Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold D. Melton announced Friday that he is stepping down on July 1, in the middle of his term.

Harold Melton
Credit: Courtesy Georgia Supreme Court

Melton said in a statement that he doesn’t yet know what he’ll do next, but that he is exploring opportunities “for the next season of life that will allow me to best serve our legal community and my extended family.”

Chief Justice Melton steps down

Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton will step down July 1st. He announced the news Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 in a statement.

Credit: Photo Document courtesy of Rahul Bali/GPB Lawmakers

Melton was appointed to the state’s highest court in 2005 by former Gov. Sonny Perdue. He became chief justice in 2018. He's currently the only Black justice on the Georgia Supreme Court. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp will appoint a replacement and sent well wishes to Melton.

Melton recently spoke with GPB Lawmakers host Donna Lowry about the court systems of Georgia. He stated the backlog of criminal cases in the Superior and State courts is "meaningfully bad."

RELATED: Ga. Supreme Court Chief Justice: ‘There’s This Pent-Up Frustration That’s Now Exploding’

Tags: Atlanta  Macon  Savannah  Georgia  Georgia Supreme Court  election