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Judge in emotional, viral Georgia courtroom video selected to fill Georgia Supreme Court vacancy

Judge Verda Colvin will now sit on the bench of the state's highest court.

ATLANTA, Georgia — Editor's Note: The video in this story is the one that went viral in 2016.

Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday that a judge who went viral back in 2016 for a speech she gave in a Macon courtroom to troubled teens has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Last month, Judge Verda Colvin was one of six judges named on the Judicial Nominating Commission to fill the position and on Tuesday, Kemp announced his selection.

Colvin was appointed to Macon’s Superior Court in 2014 after serving as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia for 15 years.

She went viral in 2016 for her courtroom warning to teens during the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office’s ‘Consider the Consequences’ program. In it she held up a white body bag and told them that they may soon end up in one. You can see that whole video here:

In 2019, Colvin was appointed to a state judicial commission that teaches judges about their ethical duties and investigates potential misconduct. She was later appointed to the state’s Court of Appeals in spring 2020.

The vacancy was created by the retirement of Chief Justice Harold Melton, which was effective at the end of June.

"It is an honor to appoint such an experienced and accomplished justice to our state's Supreme Court," said Governor Kemp. "With Justice Colvin on the bench, Georgia's highest court is gaining an immensely talented and principled judge who will help guide it in the years to come."

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