Master of Ceremonies – R. Gary Spencer, Esquire, R. Gary Spencer, P.C.

Questions will be received from the audience on index cards, reviewed and read to the panel by the moderator

9 am to 9:50 am / Registration
9:50 am to 9:55 am / Program Overview and Housekeeping / Master of Ceremonies
9:55 am to 9:55 am / Introduction of the CJ / K. David Cooke, Jr., District Attorney, Macon-Bibb County(confirmed)
10 am to 10:05 am / Welcome / Chief Justice Hugh Thompson (confirmed)
10:05 am to 10:10 am / CMCJ President Remarks / Judge Gary Jackson, Atlanta Municipal Court
(confirmed)
10:10 am to 11 am / Video in Courts/Open Courtrooms / Jane Hansen – Supreme Court Public Information Officer • Moderator–(confirmed)
Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears (Ret.), Partner, Smith Gambrell & Russell, LLP–(confirmed)
Hon. VerdaM. Colvin, Judge, Macon Circuit Superior Court (confirmed)
Cynthia L. Counts, Partner, Duane Morris, LLP, Board Member, Georgia First Amendment Foundation (confirmed)
Hon. Jerry W. Baxter, Judge, Fulton County Superior Court (confirmed)
11am to 11:10 am / Break
11:10 am to 12 Noon / Presentation on Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Council
Bench card for Misdemeanor Offensesbit.ly/benchcard / Justice Michael Boggs, Georgia Supreme Court
(Confirmed)
12:00 Noon to 12:55pm / Lunch
12:55 pm to 1:15 pm /
Presentation on Department of Justice Ferguson Report and Court Reform
/ Judge Leslie Spornberger Jones, Municipal Court of Athens-Clarke County – (confirmed)
1:15 pm to 1:20 pm / Stretch Break
1:20 pm to 3:05 pm
1 hour 45 minutes with 15 minutes for audience questions / The Process is the Punishment – The Ethics Argument for having a different process in lower level courts


/ Judge Leslie Spornberger Jones - Moderator
Alison EarlesAssistant General Counsel, Georgia Municipal Association(confirmed)
Honorable Rebecca Grist – Solicitor General, Macon-Bibb County and Immediate Past President, Georgia Association of Solicitor Generals (confirmed)
Troy P. Hendrick, Esq. (Confirmed)
Judge Harold McLendon of Dublin(confirmed)
Francys Johnson, Esq. President Georgia NAACP(confirmed)
Sarah Geraghty, Managing Attorney, Impact Litigation
Southern Center for Human Rights
(confirmed)
3:05 pm to 3:20 pm / Break
3:20 pm to 4:10 pm / The role of the legislative branch, the executive branch (like DOJ), the role of the community, and the role of judges in creating change / James Rodatus, Esq. Policy Analyst
Administrative Office of the Courts– Moderator (confirmed)
Senator John Flanders Kennedy, Jr. (invited)
Judge Meng Lim, Tallapoosa Circuit, Seventh Judicial District
(confirmed)
Marissa McCall Dodson, Public Policy Director, Southern Center for Human Rights
(confirmed)
Hon. J. Robert Faulkner, Judge, Macon-Bibb County Municipal Court (confirmed)
4:10 pm to 4:20 pm / Break
4:20 pm to 4:50 pm / Next Steps and Action Items - Audience Discussion: What will each group or individual do and how do I fit in? / Judge Latisha Dear Jackson (confirmed)
4:50 pm to 5:00 pm / AFPTC Co-Chair Remarks / Justice Robert Benham
(confirmed)
Justice Carol W. Hunstein
(confirmed)
5 pm / Adjourn to Reception at Harriett Tubman Museum

Reception, Harriett Tubman Museum (Wine and Cheese Reception), 310 Cherry St, Macon, GA 31201

Co-Chairs, Reception Host Committee

  • Ira Foster, Managing Attorney, Georgia Legal Services Program and Past President, Macon Bar Association
  • Rebecca Grist, Solicitor General, Macon-Bibb County