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Gov. Brian Kemp's Judicial Nominating Commission made quick work of 22 applications for an upcoming vacancy on the Supreme Court of Georgia on Monday afternoon, selecting nine for interviews next week.

The commission said it will meet with the following candidates on March 2:

• Judge Verda M. Colvin of Bibb County Superior Court;
• Presiding Judge Sara L. Doyle of the Court of Appeals of Georgia;
• T. Mills Fleming, who heads HunterMaclean's health law practice in Savannah;
• 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;
• Judge Carla Wong McMillian of the Court of Appeals of Georgia;
• Judge J. Wade Padgett of the Augusta Circuit Superior Court;
• Judge Holly W. Veal of the Flint Circuit Superior Court;

Earlier this month 79 judges and lawyers were nominated to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Robert Benham. Only 22 nominees completed applications, which were due to the commission on Feb. 21. After its interviews next week, the JNC is expected to 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, because Benham indicated last year that he would finish his term, which ends Dec. 31.

Four candidates—Doyle, Johnson, former U.S. Rep. John Barrow, D-Georgia, and former state Rep. Beth Beskin, R-Atlanta—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 that he would 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; however, after being nominated, Barrow and Beskin did not.

The other nominees who completed applications were:

• Tonya C. Boga of Marietta, who belongs to the State Bar of Georgia's child protection and 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, D.C.;
• Samuel R. D'Entremont of the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office;
• 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;
• Latoya A. Hutchinson of Greensboro, who is in the criminal law and family law sections;
• 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;
• Francis J. Moran II of the Lumpkin County District Attorney's Office;
• Naveen Ramachandrappa of Atlanta's Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, who is in the appellate practice and other sections;
• Teri B. Walker of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Decatur.