The first public event in the new $131 million, 215,000 square foot Nathan Deal Judicial Center will be oral arguments at the Georgia Court of Appeals starting at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The new building houses both the state's appellate courts: the Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court. The building was finished in December, and the courts began moving in before the holidays.

A panel of three judges will hear a divorce appeal—King v. King—and a business dispute over allegations of environmental damage—Wylee Toms v. William Buck Jr.

Presiding Judge Anne Elizabeth Barnes, Georgia Court of Appeals. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

The judge will be Presiding Judge Anne Barnes, the longest-serving member of the intermediate appellate court. She joined the bench in 1999.

That fact is "almost a coincidence," Georgia Court of Appeals Clerk Steve E. Castlen said Friday. The presiding judges asked for their argument dates, and the one Barnes requested happened to be the first. Others will follow on Wednesday and Thursday.

But Chief Judge Chris McFadden said he likes the symbolism for Tuesday. "I think it's very appropriate that the dean of the court presides over our first oral argument in the new building," McFadden said Friday.

Sitting on the panel with Barnes will be Judge Elizabeth Gobeil and Senior Judge Herbert E. Phipps, who is substituting for the late Judge Stephen Goss. Goss, 60, died in August, his death ruled a suicide. Gov. Brian Kemp has been interviewing candidates to succeed Goss.

Calling the first case on Tuesday will be Barnes' former law school classmate and former staff attorney for almost 20 years, Christina Cooley Smith, who became the court's deputy administrator in July.

That's a duty that normally belongs to the clerk, but Castlen said he wanted Smith to do it.

"It's a nice touch for her," Castlen said. "It is an historic moment."

Smith said by email Friday, "It's kind of cool to be able to do that for my good friend and former boss."

That friendship didn't keep Smith from having to work from a former storage closet in the old building that housed the expanding court for 60 years.

The old building's limitations required creative workarounds: lots of extension cords, staff quarters in former closets and converted libraries. New judges and their staff were housed in an adjacent building, as was the clerk's office, Smith and Castlen said. The new building includes chambers with sufficient space to hold all of each judge's staff members—"a luxury formerly enjoyed by only 6 of the Court's 15 judges," Smith said.

The Court of Appeals began operations in the new building on Dec. 20, the day after it ceased operations at the old one. Because the court delayed replacing most of its network equipment past the machines' normal lifespan, the IT Department was able to install new equipment into the new building weeks before the staff moved, allowing it to run parallel networks and avoid shutting down operations during the move, Smith said.

"We had a few hiccups and bumps along the way, but overall the move went very smoothly," Castlen said. "The staff worked hard to keep our operations going while packing and unpacking all of the equipment and supplies we use daily. I'm proud of everyone on the court. They were kind and patient with each other."

Castlen said the court's second-floor courtroom has a bit less seating capacity than the old one, but much better acoustics and technology.

"It's a beautiful courtroom," Castlen said. "This historic oral argument is something we should all be proud of."