Chief Judge A. Wallace Cato of the South Georgia Judicial Circuit has been designated to serve in place of Supreme Court Judge P. Harris Hines to hear an appeal being considered by the court.

Cato was in Atlanta on Monday, Feb. 7, to hear the appeal in Brown et al. v. Pounts et al. and McGinnis et al. v. Pounds et al. In addition to hearing arguments, Judge Cato will participate in the Court’s decision. In this high-profile case, the president and directors of the Cobb Electric Membership Corporation are appealing a ruling by the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Judge Cato, 72, was appointed in 1978 by then Gov. George Busbee to a newly created judgeship of the South Georgia Judicial Circuit. He has served 33 years as a judge and is today the senior-most Superior Court judge in Georgia. The South Georgia Judicial Circuit covers Baker, Calhoun, Grady, Decatur and Mitchell Counties.

Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Cato served as district attorney for the South Georgia Judicial Circuit for eight and a half years, after his appointment in 1969. He also served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1966 to 1969, following his election at the age of 28.

Judge Cato is a member of the First Christian Church in Bainbridge. He and his wife of 52 years, Sadie, have three children and six grandchildren.