Henry County has a new Superior Court judge – and she is the first permanent female judge as well as the first black judge to sit on the bench in the Flint Judicial Circuit.
Holly Veal was sworn in November 7 by Gov. Nathan Deal, who announced her appointment October 18. She is filling the seat left vacant by the retirement of Arch McGarity. She has been an attorney in McDonough for several years, having been licensed to practice law in Georgia since 2004 and previously serving as a public defender in Albany before working as a prosecutor in Houston, Clayton and Henry counties.
Since January she served as an associate judge for the Henry County Magistrate Court.
According to Superior Court Clerk Barbara Harrison, there have been a couple of female judges who previously sat on the bench in the circuit but they were visiting senior judges. Veal is the first full-time female Superior Court judge in Henry County and the first black judge to ever preside over the court.
Veal is the second magistrate judge this year to leave that court for a higher court. David Brown won election this summer to a seat on Henry County State Court and will begin that role in January.
In a move related to those vacancies, the Henry County Board of Commissioners voted Nov. 6 to approve the appointment and payment authorization for a senior Magistrate Court judge. Judge Robert L. Godwin will assume the role of senior judge beginning Jan. 1, 2019 and will be paid at the rate of $45 per hour.
Chief magistrate Martin Jones told the board that Godwin would be brought in only when needed, probably a couple of times a month. He noted that some officials had expressed concerns about whether this appointment would affect Godwin’s retirement, and he said it will not.
The commissioners also approved a resolution authorizing the payment of an annual salary for the Offices of Associate Magistrate Judge in the amount of $91,253.32 as well as a budget amendment in the amount of $17,856 to cover six months of magistrate salaries and benefits from the Contingency Fund to the Magistrate Fund.
Jones pointed out that in addition to losing Veal and Brown, the court will soon see the retirement of Wesley Shannon, whom Jones said is the final non-lawyer serving as a magistrate judge in the county. Local legislation now requires that only an attorney can serve on that bench.
During the discussion Jones introduced Amanda Flora, a local attorney whom he hopes will be the next magistrate judge, and he said the court will soon be made up solely of attorneys with seven or more years of legal experience.
