According to a Monday press release, Kemp is appointing Kellye Moore to fill the vacancy created when longtime Judge Edward Lukemire retired.

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — Houston County has a new superior court judge, appointed Monday by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

According to a press release on Monday, Kemp is appointing Kellye Moore to fill the vacancy left by longtime Judge Edward Lukemire, who retired in March.

According to his office, Lukemire joined the Georgia Bar in 1980 and has been a Houston County Judge for 30 years. 



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In a prior interview with 13WMAZ, Lukemire said the number of cases increased significantly in Houston County over his tenure.

He said when he became a judge, there were only two. Now there are four judges, and each handles more than 1,000 cases a year. He said he does not expect that workload to change. 

Moore is the managing partner of Walker, Hulbert, Gray and Moore, LLP in Perry, Kemp’s office said. She has also served as Judge Pro Tempore for the Houston County Juvenile Court. 

In addition to her private practice in Perry, the press release said she serves as general counsel to both the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association and the Constitutional Officers’ Association of Georgia.

According to her biography on her practice’s website, Moore was raised in an Air Force family, and moved around the U.S. during her childhood before settling in Houston County in 1983.

She graduated from the University of Georgia, cum laude, and earned her law degree from Mercer University in 1993. 

RELATED: End of an era | Superior Court Judge leaves Houston County court after 3 decades

RELATED: Houston County’s judge to leave bench at end of April


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