Dougherty County's public defender has been appointed to replace Probate Judge Nancy Stephenson, who died last week after being diagnosed with COVID-19. 

Leisa Green Johnson was sworn in Tuesday by Dougherty County Superior Court Clerk Evonne Mull after Johnson was appointed by Chief Judge Willie Lockette Monday. Mull said she swore in Johnson, who was accompanied by several friends, in a simple ceremony Tuesday morning on one of the two black marble staircases in the courthouse foyer.

"She wanted to get to work," Mull said.

The courthouse was closed to the public on March 29 after a number of court employees contracted COVID-19, including Stephenson and her husband, State Court Judge John Stephenson. A skeleton staff continues to perform essential courthouse operations.

A former vice president of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Johnson has practiced law for more than 31 years. After Johnson earned her law degree from George Washington University in 1988, she worked as an assistant county attorney and as a public defender in Maryland.

In 1999, she moved to Albany where she spent four years as a Dougherty County assistant district attorney before opening her own law practice.

Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Ken Hodges hired Johnson when he was Dougherty County's district attorney. Hodges said Johnson "proved to be a dedicated and tireless advocate for victims."

When the state of Georgia established a statewide public defenders program in 2004, Hodges said he was on the committee that selected Johnson as Dougherty's public defender.  "Selecting Leisa was an easy decision," he said. "Since then, she has distinguished herself both in Albany and across the state."

"She will bring all the qualities one needs to the bench: intelligence, fairness, compassion, and humility," he said. "She has the right judicial temperament, and I am confident that  she will make a fine probate judge. Chief Lockette could not have made a better choice.