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Gov. Kemp Announces Court of Appeals, Superior, & State Court Appointments

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Monday, June 15th, 2026

Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced the following judicial appointments: The Honorable Paige Reese Whitaker to the Georgia Court of Appeals, filling a vacancy created by the appointment of the Honorable Benjamin A. Land to the Supreme Court of Georgia; Joshua “Josh” Geller to the Superior Court of the DeKalb Judicial Circuit, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Stacey K. Hydrick; and Mercedes G. Ball to Division B of the State Court of DeKalb County, filling a vacancy created by the passing of the Honorable Ronald B. Ramsey, Sr.

 
 
Paige Reese Whitaker currently sits as a superior court judge in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, where she has served for almost a decade. Judge Whitaker brings extensive trial and appellate experience to her new position. As a Senior Assistant Attorney General for the State for over a decade, she handled complex litigation in Georgia’s trial and appellate courts, while as a Deputy District Attorney in Fulton County, she headed the Appeals Division of the State’s largest and busiest district attorney’s office.

Judge Whitaker serves in numerous legal and civic roles, including as an elected delegate to the State Bar of Georgia’s Board of Governors, President of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta, and Vice President of the Council of Superior Court Judges. She is the immediate past-Chair of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, an alumna of Leadership Atlanta, and a former adjunct professor of law.

Judge Whitaker earned her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from the College of Charleston and her law degree from Duke University School of Law. She is an active member of her parish and the proud mom of two college boys.

 
 
Joshua “Josh” Geller currently serves as a Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney for the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, where he supervises the Homicide and Gangs Unit. Since joining the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office in 2016, he has litigated several high-profile cases involving digital forensics and mental health evidence. Prior to his time in DeKalb County, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. He also worked in private practice, where he focused his practice on representing indigent clients in criminal matters throughout Georgia.

Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his leadership in public service, including being named Attorney of the Year in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in 2009 and contributing to multiple Unit of the Year honors within the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office. He is an active member of the DeKalb Bar Association, the DeKalb Lawyers Association, and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science, with a minor in Business Administration, from Auburn University. He received his Juris Doctor from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. Josh and his wife, Ashley Patterson, have lived in DeKalb County for almost 20 years and are the proud parents of two daughters.

 
Mercedes G. Ball is an Assistant General Counsel and the Director of the Client Assistance Program at the State Bar of Georgia. In this capacity, she leads the resolution of all informal complaints and certain formal grievances lodged against Georgia attorneys. Prior to her time with the State Bar, Mercedes served as a Child Advocate Attorney at the DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center where she represented the interests of dependent children in civil court proceedings, mediations, and panels. Before her work with DeKalb, she was an attorney at a Metro-Atlanta law firm.

Mercedes is committed to civic service. She has served in leadership roles in the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, the Junior League of DeKalb County, and the DeKalb County Department of Family and Children Services Advisory Board. She is the recipient of the 2019 University of Georgia School of Law Young Alumni/Alumna of Excellence Award, the 2019 Junior League of DeKalb County President’s Award, and the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys’ 2020 Bensonetta Tipton Lane Award for Commitment to the Family.

Mercedes earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science, cum laude, from Spelman College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law. She resides in Decatur where, in her spare time, you can find her baking, reading, and spending time with loved ones.