Governor Brian Kemp announced Tuesday that he had made two appointments to the Superior Court bench in the Atlantic Judicial Circuit.
Kemp appointed Charles B. “Brad” Dixon and Billy Joe Nelson, Jr to fill vacancies created by the retirement of two longtime superior court judges in the Atlantic Circuit. The Atlantic Judicial Circuit includes Bryan, Evans, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, and Tattnall counties.
Charles B. “Brad” Dixon to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Glen A. Cheney.
Dixon is a partner in the law firm of Dixon & Lasseter, Attorneys at Law, P.C., in Richmond Hill. His practice has included domestic relations, criminal defense, probate, estate planning, real estate, and civil litigation matters.
Prior to entering private practice, Dixon served for eight years on active duty in the United States Army JAG Corps, ultimately attaining the rank of Major. He served as a General Crimes Prosecutor, Special Victims Prosecutor, and Trial and Defense Attorney. He was responsible for training military prosecutors worldwide.
Dixon earned a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies from West Virginia University in 2006, and his Juris Doctor from the West Virginia University College of Law in 2009. Dixon and his wife, Ivona, reside in Richmond Hill with their two sons, Charlie and Vance.
Billy Joe Nelson, Jr. was appointed to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Robert L. Russell, III.
Nelson was elected District Attorney of the Atlantic Judicial Circuit in 2022. Nelson became an Assistant District Attorney in the Atlantic Judicial Circuit in 2011 and served in that capacity until he was elected as District Attorney. In 2017, Governor Nathan Deal appointed Nelson to serve as the part-time Solicitor General for the State Court of Long County. He began his legal career in 2009 as a law clerk for the Superior Court judges in the Brunswick Judicial Circuit.
Nelson is a native of McIntosh County and a lifelong resident of the Atlantic Judicial Circuit. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in real estate, cum laude, from the University of Georgia. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. He and his wife, Kathryn, have three children and reside in Liberty County.
