Georgia's chief Court of Appeals judge discusses his role during visit to Albany

Aug. 28—ALBANY — Calling balls and strikes of legal cases was how U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts described his role.

Asked the same question, the chief judge of Georgia's Court of Appeals also offered a sports analogy for how he sees the court.

"I think one of the easiest ways to describe it is we're the replay booth," Chief Judge Brian Rickman said. "Local judges are like the referees, making calls in real time. We get to slow things down and review, (providing) an extra level for citizens to appeal what happens in your local trial courts."

The court doesn't review the facts of individual cases, but makes its rulings on the law, said the judge, who was appointed to the court by then-Gov. Nathan Deal in 2015 and sworn in as chief judge in June 2021. Cases reviewed by the court can range from shoplifting to multimillion-dollar civil cases.

"They're all interesting," said Rickman, who was in Albany with fellow Court of Appeals Judge and former Dougherty County District Attorney Ken Hodges on Thursday to visit the courthouse and speak at a Rotary Club meeting. "The main thing on appeals is we're not supposed to substitute our judgment for the trial judge's. We're a court for correction of errors."

The chief judge started his law career as an assistant district attorney and also worked in private practice for four years before he was tapped in 2008 by Deal to an appointment as district attorney for the Mountain Judicial District.

His first role in the legal system started when he worked as a jailer. Having family members in law enforcement, he was thinking of that as a career at the time.

"When I was a jailer, I sat in court for a couple of trials and was just mesmerized with what happens in courtrooms," he said. "It's human drama at a level you can't imagine."

In his private career, Rickman said his experience handling murder cases made the most impact and were the most interesting. In one case, a client he represented was a young man who had been abused for years by his father and killed him.

In that case charges were eventually dismissed.

"It's been very helpful to me," he said of his time in private practice. "Each murder case had an element of tragedy all the way around. Your public defenders and your prosecutors and judges are dealing with people's lives every day. It's definitely been a help to have that background.

"That's the great thing about this court: The judges come from a lot of different backgrounds. We can learn from each other."

This summer, the spotlight has been turned on courts in a way that it hasn't in perhaps years with the overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. The political — and human — ramifications of that decision are still being played out and have already had an impact in elections, including an overwhelming vote in Kansas not to remove the state constitution's protection of abortion.

Polls also show that the issue could have an impact on the fall elections as well.

For Rickman, it's important for courts to stay clear of politics.

"I think one of the things we need to do is let the public know we are nonpartisan and letting the people know what we do," he said. "We don't exist without the trust of the public."

One of the local issues Rickman addressed with The Herald was the Dougherty Judicial Circuit's request for a fourth judge.

Rickman, a member of the Judicial Council of Georgia, which will make a recommendation on the request, said Dougherty County is one of the most justified in the state in making the request based on the number of cases each of the three current judges handles.

"Dougherty County is No. 1 with a rank of 1.8," Rickman said. "That means each judge does the job of 1.8 judges, so almost double."

The Dougherty County Commission will discuss the issue during its Monday meeting.