In 2016, Judge Eric Norris was named by Gov. Nathan Deal as the fourth judge for the Western Circuit Superior Court, covering Clarke and Oconee counties in Georgia. Superior Court handles felony criminal cases, civil lawsuits and family law, including divorces and child custody. Norris also presides over the court docket of Treatment and Accountability Court, an intensive supervision alternative for persons who have been charged with non-violent criminal offenses based on mental illness or disability.
"My dad said I'd be a good lawyer because I liked to argue," Norris says with a laugh, at the end of a long day as a presiding judge over dozens of court cases.
Norris is a 1986 graduate of Oconee County High School and earned a Georgia Military Scholarship to the University of North Georgia (UNG), graduating in 1990 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance. He earned his juris doctor in 1994 from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
He chose UNG at the urging of a cousin, a UNG graduate and member of the Corp of Cadets, who served as a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War.
"I went feet first into the military aspect of it," Norris says of his time as a cadet at UNG. "It allowed me to take on roles I ordinarily wouldn't volunteer for, it made me be more proactive. It was the perfect environment for me, for what became my profession."
After graduating from UNG and commissioning as a second lieutenant in the Georgia Army National Guard, Norris completed his officer basic course and decided to apply for law school. After his second year, Norris shadowed Judge Lawton Stevens at the Clarke County Courthouse over one summer, a move that got him excited about litigation. He later clerked for attorney James Hudson, a highly-regarded trial lawyer in Athens, Georgia.
"(Hudson) was a great mentor to me, very down-to-earth," Norris said. "He had charisma. He won cases based on his people skills."
After law school, Norris moved back to his hometown of Watkinsville, Georgia, in 1996 to open his own practice.
"I went to all of the other lawyers in Watkinsville and told them I'd take anything they didn't want," Norris said. "It was a huge learning curve. But it got me into court, it allowed me to properly interact with clients. I learned to do it all."
Norris took his lumps in the courtroom and by his third year, learned what it meant to be a lawyer.
"A lot of it was all about being malleable, adjusting to the circumstances but always having a level of certainty that I was getting better at what I was doing," he said.
In 2005, Norris became a part-time magistrate judge in Oconee County while maintaining his law practice. He says it was interesting to be arguing a case one day in court, then sitting on the bench the next, listening to a fellow lawyer make his case before him.
"It was then that I knew this is what I was meant to do," he said. "Being a magistrate judge gave me a good foundation. I learned to make decisions based on the law, to act ethically, to do my duty and always do my best."
Norris says his wife, Jennifer, who he married in 1996 and have two children, noticed he was happier as a judge than a lawyer. So he was both excited and humbled when he received the call from Gov. Deal in April 2016, appointing him to the newly-created Superior Court judge for the Western Judicial Circuit.
“I felt very honored, but I also realized there is a certain weight and responsibility,” Norris said. “You are responsible for people’s lives. You don’t take that lightly. You respect the position.”
Norris continues to apply his experience from UNG in his military and judicial career. In his 32 years in the Guard and 21 years of legal experience, Norris now presides over multiple civil and criminal matters each day in addition to jury trials. He makes his rulings based on the following belief.
"I don't make snap decisions, I give well-reasoned, thoughtful statements on my decisions," Norris said. "I have a sworn duty to follow the law and if I follow those milestones in the course of my day, I get to go home."
