Superior Court’s Judge Murphy retiring on Halloween

The Tallapoosa Circuit Superior Court is going to need a new judge to sit on the bench starting in November.

After a long career in Polk and Haralson County courtrooms sitting above plaintiffs and defendants alike, Superior Court Judge Michael Murphy will be hanging up his robes and officially retiring long before his term was set to expire.

“I’ve announced it in the courtroom and to people up here,” Murphy said last Friday. “I haven’t gotten around to telling everyone yet.”

He said he felt it appropriate his final day on the job would be Halloween.

“It’s absolutely appropriate that I’ll retire during the witching hour,” he said.

He promised to provide additional information in a forthcoming sit-down with the Standard Journal this week.

With his announcement, it gives another opening for Governor Nathan Deal to make an appointment ahead of the end of his term coming up in December.

Murphy’s unexpired term on the Tallapoosa Circuit Superior Court bench was set to last

through 2020. His departure will allow for a new appointment to sit through the end of that term until a new election for the bench can be held between Haralson and Polk Counties.

Deal’s appointment will last through the rest of Murphy’s term. No special election will be required to fill the seat.

As to who will fill the seat is left undetermined, and will be based on some requirements that Deal has to follow. A candidate for the office has to be at least 30 years old, practiced law for seven years and be a citizen of the state for at least three years.

One person who said he isn’t interested in the job now or in the immediate future is District Attorney Jack Browning.

“Everyone is asking me questions about who will be the next judge,” Browning said. “I’ve got a job and I really enjoy it, and waited a long time to get it.”

He added that with the death penalty case still ongoing in the shooting death of Polk County Police Detective Kristen Hearne and still in the discovery phase, it wouldn’t be appropriate to hand off to someone else.

“Now’s not the time for me to consider it,” Browning said. “I’m in the right place for where I want to be.”