Judge Horace Johnson Jr., Alcovy Judicial Circuit

Judges across the state mourned the sudden death Wednesday of Superior Court Judge Horace Johnson Jr. of the state's Alcovy Judicial Circuit, hailing him as a community leader and a friend whose loss is incalculable.

Alcovy Circuit Chief Judge John Ott said Johnson died early Wednesday morning of what he was told was a heart attack. Johnson died less than a week after he and Ott tested positive for COVID-19, Ott said. Johnson, a candidate last year for the Supreme Court of Georgia, is a past president of the state Council for Superior Court Judges and was its first Black president.

"The community, his family, the court system have suffered a tremendous loss," Ott said of Johnson's unexpected death. Johnson, he added, was "a community leader, a great husband and father to his children, a great friend. … He was just the finest man I think I've known."

On Wednesday, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton lamented Johnson's loss. "People didn't just admire or respect Judge Horace Johnson," he said. "We loved him. We valued his wisdom and sound thinking, but we enjoyed more just being in his presence, often laughing even as we worked to resolve difficult issues. He was a dear friend. I am grateful that his loving wife, Michelle, so generously shared him with the legal community and with his beloved community where he lived and served as a judge. We are all better because of him."

Johnson presided over a court hearing via Zoom hours before he died, Ott said.

Ott said he is currently asymptomatic but in quarantine, although he ran a fever last weekend. Just hours after learning of Johnson's death, Ott issued an order declaring a judicial emergency and closed the Walton and Newton county courthouses, except for essential services, for two weeks in honor of Johnson.

During that time, Ott said the Georgia National Guard will sanitize both courthouses. All employees in both courthouses will undergo testing for COVID-19, he said. Ott said he and Johnson are the only judges he is aware of in the circuit who tested positive for the virus.

Ott said that Johnson sought a COVID-19 test last Thursday, two days after the two judges had lunch. Ott said he woke up last Friday with a fever and decided to get tested for COVID-19. He said he was awaiting the results of that test and was handling Johnson's court docket on Monday when he learned Johnson tested positive.

Ott said that although his fever had subsided by Monday, he sought a second, more rapid test at a local hospital after learning of Johnson's results.

Johnson was one of five African American elementary school children who integrated Newton County schools in the 1960s. He went on to graduate from Emory University and the University of Georgia Law School.

After three years in private practice in Atlanta, Johnson moved his firm to Newton County, which had no Black lawyers at the time. He practiced in Covington at Johnson & Freeman and served as a judge pro tem in the Newton County Juvenile Court.

Johnson had been practicing law for 20 years when the Georgia General Assembly created a fourth judgeship in the Alcovy Circuit, and then-Gov. Roy Barnes tapped him for the post in 2002. Voters reelected him in four subsequent elections.

Johnson counted among his mentors former Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham, the first African American to serve on the state high court and only the second to graduate from the University of Georgia School of Law.

Last October, when Benham announced he would not seek another term as a justice, Johnson joined the race to replace his mentor, saying: "I believe Georgians want a Supreme Court justice who understands these perspectives when reviewing the difficult decisions that are often made by trial judges." That race was upended when Benham suddenly reversed course and announced he would retire March 1. Gov. Brian Kemp then appointed Benham's replacement, and Johnson was reelected to the Superior Court bench in the June 9 election.

On Wednesday, Benham remembered Johnson as not only an outstanding judge but "a prince of a gentleman."

"He possessed all those attributes that we expect of members of the bar and members of the judiciary," Benham said. "He was not only a popular judge. He was one of the most professional judges we have in this state. The reputation he established is one that will be emulated by scores of lawyers in the future. … He has left a legacy."

Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, who managed Johnson's  truncated campaign for Benham's seat, called Johnson "a dedicated jurist" who "loved to be around lawyers." 

"What struck me about him was that he was always positive," Thompson said. "He never criticized anyone on the Supreme Court or even the court as a whole. All he wanted to do was to bring his years of being a trial judge to the court and… continue to serve the legal profession."

U.S. District Judge Steve Jones said he has known Johnson for 24 years and counted him as a friend since the two men first became judges in adjoining circuits. Jones was a Superior Court judge in the Western Judicial Circuit in Athens before he was appointed to the federal bench in 2011. Johnson, he said, "cared about people and he cared about trying to make lives better for everybody."

Treutlin County Probate Judge T.J. Hudson, immediate past president of the state Council of Probate Court Judges, said he was stunned by Johnson's death. "He was a mentor to me and a friend to all who he came in contact with," said Hudson, who served with Johnson on the Judicial Council of Georgia. "He had a genuine spirit and was the most good-natured man who I have ever met."

Hudson said that at meetings of the council or council committees on which Johnson served, "Judge Johnson's obvious intellect was always on display as was his ever-present smile. His loss will leave a void, but I am grateful to say that I had the pleasure to know him."