The Right Choice for Chief Judge of Recorder’s Court: Attorney Altovise Filmore

The recent appointment of David B. Ranieri by Gov. Brian Kemp to serve as a Muscogee County State Court judge creates another important opportunity for leadership within our local judicial system. His departure as chief judge of the Recorder’s Court of Columbus leaves a vacancy that the Columbus City Council will be responsible for filling.

And while judicial appointments often generate considerable discussion about qualifications, experience and political relationships, I believe this particular decision deserves a serious look at someone who possesses the legal knowledge, professional experience, community ties and temperament necessary to serve our citizens with fairness and integrity.

And in that process, I strongly encourage council members to give Altovise Dehaviah Filmore serious consideration.

Her experience as a prosecutor provides familiarity with criminal proceedings. Her years in private practice offer an additional perspective on the legal system. Her extensive teaching background demonstrates a sustained commitment to legal education.

And her current service as a pro tem judge provides something especially valuable: direct judicial experience in the very court she would be asked to lead.

Taken together, those qualifications make her a compelling candidate.

As Columbus prepares for a new chapter in its leadership, we have an opportunity to strengthen the institutions that shape the daily lives of our citizens. The courts are among the most important of those institutions.

People must believe that when they enter a courtroom, they will be heard, their rights will be respected and the law will be applied fairly, regardless of who they are, where they live or how much money they have. That confidence begins with the individuals entrusted to preside over our courts.

Attorney Altovise Dehaviah Filmore has spent more than two decades building a legal career that deserves recognition and serious consideration.

She has prosecuted cases. She has represented clients. She has educated students. And she is already serving the citizens of Columbus from the Recorder’s Court bench as a pro tem judge.

Now she should have the opportunity to be considered for another level of judicial leadership.

To the members of the Columbus City Council, my recommendation is clear: Give attorney Altovise Dehaviah Filmore your full and serious consideration as the next chief judge of Recorder’s Court.

Not because the position should be handed to anyone. Not because the decision should be based on politics. But because experience, preparation, qualifications and a demonstrated commitment to the law should count for something.

And when those qualities come together in someone who has called this community home for 25 years and who already serves as a judge in the court under consideration, we would be doing ourselves a disservice not to consider her.

Columbus deserves a chief judge who understands the law, respects the people and recognizes that justice is not simply a position of authority. It is a position of public trust.

Altovise Filmore deserves a seat at the table when that decision is made. And, in my opinion, she deserves a serious opportunity to take her place as chief judge.

After all, she is not asking Columbus to take a chance on someone unfamiliar with Recorder’s Court. She is offering Columbus the opportunity to elevate someone who is already helping administer justice within its walls.