Three candidates are vying for the position of Superior Court Judge for the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit, which spans Bulloch, Effingham, Jenkins and Screven counties.

Michael Muldrew, currently serving as Assistant District Attorney for the circuit; Martha Hall, a local attorney and former assistant district attorney and municipal judge; and Mickey Kicklighter, a former chief assistant district attorney for the Atlantic Judicial Circuit will compete during Tuesday’s General Primary.

Current Superior Court Judge John R. “Robbie” Turner did not seek reelection to the post and will retire effective Dec. 31.

Muldrew, a 1984 Statesboro High School graduate, has a 1987 bachelor's degree in political science and a 1990 Juris Doctorate from the University of Georgia. He worked for District Attorney Dupont Cheney of the Atlantic Judicial Circuit based in Hinesville. He moved back to Bulloch County in 1995, accepting an offer from then-district attorney Joe Martin to be an assistant district attorney.

"I have been serving the community and citizens of Bulloch County nearly all my life as an assistant district attorney for 20 years," he said. "During that time I have worked with a great team of public servants, led by District Attorney Richard Mallard, to keep our streets and homes safe and secure. Early in my career I felt called to serve as a prosecutor, and I always thought I would be able to serve the most people as superior court judge.

“As an assistant district attorney, he said "I have had a good impact on criminal cases. As superior court judge, I will have a positive impact on one third of all criminal and civil cases."
Hall, a partner with Hall Law Group, P.C., in Statesboro and Springfield, has more than 21 years of experience as a prosecutor and private practice attorney. She served as assistant district attorney with the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit for six years, was elected state court solicitor for Screven County and has served as a municipal court judge in Oliver and Newington.

If elected, she would be the first female Ogeechee Judicial Circuit judge since the retirement of Judge Faye Sanders Martin in 2000.

Hall received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Georgia Southern University in 1991 and obtained a law degree from the University of Memphis in 1994.She is a certified general domestic and juvenile mediator and a certified parent coordinator.

In private practice for the past 16 years, she has worked in the criminal defense area and in the domestic relations areas of divorce, child custody and child support.

    "The desire to serve the everyday working citizens of our area is something that has been instilled in me my entire life," Hall said she believes in fairness and that her "strong calling" to protect families, children and victims of crime, paired with her background in Superior Court matters, qualify her for the position she seeks.

"I feel I would bring diversity and equality to the bench at a time when it is important to have everyone represented," she said.

Kicklighter, touting himself as a conservative, said he believes his “broader experience base” will lend itself to his being the right candidate for the position. He is a member of the State Bar Military Legal Assistance Program Committee, and served as a public defender defense counsel for the Bulloch and Effingham County drug court programs.  He earned his undergraduate degree from Mercer University and his law degree from Walter F. George School of Law. 

“With more than 33 years of experience as a practicing attorney, I am uniquely qualified to serve as our next judge,” he said. “I've worked in private practice for decades in almost every area of the law, served as a prosecutor and public defender in trials, practiced civil law to protect the rights of clients, and protected clients in zoning and land use cases.”

Special points of interest for Kicklighter is drug courts in Bulloch and Effingham counties, and seeking solutions to challenges for veterans in legal areas.

Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday, May 24, and close at 7 p.m.

Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.