Trump to nominate two judges with Middle Georgia ties to federal bench

President Donald Trump plans to nominate former Macon Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self to fill a judgeship vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, according to a White House news release issued Thursday.

The White House announced the president’s intent to nominate 11 lawyers and judges for federal judgeships Thursday afternoon.

Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Self to fill a vacancy on the Georgia Court of Appeals last year. His term began in January.

A Macon native, Self was elected to the Macon Judicial Circuit Superior Court in 2006 and presided over cases in Bibb, Crawford and Peach counties until his appointment. He served as the circuit’s chief judge from 2013 through 2016.

If his nomination is confirmed by the Senate, Self will fill the vacancy created by U.S. District Court Judge Ashley Royal taking senior status — a semi-retirement for judges — in September. An appointment to the federal bench is for life.

The Middle District of Georgia is allotted four active judges, who serve an area that spans from Georgia’s southwestern corner east through Valdosta, north though Albany and Macon and east through Athens to the South Carolina border.

If confirmed, Self will be the second Macon Superior Court Judge to sit on the Middle District bench. W. Louis Sands was appointed to a U.S. District Court judgeship by President Bill Clinton in 1994. He has taken senior status.

The president also will nominate another judge on the Court of Appeals with Middle Georgia ties, William M. “Billy” Ray, to fill a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, according to the release.

Ray was born in Macon and raised in Peach and Crawford counties, according to a biography posted on the appellate court’s website.

After graduating from law school, Ray joined a Lawrenceville law firm and later served six years in Georgia’s senate.

Then-Gov. Roy Barnes appointed Ray to the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit Superior Court in 2002 and he remained a judge there until 2012 when he was sworn in as a judge on the state Court of Appeals.

Ray was included on a short list for a seat on Georgia’s Supreme Court last year.

Michael L. Brown, an attorney with Atlanta’s Alston & Bird firm, is set to be nominated for another seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, according to the release.

This story was originally published July 13, 2017 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Trump to nominate two judges with Middle Georgia ties to federal bench."