Judge Stephen S. "Steve" Goss, Georgia Court of Appeals. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

Except for a receptionist, judges and staff at the state Court of Appeals took off one hour Monday morning so that they could discuss Judge Stephen Goss, who took his own life Saturday morning.

"Everyone was given an opportunity to speak," Chief Judge Chris McFadden said by email, adding that a counselor was present and "is offering her services to all who need them."

Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler told the Daily Report that Goss' death was determined to be a suicide, referring to an autopsy performed Monday morning.

Goss, a longtime Superior Court judge in Albany who was elevated to the Court of Appeals last year, was found Saturday morning behind his house, dead of a single gunshot. He was 57.

Matthews Funeral Home in Albany reported that memorial services will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Porterfield Memorial United Methodist Church.

McFadden said that Senior Judge Herbert Phipps will handle Goss' current cases. "The judges voted unanimously over the weekend to reactivate Judge Phipps. He has, of course, agreed to serve."

Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to convene his Judicial Nominating Commission to recommend a shortlist of candidates to fill the open seat. This would be his first appellate appointment since becoming governor in January.

Goss was facing election in May 2020. His replacement, if appointed swiftly, would face that same election, according to a 1992 opinion of the state Attorney General that states that a new judge must face the first election that is more than six months after his or her appointment.

Phipps, like Goss, is from Albany. Phipps recalled Monday when he was a juvenile court judge asking Goss to be the court's part-time prosecutor. "I had come to know he was a lawyer of great integrity, compassion … and could be trusted."

"He prosecuted vigorously, but he was fair and kind and patient with the kids and their families," said Phipps.

When Phipps was elevated to the Superior Court, Goss became the juvenile court judge. When Phipps went to the Court of Appeals, Goss took Phipps' place on the Superior Court.

Judge Ken Hodges, also an Albany resident, said he'd known Goss most of his professional career—appearing before Goss as county district attorney and also in civil cases.

"He was soft-spoken and let lawyers try their cases, asking questions when appropriate," said Hodges. "He was compassionate—and everything you'd want to see in a Superior Court judge and a Court of Appeals judge."

"We're all just beside ourselves" in the aftermath of Goss' death, he added.

Hodges last year was president of the State Bar of Georgia, and he said Goss' death was a reminder of the importance of mental health treatment and suicide awareness, which the bar has promoted in recent years. "If this can happen to Steve Goss, it can happen to anyone."

Last year Judge William G. Johnston of the Griffin Municipal Court fatally shot himself.

Earlier this year, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates discussed the death of her father, Judge John Kelley Quillian of the Court of Appeals, by suicide. Yates said she's been speaking publicly about her father's death to help end the stigma of getting mental health treatment.

"Depression is a very treatable illness," she said at the time. "If you have kidney disease or a broken arm, you are not expected to tough it out. If you are suffering from a mental illness, why should you be expected to suffer in silence?"

The funeral home in Albany stated that the family will receive friends from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the church.

It also said the family asked that in lieu of flowers, people may make memorial donations to Albany ARC, 3004 Old Dawson Rd., Albany, GA 31721, or The Boys and Girls Club of Albany, P.O. Box 1130, Albany, GA, 31702.

Editor's note: The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. You can also text a crisis counselor by messaging the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Every Georgia bar member has access to six free, confidential sessions with a counselor; for more information, this number is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week: 800-327-9631.