Justice Hugh Thompson has been unanimously elected presiding justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Thompson will assume his new office July 18. The presiding justice takes over if the chief justice is absent or is disqualified from participating in a case.

Thompson is a native of Milledgeville. He was appointed to the state high court in 1994 by then Gov. Zell Miller. He previously served as a state court judge in Baldwin County and a superior court judge in the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit.

Also on July 18, Justice Carol W. Hunstein is set to resume her role as Georgia Supreme Court chief justice, following the retirement of Chief Justice George Carley. Hunstein in May temporarily stepped aside as chief justice so Carley could hold the position before his retirement.

Tags: State Supreme Court, Chief Justice George Carley, Justice Hugh Thompson, Justice Carol W. Hunstein