As judicial elections go, this year could be as lively as it gets for DeKalb County voters.

With longtime DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Daniel Coursey retiring at the end of the year and creating an open seat, six lawyers have qualified to replace him in the May 22 election.
Also, an incumbent has attracted rare opposition in DeKalb, also known as the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit. Decatur attorney Genet Hopewell has qualified to challenge Judge Courtney Johnson.

Hopewell has practiced law in DeKalb County since 1983 and established her
own firm in 1990. She is now a partner with Johnson Hopewell and Coleman in Decatur. Her practice has included personal injury, medical malpractice, employment discrimination,
workers' compensation and criminal law, according to her firm bio.

Johnson presided over the bribery trial of former DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis. The Georgia Supreme Court overturned that conviction last year, ruling that Johnson placed restrictions on defense attorneys.

The judge limited the defense to addressing only vendors who were the subject of the indictment but let the state talk about others in a way that created a misleading impression, Presiding Justice Harold Melton wrote for a unanimous court.

“We conclude that the state went beyond the boundaries that had been imposed on the defense,” Melton wrote. “By doing so, the state created an implication that Ellis had a general policy of pressuring vendors to contribute to his campaign and that Ellis was being dishonest when he stated in one of the recordings that he did not have a problem with, or seek retaliation against, vendors who did not contribute to his campaign.” As a result, “the state opened the door for Ellis to defend himself against that implication by presenting evidence of his own about his interactions with other vendors besides those listed in the indictment.”

The prosecutor was former DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James, who has since lost his seat to Solicitor General Sherry Boston. Boston did not seek a new trial, and Ellis has been freed and had his bar license reinstated.

Those running for Coursey's open seat include: Gina Bernard, Kirby Clements Jr., LaTisha Dear-Jackson, Nicholas Smith, Roderick Bridges and Tunde Akinyele.

The only other judicial position on the May 22 ballot for DeKalb Superior Court belongs to Judge Asha Jackson. She is running unopposed.