Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp appoints Indian-American lawyer as district attorney

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp recently appointed Indian-American Samir Patel as the new district attorney in the Cherokee Judicial Circuit in Georgia.

The circuit includes Bartow and Gordon counties in northwest Georgia about halfway between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Patel will fill the vacancy left by former DA and now Judge Rosemary Greene, whom Kemp appointed in February to the Cherokee Judicial Circuit as Superior Court. Greene filled the judicial vacancy created by the retirement of Judge David K. Smith, effective Oct. 31, 2020, according to northwestgeorgianews.com.

Prior to his new role, Patel was a lawyer at a Cartersville law firm since 2010 specializing in criminal defense, family law, and general litigation. He is a former assistant public defender in the Cherokee Judicial circuit and has served as municipal judge in Euharlee.

A past president of the Bartow County Bar Association, Patel, 43, was born in Houston, Texas. He attended East Tennessee State University and graduated with his B.S. and his B.B.A. in 2001. He then went on to Georgia State College of Law and graduated with his J.D. in 2005.

Patel was admitted to the Bar in 2005 as well as Georgia, U.S. District Court, Northern District, Georgia Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court of Georgia, then U.S. Court of Appeals and 11th Circuit in 2009, according to wcwattorneys.com.

​