appeals; Jeffrey O. Bramlett, Bondurant, Mixson and Elmore, LLP, Atlanta; Vernadette Ramirez Broyles, Alpharetta, Albert M. Pearson, III, Moraitakis, Kushel, Pearson and Gardner, LLP, Atlanta. A resolution of the State Bar honoring the Court during its Centennial Year was also presented at the State Bar's Annual Meeting. (Copy of State Bar Resolution)

Secondly, a number of mini-seminars on the subject of judicial independence were presented by Court of Appeals judges at a number of law firms.

May 25, 2006	Fellows, Johnson and LaBriola, LLP

June 29, 2006	Hunton and Williams

August 22, 2006	Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Georgia

August 31, 2006	Nelson, Mullins, Riley and Scarborough, LLP

November 2, 2006	Powell Goldstein, LLP

In a final culmination of all the year's events, Justice Served, Inc. sponsored a Centennial Dinner in honor of the Court of Appeals on October 6, 2006 at the Georgia Aquarium. In the presence of over 900 persons attending, the scholarship award was made to the winner of the high school oratorical contest who presented his speech to the audience. Judge William R. Wilson, Jr. , United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, gave the keynote address. A copy of the dinner program follows this description of the event and it includes a list of the board of Directors of Justice Served, Inc. and those firms and persons making contributions to the occasion.

Following the dinner the guests had the opportunity to visit the new Aquarium's exhibits and see "A Century of Serving Justice, a court history videowhich was given its debut at the dinner. It was created by Bob McAteer of the Court's Information Technology staff. (DVD cover here) A copy of the video was distributed to the guests, and it is being used on a regular basis to orient visitors to the Court.

The Centennial gave the Court of Appeals an opportunity to look back at the roots of its beginnings in the last Century. The purpose of the Court's creation was to relieve the caseload burden of the Supreme Court, and that it has done well from the initial shift of____ cases from the Supreme Court to the new Court of Appeals in the first year. Since then the caseload has grown to about 3,300 appeals per year. The Court is handling about 86% of the appeals in the state.

In interviews conducted with current judges of the Court and the Clerk, these individuals expressed their view of what the future may hold for the Court.

Judge Herbert E. Phipps: 100 years from now I hope that people will say that as they look back over the history of the Court of Appeals that the Court of Appeals has been a place where people of the State of Georgia could come and get justice, and get a fair consideration of their issues, and get a resolution of their conflicts in a way that was satisfactory to all, even those who were on the losing end of the opinions in the sense that even the losers felt that they received a fair hearing and that they got justice even though they didn't prevail, that they had a fair chance. And I think that that's what we should always strive for to make every person who comes to court feel like they have been heard and that they had a fair chance to speak their peace, and that what they said was given the same consideration as everybody else, no matter how rich or poor they were.

Judge John J. Ellington: ... I think the most important thing that I hope folks will be saying about the Court of Appeals 100 years from now is that they followed the law, that they carried out justice, that they were good public servants, that the people of Georgia had confidence in our system.... [I]n the United States and in Georgia, it's our system of justice that separates us from all the other countries of the world. And the quality of life in any community depends on the quality of the judicial system, and I hope that 100 years from now that the people will say the Georgia Court of Appeals improved the quality of life for all Georgians.

Judge Deborah Bernes: That we were a court that moved the business of the people, and that we did so fairly with integrity, with honor, with respect for the rule of law and the lives of people.

William L. Martin, III, Clerk: ... I hope that in 100 years from now, that people will be saying the Georgia Court of Appeals is still the best appellate court in the country. I certainly feel like it is, I certainly feel like the dedication of the employees of the Court of Appeals, certainly the people in the Clerk's office really make this the best appellate court in the country. I don't know of another appellate that has as high a caseload and as short a turn-around time, and delivers as many quality opinions as the Court does. It is a diverse Court, there are three African-Americans, there are three females, there are judges who were trial judges, there're judges who were not trial judges, but I think that's one of the strengths of the Court. Just like I think the strength of a jury, you know, having 12 people with different backgrounds, different life experiences, helps to get the best possible verdict. I think that diversity on the Court of Appeals helps to give the best decisions that can possibly be had.

As its second century begins, the Court of Appeals looks forward to its role as a strong pillar of the state judicial system.