Three new judges are hearing cases in Fulton County Superior Court after Gov. Brian Kemp appointed them to the bench that handles felonies, divorces and civil disputes for Roswell residents.

The court announced Sept. 30 that Judge David H. Emadi, Judge Debbie-Ann R. Rickman and Judge Nikia Smith Sellers have joined the 20-judge court. The court said the three will begin handling cases in what it called Georgia's busiest civil and criminal trial courts.

Emadi and Rickman joined the bench in July, according to the court's judicial roster. Sellers joined in September.

Who are the new judges?

Emadi served as director of the state Ethics Commission, formally the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, since 2019. Before that, he spent seven years as chief assistant district attorney in the Douglas County District Attorney's Office. In 2017, the Daily Report named him a Rising Star among the top 30 lawyers in Georgia under 40.

He was 29 at the time.

Emadi earned his law degree from Georgia State University College of Law.

Rickman served as a Fulton County Magistrate Court judge for seven years, presiding over criminal and civil cases. She also worked as a public defender in Atlanta and in the DeKalb County Solicitor-General's Office, where she was named 2017 prosecuting attorney of the year. She holds a law degree from the University of Florida.

Sellers spent more than a decade as a prosecutor in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. She supervised prosecutions in the county's Drug Court, Behavioral Health Treatment Court and Veterans Court. She also led cases on the specialized Competency Docket. Sellers earned her law degree from Penn State's Dickinson School of Law.

What this means for Roswell

Fulton County Superior Court has exclusive jurisdiction over felony criminal cases, divorces, child custody disputes, domestic violence protection orders and land title disputes for all county residents, including those in Roswell. The court handles roughly 12,000 criminal cases, 11,500 family and domestic relations cases and 8,000 general civil cases per year, according to figures attributed to the Judiciary Council of Georgia.

Roswell residents who need to visit the court in person can use the North Service Center at 7741 Roswell Road in Atlanta.