President Donald Trump announced today he will renominate 21 people in line for judicial seats last year, including a total of four nominees in Georgia and Tennessee.
The group was nominated for the positions last year, but their appointments lapsed when Congress recessed for the holiday. They still need to be confirmed for their seats.
Locally, the nominees are:
- Elizabeth "Lisa" Branch, who would be a circuit judge for the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. A graduate of Emory University School of Law, Branch began practicing in Atlanta in 1996. During the George W. Bush administration, she worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Gov. Nathan Deal appointed her to the Georgia Court of Appeals in 2012.
- Mark Norris, who would serve as a district court judge in the Western District of Tennessee. He has served in the state senate since 2000 and as the senate majority leader since 2007. He also practices at Adams and Reese LLP in Memphis.
- William McCrary Ray II, who would serve as a district court judge in the Northern District of Georgia. A graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, Ray served as a state senator for six years. He was then a Gwinnett Judicial Circuit superior court judge before Deal appointed him to the state court of appeals in 2012.
- Eli Richardson, who would serve as a district court judge in the Middle District of Tennessee. A graduate of the Vanderbilt University Law School, Richardson spent four years as an FBI special agent and seven years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of New Jersey and the Middle District of Tennessee. He also spent a year as a residential legal advisor to Serbia. He currently practices with Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC, and is an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt.