The Supreme Court of Georgia courtroom. Photo by John Disney

Only 22 of the 79 judges and lawyers who were nominated to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Georgia sent completed applications to the governor's Judicial Nominating Commission by Friday's deadline.

The JNC is expected to interview some of the 22 remaining nominees and recommend a short list to Gov. Brian Kemp, who has been weighing a separate short list for an open Georgia Court of Appeals seat since last November. They would be his first choices for the state's top two courts.

The high court opening wasn't expected to exist when Justice Robert Benham indicated last year that he would finish his term, which ends Dec. 31.

Four candidates—former U.S. Rep. John Barrow, D-Georgia; Presiding Judge Sara Doyle of the Court of Appeals; former state Rep. Beth Beskin, R-Atlanta; and Judge Horace Johnson of Alcovy Circuit Superior Court—launched campaigns and raised more than $1 million combined. Eight other candidates started running for the Court of Appeals to replace Doyle.

But Benham announced late last year he'd resign on March 1. That made the race for his seat moot, shrank the appeals court race and left Kemp's appointment as the path to Benham's seat. Doyle and Johnson completed JNC applications, but after being nominated, Barrow and Beskin did not.

Here are the 22 remaining nominees, with background information gleaned from the State Bar of Georgia listings, LinkedIn profiles and other sources.

• Tonya C. Boga of Marietta, who belongs to the bar's child protection & advocacy section;
• Pamela S. Braswell of Marietta, who is in the bar's entertainment and sports law sections;
• Veronica Brinson of Macon, who is in the appellate practice, family law and insurance law sections;
• Joshua J. Campbell, a senior policy adviser at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington;
• Judge Verda M. Colvin of Bibb County Superior Court;
• Samuel R. D'Entremont of the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office;
• Presiding Judge Sara L. Doyle of the Court of Appeals of Georgia;
• Leonid Felgin of Jonesboro's Fincher Denmark, who is in the eminent domain and local government sections.
• Loranzo Muncel Fleming of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals in Atlanta;
• T. Mills Fleming, who heads HunterMaclean's health law practice in Savannah;
• Latoya A. Hutchinson of Greensboro, who is in the criminal law and family law sections;
• Judge Horace J. Johnson Jr. of Alcovy Circuit Superior Court;
• Judge C. LaTain Kell of Cobb County Superior Court;
• Judge Shawn LaGrua of Fulton County Superior Court;
• Jacquelyn F. Luther of Atlanta, who is in the appellate practice and family law sections;
• Elizabeth J. McBath of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia;
• Judge Carla Wong McMillian of the Court of Appeals of Georgia;
• Francis J. Moran II of the Lumpkin County District Attorney's Office;
• Judge J. Wade Padgett of the Augusta Circuit Superior Court;
• Naveen Ramachandrappa of Atlanta's Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, who is in the appellate practice and other sections;
• Judge Holly W. Veal of the Flint Circuit Superior Court;
• Teri B. Walker of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Decatur.