Hon. T. Craig Earnest is the Chief Judge for the Pataula Judicial Circuit Superior Court in Georgia. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Nathan Deal in December 2017, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Thomas H. Baxley (Ret.).
The Pataula Judicial Circuit is comprised of Clay, Early, Miller, Quitman, Randolph, Seminole, and Terrell Counties.
At the time of his appointment, Earnest was the District Attorney for the Pataula Judicial Circuit, a position he had held since 2009. Before that, he worked there as an assistant district attorney for nine years (1999 to 2008). As District Attorney, Earnest was credited with creating a Problem Solving Court in the Pataula Circuit.
He received an A.A. from Bainbridge College (1989) and a B.A. in political science from the University of Georgia (1991). Earnest went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Alabama School of Law in 1993.
He was admitted to practice in Georgia in 1994.
Earnest was appointed to serve as a mentor in the State Bar of Georgia Transition Into Law Practice Program by the Supreme Court of Georgia in 2017.
He was named as one of Small Town America’s 100 Most Influential People by Rural Leader Magazine (2014) and a Top Attorney in North America by the Who’s Who Directories (2016).
Earnest and his wife, Kemberly, have two children. The family resides in Donalsonville and attends Friendship United Methodist Church.