Michael P. Boggs
2017 - Present
2030
8
Michael P. Boggs is a judge of the Georgia Supreme Court. He assumed office on January 1, 2017. His current term ends on December 31, 2030.
Boggs ran for re-election for judge of the Georgia Supreme Court. He won in the general election on May 21, 2024.
Boggs was elected by his peers to succeed David Nahmias as chief justice of the court. His term as chief began on July 18, 2022.[1]
Boggs was appointed to the state supreme court by Governor Nathan Deal (R) on November 9, 2016, following Justice Hugh Thompson's retirement.[2] To read more about judicial selection in Georgia, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[3] Boggs received a confidence score of Indeterminate.[4] Click here to read more about this study.
Boggs was previously a judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals from 2012 to 2016.
President Barack Obama nominated Boggs for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in 2013. Obama renominated Boggs in early 2014 when his nomination was returned by the senate. Boggs' nomination lacked support from the Senate Judiciary Committee and was not forwarded to the full senate for a vote.[5][6]
Biography
Michael P. Boggs received his B.S. from Georgia Southern College in 1985 and his J.D. from Mercer University School of Law in 1990.[7][5] From 1981 to 1982, he attended the Georgia Institute of Technology but did not earn a degree. He also holds an A.A. from Waycross College, which he earned in 1983.[8]
Boggs' career experience includes working in insurance defense litigation and running his own general trial practice. In 2000, Boggs was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, a position he held until 2004, when he was elected to the Waycross Judicial Circuit. He was re-elected in 2008 and served as Superior Court Judge. From 2012 to 2016, Boggs served on the Georgia Court of Appeals. He was nominated to the Georgia Supreme Court in 2016 and re-elected for a six-year term in 2018.[9]
Elections
2024
See also: Georgia Supreme Court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Georgia Supreme Court
Incumbent Michael P. Boggs won election in the general election for Georgia Supreme Court on May 21, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Michael P. Boggs (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 1,058,570 | |
| Total votes: 1,058,570 | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Boggs in this election.
2018
- See also: Georgia Supreme Court elections, 2018
General election
General election for Georgia Supreme Court
Incumbent Michael P. Boggs won election in the general election for Georgia Supreme Court on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Michael P. Boggs (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 904,702 | |
| Total votes: 904,702 | ||||
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Selection method
- See also: Judicial selection in Georgia
There are nine justices on the Georgia Supreme Court, each chosen by popular vote in nonpartisan elections. They serve six-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to retain their seats.[10]
The chief justice is selected by peer vote and serves in that capacity for four years.[10]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
2012
- See also: Georgia judicial elections, 2012
Boggs ran unopposed in the general primary election on July 31, 2012. He was elected to the Georgia Court of Appeals after receiving 99.69 percent of the vote.[11]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael P. Boggs did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Federal judicial nomination
Northern District of Georgia
On December 19, 2013, Michael P. Boggs was nominated by President Barack Obama to fill a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.[5] On the nominations:
| “ | I am honored to put forward these highly qualified candidates for the federal bench. They will be distinguished public servants and valuable additions to the United States District Courts. | ” |
| —President Barack Obama, [5] | ||
The American Bar Association rated Boggs Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified.[13]
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Michael P. Boggs |
| Court: Northern District of Georgia |
| Progress |
| Returned 363 days after nomination. |
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
Boggs' nomination was returned by the Senate on January 3, 2014, and he was renominated on January 6, 2014, by President Obama.[14]
Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for the nomination of Boggs on May 13, 2014.[15] When faced with questions about his voting record as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives Boggs responded:
| “ | The best evidence of the type of judge I will be is the record of the type of judge I have been. I don’t think that my legislative record that’s more than a decade old is indicative of what type of judge I will be.[16][12] | ” |
Opposition to nomination
There was Democratic opposition to Boggs' nomination by U.S. Rep. David Scott and Georgia civil-rights groups. Their opposition stemmed from Boggs' vote to retain the 1956 version of the Georgia flag that had the confederate "Stars and Bars."
| “ | If confirmed, the federal bench in Georgia will not reflect the current demographics of the state for at least another generation. There will soon be only one active African-American district court judge in Georgia. In addition, the views of some of these nominees reflect the regressive politics of the past. I want to share some very important and critical background information with the Committee before these nominations are considered. It is an abomination that these nominees for lifetime appointment were drafted in secret, not vetted by any legal groups among the President’s supporters, and announced on a holiday weekend. We must not allow lifetime appointed judges to be rammed through the hearing process without sufficient input from the people who will be affected by their future judicial actions. | ” |
| —Rep. David Scott, [17] | ||
Opposition to Bogg's nomination continued to grow and, on February 20, 2014, progressive groups sent a letter of opposition to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The groups, which included MoveOn.org, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, NARAL Pro-Choice America and others, opposed Boggs on his past record of anti-abortion and anti-LGBT legislation as well as voting for keeping confederate iconography on the Georgia state flag.[18]
| Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee |
|---|
| Dear Senators:
As organizations committed to protecting reproductive and civil rights, racial justice, and equality under the law, we write to voice serious concern about the nomination of Michael Boggs to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and to urge the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject this nomination. During his time as a legislator in the Georgia General Assembly, Boggs demonstrated a troubling lack of concern for individuals whose experience and personal history differ from his own, creating a record that lacks a demonstrated commitment to fairness and equal justice with respect to issues of reproductive freedom, civil rights, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality. Boggs has devoted portions of his career to opposing women's access to safe, legal reproductive-health services. For example, while serving in the Georgia House of Representatives, Boggs cosponsored legislation that would have created a "Choose Life" license-plate program to channel funds to anti-choice organizations, including fake clinics that intentionally misinform and mislead women.1 He also pushed legislation that would have made more severe Georgia's parental-involvement law, which already required parental notice prior to a young woman obtaining abortion care, and was so extreme that it did not include an exception for cases of rape or incest, or an adequate exception to protect a woman's health. Boggs cosponsored legislation that would have required a parent or guardian to accompany in person a young woman seeking abortion care, and display a photo ID, a mean-spirited provision that would impact disproportionately certain groups, predominately the elderly, low-income individuals, and minority communities, who are more likely to lack state-issued photo IDs.2 In addition to his documented hostility toward a woman's constitutional right to choose, Boggs's record on issues of racial justice and LGBT equality also raises grave concern. He voted to keep the Confederate battle emblem—a powerful symbol of oppression and intolerance—on Georgia's state flag over the vocal objection of the state's civil rights community.3 Boggs also voted in support of a measure to amend Georgia's constitution to prohibit marriage for same-sex couples.4 We believe that Boggs's record on reproductive rights, civil rights, and LGBT rights is especially troubling in a nominee to the federal bench. Litigants in Georgia, and the nation as a whole, deserve a judge whose commitment to equal justice is clear. For these reasons, we urge you to oppose the confirmation of Michael Boggs to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, NARAL Pro-Choice America 1 H.B.254, 147th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ga. 2003); H.B.286, 147th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ga. 2003); H.B.630, 147th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ga. 2003). 2 H.B.1597, 147th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ga. 2003); H.B.466, 147th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ga. 2004). 3 H.B.16, 146th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ga. 2001). 4 S.R.595, 147th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ga. 2004).[18] |
Falter in the Senate Judiciary Committee
Michael P. Boggs' nomination came to a halt on September 22, 2014, when Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy released a statement that said Boggs did not have the committee support needed to forward his nomination to the full Senate.[6]
Boggs was not re-nominated by President Barack Obama.[19]
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[20]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[21]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Michael
Boggs
Georgia
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Indeterminate - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Held political office as a Democrat
- Was a registered Democrat before 2020
- Appointed by a Republican governor
Partisan Profile
Details:
Boggs served as a Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 2001-2004. From 1985-1987, he also worked as a legislative aide to United States Congressman J. Roy Rowland (D). Boggs was a registered Democrat prior to 2020. He was appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal (R) in 2016. At the time of his appointment, Georgia was a Republican trifecta.
State supreme court judicial selection in Georgia
- See also: Judicial selection in Georgia
The nine justices on the Georgia Supreme Court are chosen by popular vote in nonpartisan elections. They serve six-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to retain their seats.[22]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
Chief justice
The chief justice is selected by peer vote and serves in that capacity for four years.[22]
Vacancies
If a vacancy appears on the court, the position is filled by assisted appointment. The governor chooses an appointee from a list of qualified candidates compiled by the judicial nominating commission. As of March 2023, the judicial nominating commission consisted of 35 members, each appointed by the governor. For each court vacancy, the commission recommends candidates, but the governor is not bound to the commission's choices and may choose to appoint a judge not found on the list.[23] If appointed, an interim judge must run in the next general election held at least six months after the appointment, and, if confirmed by voters, he or she may finish the rest of the predecessor's term.[22][24][25]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
|
Officeholder Georgia Supreme Court |
Footnotes
- ↑ Yahoo!, "Michael P. Boggs to be sworn in as Chief Justice of Georgia State Supreme Court," July 11, 2022
- ↑ Daily Report, "Deal Appoints Five New Appellate Judges," November 9, 2016
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 White House, "President Obama Nominates Eight to Serve on the United States District Courts," December 19, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The New York Times, "Obama Judicial Choice Is Urged to Withdraw," September 22, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedappoint - ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for Judiciary Nominees," accessed July 5, 2021
- ↑ Supreme Court of Georgia, "Presiding Justice Michael P. Boggs," accessed July 5, 2021
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Election Results, "Statewide results 2012," accessed July 5, 2021
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ American Bar, "RATINGS OF ARTICLE III JUDICIAL NOMINEES 113TH CONGRESS," accessed July 5, 2021
- ↑ White House, "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 7, 2014
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Judicial Nomination," May 13, 2014
- ↑ Washington Post, "Senate Democrats should quit stalling on two judicial nominations," May 16, 2014
- ↑ Atlantic Journal-Constitution, "Your daily jolt: David Scott to challenge Georgia judicial nominees," January 6, 2014
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Pro-Choice America, "Coalition Letter Opposing Confirmation of Michael Boggs," February 20, 2014
- ↑ The White House, "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 7, 2015
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia; Judicial Nominating Commissions," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Governor Brian Kemp, "Executive Order," accessed March 29, 2023
- ↑ Governor Brian Kemp, "Gov. Kemp Names 35 to Judicial Nominating Commission," October 27, 2021
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Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Georgia, Northern District of Georgia, Southern District of Georgia • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Georgia, Northern District of Georgia, Southern District of Georgia
State courts:
Georgia Supreme Court • Georgia Court of Appeals • Georgia Superior Courts • Georgia State Courts • Georgia Business Court • Georgia Tax Court • Georgia Juvenile Courts • Georgia Probate Courts • Georgia Magistrate Courts • Georgia Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Georgia • Georgia judicial elections • Judicial selection in Georgia
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