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Nels Peterson Chief Justice
Chief Justice, Georgia Supreme Court
Background: Peterson's career experience includes working as a law clerk for Judge Bill Pryor on the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He also worked for the firm King & Spalding, and served as Gov. Sonny Perdue ’s (R) executive counsel.
At a glance
- Court
- Georgia Supreme Court
- Position / seat
- Not listed
- Chief justice
- Yes
- How they joined the court
- Appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal (R) (November 9, 2016); later won election on May 21, 2024
- Appointed by
- Gov. Nathan Deal (R)
- Appointment date
- November 9, 2016
- Took office
- January 1, 2017
- Current term ends
- December 31, 2030
- Next election or retention vote
- Not listed
- Last election
- May 21, 2024
- Party (as listed by Ballotpedia)
- Nonpartisan
- Ballotpedia partisanship estimate
- Strong Republican (2020 study of justices' pre-court partisan activity)
- Education
- Bachelor's: Kennesaw State University, 2001
- Law: Harvard Law School
- Prior offices
- Not listed
- Profession
- Not listed
- How this court's justices are chosen
- Nonpartisan electionVoters elect the justices; no party label appears on the ballot.
Summary of facts listed on Nels Peterson’s Ballotpedia page (retrieved Oct 26, 2026) · Photo: Ballotpedia. “Not listed” means Ballotpedia didn’t list it in a form this site could read; check Ballotpedia for the latest.
No public decision data available for this court.