Charlie Bethel (left) and Chris Coomer (Photos: John Disney/ALM)

Gov. Nathan Deal on Friday moved Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Charlie Bethel to the Georgia Supreme Court to replace retired Chief Justice P. Harris Hines and appointed State Rep. Chris Coomer to the bench to fill Bethel's spot.

With that, Deal rewarded the legislators who carried the ball for him in the General Assembly. Bethel was Deal's floor leader in the state Senate until Deal put him on the Court of Appeals in January 2017. Coomer was Deal's floor leader in the House of Representatives until now.

And Deal doubled his legacy on the courts with the two-for-one appointment, a signature of his eight years in office, during which he has appointed more judges than any governor before. In addition to replacing judges who've retired or resigned, Deal has increased the number on the Supreme Court from seven to nine and the Court of Appeals from 12 to 15.

Advocacy groups had long lobbied for Deal to increase the number of women and minorities on the Supreme Court, but instead the governor delivered two more white males. The news means the high court will have one woman at the end of the year rather than the two it had previously and the two African-American justices it had when the court had seven members instead of nine.

The appointments will take effect upon swearing in, Deal said in a news release. They also solve the mystery of Deal's request for more candidates after the Judicial Nomination Commission vetted 101 judges and lawyers, interviewed 20 and sent the governor a short list of nine. Deal named one of the nine, Solicitor General Sarah Warren, to the Supreme Court to replace Britt Grant, whom Deal had appointed to the bench, starting in January 2017. Grant left because President Donald Trump gave her a lifetime appointment to the federal appeals court in Atlanta, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

After he chose Warren, Deal said he wanted more nominees without explanation. The JNC sent the governor a new short list after interviewing more candidates Tuesday. The new short list included Bethel, Coomer and Court of Appeals Judge Sarah Doyle, who has already served that court as chief.

The other new candidates the JNC interviewed Tuesday were: Tangela Barrie, Wylencia Monroe, Tonya Boga, Brian Amero, Nicholas Smith, Sam Brannen and Kathryn Schrader. Doyle was not included Tuesday because the JNC had interviewed her with the 20 from whom it chose the original short list of nine.

After he chose Warren, the remaining eight not chosen by the governor are:

• Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge J.P. Boulee, who was later named by Trump to fill a federal opening;

• William Cowsert, founding partner of Cowsert & Heath and member of the Georgia State Senate;

• Tifton Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Melanie B. Cross;

• Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Asha F. Jackson;

• Cobb Judicial Circuit Chief Judge C. LaTain Kell Sr.;

• Atlanta Judicial Circuit Judge Shawn Ellen LaGrua;

• Andrew (Andy) J. Welch III, manager, Smith, Welch, Webb & White and member of the Georgia House of Representatives; and

• Atlanta Judicial Circuit Judge Paige Reese Whitaker.

Bethel previously represented the 54th District in the Georgia State Senate and served as an alderman for the City of Dalton. The governor said Bethel has experience in dispute resolution as the director of corporate affairs for J&J Industries, which is his mother's family business, a Dalton carpet and flooring company. Bethel also had a clerkship for Judge Charles A. Pannell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Bethel's father previously worked for Pannell as an assistant district attorney in the Conasauga Judicial Circuit when Pannell was district attorney. Later, Bethel's father became chief executive of J&J.

Bethel graduated from the University of Georgia law school in 2001. After his two-year clerkship for Pannell, Bethel worked for two years with the Dalton law firm of Minor, Bell & Neal on civil litigation before joining J&J.

Chief Justice Harold Melton welcomed Bethel to the court following the news Friday.

“On behalf of the Supreme Court of Georgia, I congratulate Judge Bethel on his appointment to our court,” Melton said in a news release. “Charlie is a dedicated public servant and an exceptional jurist. He will make a wonderful addition to this court.”

Coomer, R-Cartersville, until now was the state House majority whip and the governor's floor leader. Coomer is an attorney in private practice and a judge advocate officer in the Georgia Air National Guard. Coomer graduated from the University of Georgia law school in 1999.

House Speaker David Ralston, a Republican from Blue Ridge, immediately applauded. ”On behalf of the Georgia House of Representatives, I want to congratulate Rep. Coomer upon his appointment,” Ralston said in a news release. “Governor Deal has made an excellent choice. Christian Coomer has been one of the real leaders of the House. He has brought a unique set of leadership qualities to his job, not the least of which is the courage to be guided by doing the right thing regardless of whether it was the safe or popular path. Although we are losing a valued member, Georgians are gaining a great judge.”