2/8/17 – CHIEF JUDGE MCBRIDE TO HEAR GA SUPREME COURT CASE

Atlanta, Feb. 8, 2017 – Superior Court Chief Judge Gil McBride of the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit has been designated to serve in place of Justice Michael P. Boggs in the appeal of Martin v. Six Flags Over Georgia II, L.P., et al. (S16G0743) and Six Flags Over Georgia II, L.P., et al. v. Martin (S16G0750). The Supreme Court of Georgia will hear arguments in the case on Feb. 13, 2017 during its 10:00 a.m. session. In this high-profile Cobb County case, lawyers for a young man left permanently brain-damaged by gang members who beat him while he waited for a bus after visiting Six Flags are appealing a ruling by the Georgia Court of Appeals that threw out his jury award of $35 million. In addition to hearing arguments, Judge McBride will participate in the Court’s decision.

Judge McBride, 54, was elected to the Superior Court of the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit in 2008 in a contested election for an open seat. He was reelected in 2012 and 2016 without opposition. He became the circuit’s Chief Judge in 2014. (The judicial circuit includes the counties of Chattahoochee, Muscogee, Harris, Mario, Talbot and Taylor.)

Judge McBride received his Bachelor of Arts degree with special honors from George Washington University in 1984. Two years later he graduated from George Washington University with a Master of Arts in American Literature. He obtained a law degree from the Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University in 1991.

Judge McBride is an active member of the community and has received numerous awards for his work, including recognition by the NAACP for his efforts as Chief Judge to address criminal case backlogs in Columbus through the Rapid Resolution Program.

Judge McBride and his wife, Betsy, have been married 30 years and have four children. He and his family worship at Saint Paul United Methodist Church in Columbus, and at Bethesda Baptist Church in Ellerslie.

(Designated judges are appointed when a justice must recuse himself or herself from a particular case. The Supreme Court of Georgia maintains a list of select judges from around the state and when the need arises, the Court appoints the next judge on the list.)