Georgia Supreme Court Justice Visits CAU

The Honorable Justice Leah Ward Sears of the Supreme Court of Georgia served as the guest speaker during the 16th Annual Julius C. Daugherty Endowed Lecture in Law and Government in february 2005. Justice Sears spoke on “The Power of the Law and Limits of Justice.” She is the first woman and youngest person ever to serve on the Georgia Supreme Court. Dr. Broadnax commended her historic accomplishment by saying, “Justice Sears saw a system in need of change and summoned the will to be a change agent. She defied the odds and achieved success – and our state is better for her efforts.” Justice Leah Ward Sears became Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court in July 2005, succeeding Norman Fletcher, who retired from the bench. Sears, 49, obtained her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her law degree from Emory University. In 1989, she was appointed to the Fulton County bench. Three years later, then- Gov. Zell Miller appointed Sears to state Supreme Court.

The Daugherty Series honors the memory of a most distinguished Clark College alumnus, Julius C. Daugherty, who played a primary role in the political and civic life of the city of Atlanta and state of Georgia during the 1960s and ‘70s.