ATLANTA — A number of Americus-based attorneys and judges have been appointed to serve as members of various standing, special, program and board committees of the 48,000-member State Bar of Georgia for 2016-17.
Southwestern Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judges William J. Sizemore Jr. and R. Rucker Smith were both named to the Bench & Bar Committee, which oversees the Judicial District Professionalism Program and works to identify and facilitate solutions to issues of mutual interest between the state’s judges and lawyers for the benefit of the public. Smith will also serve on the Board of Governors Listserv Task Force, which is working to determine the feasibility of a member-access-only communications portal for Bar-related matters.
G. Bardin Hooks Jr. of Arnold & Hooks LLC in Americus was appointed to the Investigative Panel of the State Disciplinary Board, which is authorized to investigate alleged violations of the Standards of Conduct by members of the State Bar.
Roberto Shawn Hoover was selected for the Indigent Defense Committee, which monitors the progress and funding for the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council and provides expertise and advocacy necessary to satisfy the state’s constitutional obligation to provide adequate counsel for indigent persons who are accused of crimes.