Heather Lanier sworn in as newest South Georgia Superior Court judge

NEWTON — After surviving a tight general election and emerging victorious in a closely contested runoff, Heather Lanier was officially sworn in Tuesday as the newest Superior Court judge in the South Georgia Judicial Circuit.

Lanier took her oath of office in the main courtroom of the historic Baker County Courthouse in Newton, with retiring Judge A. Wallace Cato, whom Lanier is succeeding, officiating.

“I am so thankful for Judge Cato for being a mentor and for sending me to the ‘School of Cato’ on more than one occasion,” Lanier said at the swearing-in ceremony. “I look forward to receiving words of wisdom from him for many years to come.”

Holding the swearing-in ceremony in the historic courthouse and having the veteran judge officiate in some ways bring things full circle for Lanier, who as a young child regularly visited the courthouse, which was right down the street from her home.

“When I was young, my house was down the block from the courthouse, and my granddad (William “Bill” Hendricks) was the magistrate judge,” recalled Lanier. “My parents didn’t mind me riding my bike down the block, so I definitely remember riding to the courthouse when I was young, maybe 9 or 10. We’d go down there and watch court. My uncle (Earl “Brother” Jones) was a lawyer, and I remember watching him argue cases in that courtroom.”

Although she doesn’t remember it specifically Lanier said Judge Cato, who sat on the bench for 38-plus years, has told her and several other people that not only does he remember the youngster visiting the courtroom, he remembers the day she told him what she wanted to be when she grew up.

“He’s told the story several times that when I was young, my friend and I would come in and sit in the window sill in the courtroom and watch court,” said Lanier. “Cato said one time during a lull, he called me up to the bench and asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. He says I said, ‘I want to be a lawyer when I grow up, and in fact, I’d like to be a judge like you.’

“He’d told me that several times, so I called him and asked him to do the swearing-in in that courtroom where I told him that. My aunt actually could have sworn me in — she’s the probate judge — but I told her, ‘Don’t be mad, it just feels like Judge Cato should do it in that courtroom.’”

With the official swearing-in now complete the new judge can get down to the business of working cases across the South Georgia Judicial Circuit, comprising Mitchell, Decatur, Baker, Calhoun and Grady counties.

Lanier said she’s spent the last several weeks pulling double-duty, working with Cato and the circuit’s now chief judge, Kevin Chason, to get ready for the upcoming year and wrapping up things related to her current role as an assistant district attorney in Dougherty County.

“I’m extremely excited,” Lanier said. “And I’m ready to get to work. I’m tired of being two people. It has been a lot of running back and forth. I’m ready to get started and ready to get down to business.”

The new judge won’t have to wait too long for things to get moving as Chason has already set the calendar for the next year, which has her starting the day after New Year’s.

“I start Jan. 2,” she said. “We have court on Jan. 3. Judge Chason has already worked up the calendar, and it’s been set probably since right after Thanksgiving. It’s a little unnerving for everybody to have someone new because you don’t know what to expect, so we wanted to keep things moving.”

Lanier said she has already moved into her new office, which is located in the Mitchell County courthouse, yet another tie to her past.

“They have done so much work and set up a really nice office for me,” Lanier said of her new home base. “I grew up partially in Mitchell County, too. I went to high school there, played rec ball there, so I feel comfortable there. I actually interviewed for a college scholarship in that courtroom, so it’s very surreal being back there.”

Although her office will be in Camilla, Lanier’s first day on the bench will be in the Decatur County Courthouse in Bainbridge.

“It’s a general hearing day,” she said. “I’ll be in the courtroom at the jail on criminal calendar. First trial term, I’ll be doing criminal trials in Mitchell County. I meant it when I said we’re going to keep right on rolling.”

Although she’s got her mind firmly fixed on an exciting future, Lanier said she’s also keenly aware that she is following a legend on the bench, something that was brought home recently when she attended a statewide orientation for newly elected judges in Athens.

“Everybody at the orientation knew who he was,” said Lanier. “They’d say, ‘You’re the one who’s taking Cato’s place.’ He’s a statewide legend.”

Despite having to take over for someone of Cato’s stature, Lanier said she is ready to blaze her own trail.

“I’m confident in my abilities, but it’s something different and I have big shoes to fill,” she said. “I want to make sure I do a good job not only to honor the position but the person that came before me. But I tell people I can’t fill his shoes. I can just put on my high heels and walk my own path.”