Robert Benham (judge)
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Robert Benham | |
|---|---|
| Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia | |
| In office 1995–2001 | |
| Preceded by | Willis B. Hunt Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Norman S. Fletcher |
| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia | |
| In office 1989 – March 1, 2020 | |
| Nominated by | Joe Frank Harris |
| Succeeded by | Carla Wong McMillian |
| Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals | |
| In office April 3, 1984 – 1989 | |
| Nominated by | Joe Frank Harris |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 25, 1946 |
| Education | Tuskegee University (B.S.) University of Georgia School of Law (J.D.) University of Virginia (LL.M.) |
Robert Benham (born September 25, 1946[1]) is a retired American lawyer and jurist who served on the Supreme Court of Georgia for over 30 years, retiring in March 2020. He was the second African-American graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court of Georgia, and the first African-American to serve as the court's chief justice.
Justice Benham is a lifelong resident of Georgia, and was born to Jesse Knox Benham and Clarence Benham in Cartersville, Georgia. He graduated from Summer Hill High School in Cartersville in 1963, and Tuskegee University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science in 1967, attended Harvard University, graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1970, and received his Master of Laws from the University of Virginia in 1989.[1] While attending the University of Georgia, he was a member of the Demosthenian Literary Society.
After completing law school, Benham served in the U.S. Army Reserve, attaining the rank of Captain.[1] He then served briefly as a trial attorney for Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc., later returning to Cartersville, where he engaged in the private practice of law, served as Special Assistant Attorney General, and served two terms as President of the Bartow County Bar Association.[2] Justice Benham became the first African American to establish a law practice in Bartow County.
State judicial service
In 1984, Justice Benham was appointed by Governor Joe Frank Harris to the Georgia Court of Appeals, where he served for five years following his statewide election to the court,[2] distinguishing himself as the first African American to win statewide election in Georgia since Reconstruction.
