Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Boggs is slated to deliver his second annual State of the Judiciary at 11 a.m. Wednesday before a joint session of the Georgia General Assembly at the state capitol.

As head of the nine member court, Boggs will update lawmakers on a series of topics, including efforts to improve judicial security, workforce development challenges in the state’s judicial system and the progress state judicial courts are making on case backlogs created by the pandemic.  

The Supreme Court reviews decisions made by the state’s lower trial courts in civil and criminal cases. It also has exclusive power to hear appeals from lower courts on constitutional cases and election contest cases. Constitutional cases involve the Bill of Rights, or respective rights of federal and state governments. The court also has legal power over cases involving a death sentence or potential death sentence.

Each year, the Georgia Supreme Court hears, on average, dozens of oral arguments and issues 300 or more opinions, which comes to more than 30 opinions authored per Justice. By comparison, the U.S. Supreme Court, which also has nine justices, typically issues a total of about 80 opinions a year.

Michael Patrick Boggs: At A Glance

Title: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia 

Age: 61

Hometown: Waycross

Education: Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Psychology from Georgia Southern College. Juris Doctorate from Mercer University School of Law.

Career Path:  Sole practitioner, 1998 to 2005; served in the Georgia House of Representatives, 2000-2004; Superior Court Judge of the Waycross Judicial Circuit of the First Judicial Administrative District of Georgia of the Georgia Superior Court, where he created and presided over the court’s felony drug court program, 2004-2012; served as a judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals, 2012-2017; appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court in December 2016 by Gov. Nathan Deal; sworn in as Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court on July 18, 2022.

Family: He and his wife Heather, a kindergarten teacher, live in Pierce County.

Here’s what you need to know to watch Chief Justice  Boggs’ speech:

When: 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7

Where: Georgia State Capitol, Atlanta.

How to watch: Watch it right here on our site.