COVINGTON, Ga. — Gov. Brian Kemp swore in new Superior Court Judge Kevin Morris to the Alcovy Judicial Circuit bench Monday, Jan. 30.

Kemp swore in Morris, 51, with his wife and daughter by his side at the State Capitol in Atlanta.

Morris is scheduled to hear his first cases this week.

Kemp on Dec. 16 named Morris to be one of five Superior Court judges in the circuit that includes Newton and Walton counties.

The Monroe resident is a former Atlanta-area attorney. He served as a Walton County Magistrate Court judge for eight years before his appointment. 

A native Georgian, Morris graduuated from the University of Georgia in 1994. He then moved to Shizuoka, Japan, to teach English and business communications to Japanese executives. 

In 1999, Morris graduated from Mercer Law School and began handling complex litigation claims involving local governments.

Morris also has served as the deputy county attorney for Butts and Henry counties. 

He replaces longtime Superior Court Judge John Ott — who retired Dec. 31 and was later appointed as a senior judge. 

Superior Court Judge Ken Wynne replaced Ott as the chief judge of the Alcovy Judicial Circuit.

In Georgia, Superior Court judges are constitutional officers who are elected to four-year terms in circuit-wide nonpartisan elections. 

However, the governor fills some vacancies in Superior Court by appointment. 

Superior Court judges preside over all felony trials, have exclusive jurisdiction over divorces and may correct errors made by limited jurisdiction courts, according to information from the Alcovy Judicial Circuit. 

Each county has its own Superior Court, though a judge may serve more than one county. A chief judge handles the administrative tasks for each circuit.