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title: "Nels S.D. Peterson | KnowJudges"
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# Nels S.D. Peterson

Supreme Court of Georgia · Chief Justice

## Profile

- Court: Supreme Court of Georgia
- State: Georgia
- Role: Chief Justice
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-08-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Nels Stefan David Peterson is an American judge and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, a position he assumed on April 1, 2025 after being elected by his peers
- Unanimously selected as presiding justice in 2022 and elected chief justice in February 2025 for a six-year term
- Chief Justice Nels Peterson was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court in 2016, and was elected to full six-year terms in 2018 and 2024
- Law clerk to Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr. (11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals)

### Education



### Additional information

- Georgia Supreme Court since January 1, 2017, appointed by then-Governor Nathan Deal.
- 2026-02-18T21:22:51-05:00
- His appointment to the Supreme Court followed a 2016 legislative expansion from 7 to 9 justices
- Born September 17, 1978.
- SC Admin
- Before entering state government, Nels practiced at King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta and clerked for Chief Judge William H.
- Graduate of Kennesaw State University and Harvard Law School.
- of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
- He previously served in a variety of other roles in Georgia state government, including as judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals, general counsel for the University System of Georgia, Georgia’s first solicitor general in the Attorney General’s Office, and executive counsel to the Governor.
- Peterson is a member of the Federalist Society

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### electronic devices and recording

Scope: statewide

Georgia's class-specific Uniform Court Rules govern electronic devices and recording in state trial courts. Before using recording, photography, livestreaming, or similar courtroom technology, confirm the governing rule and the assigned court's procedure.

Evidence excerpt: Uniform Superior, Juvenile, Magistrate, Municipal and Probate Court Rules

[Supreme Court of Georgia, court orders amending Uniform Trial Court Rules](https://www.gasupreme.us/rules/amendments-to-rules)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.gasupreme.us/court-information/biographies/justice-nels-s-d-peterson/)
- [Official roster](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/58af01ccce9168f520c4cdf7/ | https://www.gasupreme.us/court-information/biographies/)
- [Supreme Court of Georgia official judicial roster](https://www.gasupreme.us/court-information/biographies/)
- [Supreme Court of Georgia, court orders amending Uniform Trial Court Rules](https://www.gasupreme.us/rules/amendments-to-rules)
- [GA SUPREME BIOS](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/58af01ccce9168f520c4cdf7/ | https://www.gasupreme.us/court-information/biographies/)
- [Official biography source for Nels S.D. Peterson](https://www.gasupreme.us/court-information/biographies/justice-nels-s-d-peterson/)

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