The Marietta Daily Journal – Around Town Bodiford bowing out High profile judge plans to retire at year end

COBB SUPERIOR COURT Judge Jim Bodiford, who has presided over many of Georgia’s most notorious criminal trials of recent years, will retire at year end rather than seek what would be his sixth term on the Cobb bench, he told Around Town on Monday.

Qualifying for the November non-partisan judicial election is in March and Bodiford said that revealing his intentions now will give lawyers who are interested in running sufficient time to prepare their campaigns.

But unlike many retiring jurists, Bodiford plans to serve out the remainder of his term rather than retire early and see his successor appointed by the governor. The successors in such cases then are able to run as incumbent judges, giving them a presumed advantage.

“It’s nothing against the governor,” Bodiford said. “But this will let lawyers who are interested run for an open seat like I did 20 years ago.”

via The Marietta Daily Journal – Around Town Bodiford bowing out High profile judge plans to retire at year end.