In a 94-0 vote on July 21, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Julie Carnes, chief judge of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, to serve on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
“Judge Carnes is an extraordinary federal judge and a very loyal alumna of the University of Georgia,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “She became a close friend of mine shortly after I became an assistant U.S. attorney in 1980, and I was very honored when she presided over my investiture ceremony last November after I became UGA’s president. I know she will be an outstanding federal appellate judge.”
Carnes’ nomination had been pending since December when President Barack Obama nominated her to the 11th Circuit as part of a package deal of nominees to vacant federal judicial posts in Georgia. She was selected by Georgia’s Republican Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss as part of that package deal and is the first to be confirmed.
Before Carnes’ confirmation vote, both Isakson and Chambliss took to the Senate floor to voice their unqualified support for her.
Isakson referred to Carnes as a “Double Dawg” graduate of UGA for earning both her bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor from the university in 1972 and 1975, respectively.
“Julie Carnes is a very special lady,” Isakson said. “Her nomination is a nomination of someone with immense capacity, outstanding integrity and outstanding ability.”
Carnes, who served on the editorial board of the Georgia Law Review while she was a law student, currently serves on the committee conducting a national search for the next dean of the School of Law at UGA.