Atlanta, Aug. 23, 2017 – Judge D. Scott Smith of the Cherokee Judicial Circuit has been designated to serve in place of Justice Nels S. D. Peterson in the appeal of McConnell et al. v. Ga. Dept. Labor (S16G1786). The Supreme Court of Georgia will hear arguments in the case on Aug. 28, 2017 during its 2:00 P.M. session. In this Cobb County case, a man is appealing the dismissal of his class action lawsuit against the Department of Labor for inadvertently releasing the personal identifying information of more than 4,500 people. In addition to hearing arguments, Judge Smith will participate in the Court’s decision.
Judge Smith, 50, was appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue in November 2005 as a Superior Court Judge for the Cherokee Judicial Circuit, which includes Bartow and Gordon counties. Since being appointed in 2005, he has been unopposed in three elections and is currently serving his third term.
Judge Smith graduated from West Georgia College in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Political Science. He received his Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University College of Law in 1992.
Judge Smith served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Atlanta, Piedmont, and Cherokee judicial circuits from 1992-1996. He was appointed Assistant United States Attorney and received the Department of Justice Director’s Award in 1996. He was in private practice as an associate and partner at Akin & Tate, LLC. from 1996-1999 and was then appointed Special Drug Prosecutor for the Cherokee Judicial Circuit from 1999-2005.
Judge Smith created and presides over the Cherokee Judicial Circuit Drug Court, currently supervising 70 participants. He has served on the Executive Committee for the Council of Accountability Court Judges of Georgia for the past three years and currently presides as chairman of its nominations committee.
Judge Smith is married to Alicia R. Smith and has two daughters.