Gwinnett Daily Post

George Hutchinson

LAWRENCEVILLE -- Gwinnett's Chief Magistrate judge will join the Superior Court bench.

George F. Hutchinson III was appointed to the court Wednesday by Gov. Nathan Deal, after serving as chief of the Magistrate Court for five years.

Hutchinson replaces William "Billy" Ray, a former state senator turned judge who was tapped this summer to join the Georgia Court of Appeals.

A former assistant district attorney in Coweta then Gwinnett, Hutchinson was chosen from a slate that included State Court Judge Randy Rich, chief assistant district attorney John Melvin and Magistrate Judge Robert Walker Jr.

Hutchinson earned a bachelor's degree in administration of justice from Guilford College in North Carolina and his law degree from Emory University School of Law. He and his wife, Julie, have two children and reside in Lawrenceville.