Senior Judge P. Harris Hines, Georgia Supreme Court (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice P. Harris Hines said when he retired Aug. 31 that he wanted to take a month off to spend time with his family at St. Simons Island, then maybe start a new career in law, real estate or as a senior judge.

The next day, he enjoyed what he called the “thrill of a lifetime” throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for the Atlanta Braves.

Now, Hines has moved into position to become a utility player for both Georgia's appellate courts.

Gov. Nathan Deal has signed an executive order appointing Hines as a senior appellate court justice, starting in September. The order suggests that Hines could be called on to pinch hit either for the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals.

Others have done it. Retired Court of Appeals Judge Herbert Phipps filled in this year on his old court when it was shorthanded. And the Supreme Court is down a justice now, as Gov. Nathan Deal has asked for more nominees to consider before he fills the opening created when Hines retired.

Although Hines will turn 75 this month—the age by which Georgia appellate judges must retire or forfeit their pensions—he said he is thinking about starting another career and was interested in senior status to work part-time as a judge. But he's also thinking of returning to law practice or going into the real estate business. “I think I have an opportunity to do all three,” he said.

But his first plans, he previously said, are to take some time off after “working continuously for 50 years.”

Hines graduated from Emory University School of Law in 1968. He landed a job in a Marietta firm then named Edwards, Bentley, Awtrey & Parker. He practiced civil defense of all kinds, representing developers and lenders in a booming suburb, plus the county and some of the cities. In 1974, Gov. Jimmy Carter appointed him to an opening on the Cobb County State Court. Then, when the state created a new position on the Cobb County Superior Court, he ran for that and won. Another governor, the late Zell Miller, appointed Hines to the Supreme Court in 1995. Hines was 51. He served 23 years.

As Hines showed at SunTrust Park the day after he retired, he can “still get the ball across the plate.”