For Justice Charlie Bethel, a visit to Rome is never just another campaign stop.<\/p>\n
It is also a return to childhood memories \u2014 many of them tied to the historic courthouse that long stood at the center of downtown.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were in Rome for holidays and important family days and all that kind of stuff,\u201d Bethel said during a Wednesday interview at the Rome News-Tribune office. \u201cAnd it\u2019s just an iconic building, and so it\u2019s devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n
That longtime landmark \u2014 the late-19th century Floyd County courthouse that was heavily damaged by fire earlier this week \u2014 held a personal place in his family\u2019s story.<\/p>\n
Bethel said his father, Charles \u201cChuck\u201d Bethel, spent much of his youth in Rome and often visited the courthouse building for both services and while as a practicing attorney.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe registered to vote there and got his driver\u2019s license there,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cA lot of good memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
The courthouse\u2019s age also resonated with him personally.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was constructed in 1892, which is also the year the house I grew up in, in Dalton, was built,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s always been one of those sort of fixed-in-time memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
For many residents, the building represented more than government offices, something the Georgia Supreme Court justice said he understands.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the story of community,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cSetbacks are opportunities to grow forward \u2014 but we still can miss what was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deep family ties to Rome<\/p>\n
Bethel\u2019s connection to Rome goes back generations.<\/p>\n
His grandparents, Will and Peg Bethel, moved to the city in 1953 from Iowa when his grandfather accepted a job with General Electric. The family settled in the Shorter Heights neighborhood, where Bethel\u2019s father, uncle and aunt grew up.<\/p>\n
Those roots meant frequent trips to Rome throughout Bethel\u2019s childhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the first 20 years of my life, Christmas Eve meant being here in Rome,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cWe went to services at First Presbyterian.\u201d<\/p>\n
His connection to the city continued into adulthood. His wife, Lynsey Bethel, completed pharmacy school rotations at Rome hospitals and lived with his grandmother during that time.<\/p>\n
Bethel said those experiences have kept Rome feeling familiar.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always felt like a second Northwest Georgia home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A legal career rooted in Northwest Georgia<\/p>\n
Bethel, who lives in Dalton, built his career in Northwest Georgia before being appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal, following a vacancy, to the state\u2019s highest court in 2018. After that, he faced a 2020 election contest, and he will appear on the ballot this year for re-election May 19.<\/p>\n
His background includes service as a Dalton city alderman, a member of the Georgia Senate and years working in mediation and dispute resolution.<\/p>\n
Those experiences, he said, shape how he approaches the work of judging.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t change how you read the law,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cBut they give you perspective about where disputes come from and what people are going through.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said those life experiences \u2014 along with parenting and even coaching youth sports \u2014 have helped develop the ability to listen carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re explaining a decision, people deserve to understand not just the result but the reason behind it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Judgment, not will\u2019<\/p>\n
Expanding on the concept of \u201cunderstanding,\u201d Bethel said his judicial philosophy centers on a long-standing principle of American law.<\/p>\n
He frequently cites the words of Alexander Hamilton, who wrote in The Federalist Papers that courts must exercise \u201cjudgment and not will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat phrase captures it well,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cOur role is to determine what the law says and apply it faithfully.\u201d<\/p>\n
That commitment sometimes means enforcing results a judge might not personally favor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been times where I\u2019ve written that I might disagree with the outcome as a policy matter,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cBut if the law requires it, fidelity to the law means that\u2019s the result.\u201d<\/p>\n
The court\u2019s loyalty, he said, is not to any side of a dispute.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur fidelity is to the law itself,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cNot to parties, not to policy movements.\u201d<\/p>\n
A court of review<\/p>\n
The Georgia Supreme Court does not conduct trials. Instead, it reviews decisions made in lower courts.<\/p>\n
Bethel compares the role to the replay booth used in sports broadcasts.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything we do is looking at something that happened somewhere else and asking, \u2018were the rules followed?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The court has the authority to interpret the Georgia Constitution and review major legal questions affecting the state\u2019s judicial system. Its rulings are binding on trial courts across Georgia\u2019s 159 counties.<\/p>\n
Because of that authority, Bethel said, a single decision can shape how cases are handled statewide.<\/p>\n
For example, rulings on jury instructions or procedural fairness can guide trial judges in future criminal cases. Decisions involving zoning or land use disputes can also establish precedent that affects local governments across Georgia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trial courts are where the rubber meets the road,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cOur job is to provide clear guidance so the law is applied consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Difficult cases and major decisions<\/p>\n
Some of the cases reaching the court involve the most serious crimes in Georgia, including death penalty appeals.<\/p>\n
Capital cases typically involve extensive litigation and multiple layers of review.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose cases receive substantial resources and careful consideration on both sides,\u201d Bethel said.<\/p>\n
Decisions in those cases often influence how trial courts handle serious criminal matters statewide.<\/p>\n
Yet Bethel said the most emotionally difficult cases for him often involve harm to children.<\/p>\n
\u201cCases involving intentional harm to children are particularly challenging,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Maintaining impartiality in such cases requires careful discipline.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to recalibrate and re-center,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cThe responsibility is to approach every case with fairness and objectivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Challenges facing Georgia\u2019s courts<\/p>\n
While the state\u2019s Supreme Court reviews major legal questions, Bethel said many challenges facing the justice system occur at the local level.<\/p>\n
One issue affecting rural communities is access to legal representation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are counties in Georgia that have no attorneys,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cThose are sometimes called legal deserts.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court does not control court funding or the creation of new judgeships. However, Bethel said the court provides the legislature with data about caseloads and workloads across the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur role is to provide accurate information so policymakers can make decisions about resources,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Judicial elections and independence<\/p>\n
Bethel first joined the court through appointment and later stood for election, reflecting Georgia\u2019s hybrid system for selecting judges.<\/p>\n
When vacancies occur, the governor appoints a justice who must later run in a statewide election.<\/p>\n
Those elections are officially nonpartisan, and Bethel said they operate differently from traditional political campaigns.<\/p>\n
\u201cJudges can\u2019t promise outcomes or express views on issues that may come before the court,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Maintaining that neutrality is essential to public confidence in the judiciary.<\/p>\n
Bethel pointed to a phrase used by Georgia\u2019s chief justice, Nels S.D. Peterson, during a recent State of the Judiciary address: \u201cWe want judges who wear robes and not jerseys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Administrative work behind the scenes<\/p>\n
In addition to deciding cases, Bethel has taken on several administrative roles within Georgia\u2019s court system.<\/p>\n
He works with the Judicial Council of Georgia, which coordinates efforts across courts statewide. He also serves as the Supreme Court\u2019s liaison to the State Bar and the Office of Bar Admissions.<\/p>\n
That work includes modernizing admissions processes and identifying individuals who should not be allowed to practice law.<\/p>\n
Bethel also chairs the state\u2019s Committee on Justice for Children, which oversees initiatives aimed at improving how courts handle cases involving minors.<\/p>\n
The committee administers a federal grant supporting pilot programs, data collection and best practices for juvenile courts across Georgia.<\/p>\n
Law with deep historical roots<\/p>\n
Although the court regularly deals with modern legal issues, Bethel said Georgia law is rooted in centuries-old legal traditions.<\/p>\n
For much of the state\u2019s early history, Georgia had no appellate court.<\/p>\n
The Georgia Supreme Court was created in 1845 and began hearing cases the following year.<\/p>\n
Before that, disputes were resolved entirely in local courts with no higher court to review decisions.<\/p>\n
Some legal principles still trace back even further.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s not a statute addressing a particular issue, there\u2019s actually a code section that points back to the English common law that existed at the time Georgia became a state,\u201d Bethel said.<\/p>\n
The legal questions ahead<\/p>\n
Looking forward, Bethel expects emerging technologies to produce new legal challenges.<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence is likely to generate disputes over responsibility, liability and legal rights, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think generative AI will be heavily litigated,\u201d Bethel said.<\/p>\n
Autonomous vehicles could raise similar questions about responsibility when technology interacts with public safety and transportation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHistorically, every major technology eventually finds its way into the courts,\u201d Bethel said.<\/p>\n
Despite those new challenges, he said the court\u2019s mission remains constant.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur responsibility is the same regardless of the issue,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cDetermine what the law says and apply it faithfully.\u201d<\/p>\n
And for Bethel, that work still carries a strong connection to Rome \u2014 a city where family history, personal memories and the practice of law intersect.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always been part of my life,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cRome will always feel like home in Northwest Georgia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Justice Charlie Bethel, a visit to Rome is never just another campaign stop. It is also a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[537,651,659,653,657,652,655,656,658,654,650,27,649],"class_list":{"0":"post-682","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rome","8":"tag-artificial-intelligence","9":"tag-charles-chuck-bethel","10":"tag-charlie-bethel","11":"tag-floyd-county","12":"tag-floyd-county-courthouse","13":"tag-general-electric","14":"tag-georgia-supreme-court","15":"tag-judicial-council-of-georgia","16":"tag-nathan-deal","17":"tag-nels-s-d-peterson","18":"tag-northwest-georgia","19":"tag-rome","20":"tag-supreme-court"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}