COLUMBUS, Ga. - Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed two lawyers with deep Columbus roots to the State Court of Muscogee County. The governor named David Ranieri and Alex Shalishali on Friday, Nov. 6, according to WTVM. One seat is a vacancy created by a resignation, and the other is a brand-new judgeship created by a law passed this year.

Who was appointed

Ranieri is the chief judge of the Recorder's Court of Columbus, according to the report. He fills the vacancy left by the resignation of Judge Andy Prather. Ranieri was born and raised in Columbus, attended Columbus College and then Mercer University on an Army ROTC scholarship, and graduated cum laude in 1985 with a political science degree. He earned his law degree from Mercer in 1988.

Ranieri began his legal career in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. He spent more than 21 years as a prosecutor across the Army, the Muscogee County Solicitor General's Office and the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, followed by more than nine years in private practice, mainly in civil litigation. He is a past president of the Columbus Bar Association and a Rotary Club of Columbus board member. He is also a past chairman of the New Horizons Behavioral Health board and a Leadership Columbus graduate.

Shalishali is a shareholder and attorney at Page, Scrantom, Sprouse, Tucker & Ford, P.C., where he has practiced since 2012, representing local governments and businesses. He also serves as the Dougherty County attorney, overseeing the county's legal affairs, and previously served as an assistant magistrate judge in Muscogee County Magistrate Court. He earned his law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2012 and a bachelor's degree in international affairs, magna cum laude, from UGA in 2009. He is a past president of the Fountain City Bar Association and a past chairman of the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts board.

The two seats at a glance

Where the new judgeship came from

The second seat exists because of House Bill 1258, titled "Muscogee County; State Court; provide additional judge," according to the BillSponsor legislative tracker. The bill amends the act that established the State Court of Muscogee County and provides for adding one judge, electing the first additional judge and setting that judge's term, powers and compensation. It was introduced Feb. 9, 2026, passed the House on Feb. 12 and passed the Senate on Feb. 24.

The bill was sent to the governor on April 6, and Kemp signed it May 12, 2026, making it Act 661. The tracker lists five primary sponsors: Reps. Tremaine Teddy Reese, Carolyn Hugley, Carmen Rice, Debbie Buckner and Vance Smith. The tracker lists Reese, Hugley, Buckner as Democrats and Rice and Smith as Republicans, so the bill had sponsors from both parties.

The WTVM report did not say when either appointee will take the bench or when either seat will appear on a ballot. Those details were not included in the reports reviewed for this story, so they are not stated here. Readers who want the swearing-in schedule can watch for announcements from the governor's office and the court.

What was not reported

WTVM's account did not address who will lead the Recorder's Court of Columbus now that its chief judge has been named to a state-level seat. It also did not say how quickly Ranieri's current post will be filled. Residents who want to know how those changes affect court schedules can check with the court clerk's office or the city of Columbus.

The governor also announced a Superior Court appointment elsewhere in the state on the same day. Paul K. Cook, currently a judge on the State Court of Toombs County, was appointed to the Superior Court of the Middle Judicial Circuit, filling a vacancy created by House Bill 1215 (Act 450), according to WTVM. That seat is outside Muscogee County.

Why it matters locally

The State Court of Muscogee County is one of the local courts residents may encounter, and the appointments change who sits on its bench. Adding a judge to the bench gives the court more capacity on paper. Whether the added judge shortens waits for hearings is not addressed in any official report yet, so that remains to be seen.

Both appointees now move from leadership roles in local bar and civic groups to a seat on the bench. Their service on boards such as New Horizons Behavioral Health, the RiverCenter and the Columbus Botanical Garden reflects ties that run through much of the city's civic life. The Columbus Times will follow up when the court announces swearing-in dates.