Judge H. Gibbs Flanders, Jr. serves as President of Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia

Business Wire, May 13, 2004

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 2004

Superior Court Judge H. Gibbs Flanders, Jr., Dublin Judicial Circuit, Dublin, recently began his term as President of the state's Council of Superior Court Judges. Judge Flanders, who served as president-elect of the Council and chair of its Budget Committee last year, will lead the judges' organization from May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005. Joining him on the officer team are President-Elect Daniel M. Coursey, Jr., Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit, Decatur, and Secretary-Treasurer William T. Boyett, Conasauga Judicial Circuit, Dalton.

Judge Flanders was appointed to the superior court bench on September 27, 1993 by Governor Zell Miller and was subsequently elected to four-year terms in 1996 and 2000. He is unopposed in the 2004 election later this year. The four-county Dublin Circuit includes Johnson, Laurens, Treutlen and Twiggs counties. He was in sole proprietor practice prior to his appointment. During that time, he served as a U. S. Bankruptcy Trustee and attorney for Laurens County.

Born in Dublin, Judge Flanders graduated from East Laurens High School in 1972. He went on to graduate with honors from Georgia Southern College (1976), the University of Georgia School of Law (1979) and the U. S. Army Judge Advocate General's School, University of Virginia (1981). He served as a captain in the U. S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corp for three years, assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

In his years on the superior court bench, Judge Flanders has been involved with several statewide court-related initiatives: as a member of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, chair of the Pro Se Litigation Committee of the Judicial Council of Georgia and chair of the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution. As a member of the Council of Superior Court Judges, he has served on its Long Range Planning Committee, Executive Planning Team and Court Automation Committee.

Judge Flanders has supported numerous community organizations through his service on boards and committees, including the Boy Scouts' Pine Forest District Committee, Chairman; the Board of Directors, Rotary Club of Dublin; the Dublin-Laurens Habitat for Humanity, Inc.; the Executive State Board of Directors for YMCA; and the Board of Directors for Middle Georgia Easter Seals Society, Inc., Vice Chairman, and Chairman for the 2002 Dublin-Laurens Community Retreat. Judge Flanders was the 2001 recipient of the Dublin-Laurens County Chamber of Commerce Carolyn R. Watson Sprit Award.

Judge Flanders is an active member of the First United Methodist Church, Dublin. He is married to the former Theresa Walters of Millen, and they have two sons, Daniel (20) and Jacob (13).

The Council of Superior Court Judges is composed of the state's 188 superior court judges and more than 50 senior (retired) superior court judges. It was established by the state legislature in 1985 to further the improvement of the superior courts and the administration of justice in Georgia. The council seeks to identify and propose solutions to problems common to all judges and has adopted strategic planning to identify and pursue operational goals. Duties of the council include state superior court judges' budget development and administration; initiating and responding to legislative issues involving the superior court; adoption of uniform court rules; preparation of bench publications, including jury charge instructions and benchbooks; certification of continuing judicial education; and panel review of felony sentence length.

The newly elected officers, immediate past president and administrative judges representing the ten judicial administrative districts in Georgia comprise the Council of Superior Court Judges' executive committee, which is authorized to manage the projects and policies of the council. The council's central office is located in Atlanta.