Stephen Louis Armstrong Dillard (born November 13, 1969, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

) is an

appellate court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appel ...

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

and lecturer. In 2010, he was appointed to fill a vacant judgeship on the

Georgia Court of Appeals The Georgia Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Georgia, United States. The court is a single entity with fifteen judges. The judges are assigned into five divisions of three judges each, with the assignm ...

. In 2012, he was elected to a full six-year term and was re-elected in 2018. His current term will end in 2024.

Education

Dillard graduated from

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

, the

Mississippi College School of Law Mississippi College School of Law (MC Law or MC Law School) is an American Bar Association accredited law school. MC Law is one of two law schools in the state of Mississippi, and is the only law school in the capital city of Jackson, Mississipp ...

, and

Duke University School of Law The Duke University School of Law is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit that began in 1868 as the ...

, ''cum laude''.

Career

In 1996, he was admitted to practice in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and he is an active member of the

State Bar of Georgia The State Bar of Georgia is the governing body of the legal profession in the State of Georgia, operating under the supervision of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Membership is a condition of admission to practice law in Georgia. The State Bar w ...

. Dillard clerked for Judge

Daniel Anthony Manion Daniel Anthony Manion (February 1, 1942 – August 31, 2024) was an American lawyer, politician, and jurist who served as a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, courts in the following United Stat ...

. Dillard practiced appellate law with the

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

, law firm of James, Bates, Pope & Spivey LLP until receiving his judgeship appointment in 2010. He lives in Macon with his wife, the former Krista McDaniel, and their three children. On June 1, 2009, Dillard was nominated to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Georgia. On July 1, 2009,

Georgia Governor The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard, when not in federal service, and State Defense Force. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to eithe ...

Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American politician, veterinarian, and businessman who served as the 31st United States secretary of agriculture from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

's Office of Communications announced that the

Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of peo ...

had recommended Dillard as one of nine individuals to fill that vacancy. But in August 2009, Governor Perdue appointed Dillard instead to the Judicial Nominating Commission. In October 2010, Perdue appointed Dillard to fill one of two vacancies on the

. His judicial appointment ran from November 1, 2010, through December 31, 2012. On July 31, 2012, Judge Dillard was elected by his fellow Georgians to serve a full six-year term on the Court (2013–18). On July 1, 2017, Dillard was elected by his colleagues to serve as the Court’s Chief Judge. Since joining the Court of Appeals, Dillard has spoken to numerous organizations and participated in countless seminars on a wide variety of legal topics. In 2016, Judge Dillard was appointed as the Co-Chairperson of the Georgia Judicial Council's Strategic Plan Standing Committee, and as a member of the Council's Standing Committee on Technology. In 2015, Dillard was appointed by Governor

Nathan Deal John Nathan Deal (born August 25, 1942) is an American politician and former lawyer who served as the 82nd governor of Georgia from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, he previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Deal served ...

to the Georgia Appellate Jurisdiction Review Commission. He was appointed that year to serve on the Georgia Judicial Council, and as the Chairperson of the Council's Court Reporting Matters Committee. In 2014, he was named the "State Judge of the Year" by his alma mater, the Mississippi College School of Law, for outstanding judicial service and also received the "Fastcase 50" award, which honors leaders in the world of law, scholarship, and legal technology. In 2013, he was awarded the Distinguished Judicial Service Award by the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia, recognizing his outstanding service on the bench and commitment to improving the practice of law. In 2012, Judge Dillard was appointed to the Code of Judicial Conduct Review Committee, and he also began serving as the Special Consultant to the Georgia High School Mock Trial Committee.

Personal

Dillard is married to Krista (née McDaniel), with whom he has three children.

Electoral history

;2012 ;2018

Bibliography

* Five essays in the
Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America
', (M.E. Sharpe, 2005) *

Griffin Bell Griffin Boyette Bell (October 31, 1918 – January 5, 2009) was the 72nd Attorney General of the United States, having served under President Jimmy Carter. Previously, he was a U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fift ...

and

Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...

biographies in
Great American Judges
', ( ABC-CLIO, 2003); and *

Kenneth Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who as Special prosecutor, independent counsel authored the Starr Report, which served as the basis of the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an i ...

and

Joseph Story Joseph Story (September18, 1779September10, 1845) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in ''Martin ...

biographies in
Great American Lawyers
', ( ABC-CLIO, 2001)

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dillard, Stephen Louis Armstrong 1969 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges American alternative journalists American bloggers Georgia Court of Appeals judges Mississippi College School of Law alumni Lawyers from Macon, Georgia Lawyers from Nashville, Tennessee Samford University alumni State attorneys 21st-century American non-fiction writers