As you may have read over in /poli, Governor Sonny Perdue today took the safe route and selected current United States Attorney for Atlanta, David Nahmias, to fill the vacancy on the Georgia Supreme Court left by Leah Ward Sears’ departure. This was the expected result from the beginning, with all of the smart money on Nahmias. I have a good friend who met with Nahmias recently and described him as intelligent, affable, and serious. When we discussed his elevation to the court today, she said that she expects he will be thoughtful and tough in oral arguments. But overall, of the names forwarded to Perdue by the Judicial Nominating Commission, Nahmias was by far the most qualified and obvious choice.
Nahmias had announced his intention to vacate the U.S. Attorney slot at some point this year once his next position became clear, but now that his departure is official and imminent, President Obama will have to select a replacement U.S. Attorney for Atlanta. So, who will it be? At this point, nobody is really speculating about possible replacements, and odds are pretty good that it will be someone toiling away in obscurity at the U.S. Attorney’s office now who is eventually elevated to the top dog slot for Atlanta.
However, in the completely uninformed speculation category, allow me to suggest that perhaps Thurbert Baker would be an excellent choice (assuming he could be persuaded to take the position and the 4 year commitment that comes with it.) Baker would have to drop out of the gubernatorial race, which would certainly help out the Democrats eager to clear their side of the field for the return of Roy Barnes…
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