Superior Court Judge Kathlene F. Gosselin, Northeastern Judicial Circuit, Gainesville, will convene the Council of Superior Court Judges semiannual meeting on July 28 at St. Simons Island as Secretary-Treasurer of the Council. Her officer term, and those of Council President Judge Stephen S. Goss, Dougherty Judicial Circuit, Albany, and President-Elect Judge Melvin K. Westmoreland, Atlanta Judicial Circuit, Atlanta, run from May 1, 2007 to April 30, 2008. 

Judge Gosselin has served as a trial court judge in the Northeastern Judicial Circuit since 1987. She was appointed to Superior Court judgeship in 1998, having previously served on the Hall County State Court bench.  She practiced law with the law firm of Fockele and Gosselin when she was initially appointed by Governor Joe Frank Harris. Judge Gosselin previously served as President of the Council of State Court Judges and Chair of the Georgia Supreme Court Committee on Gender Equality. She also chaired the Uniform Rules Committee of the Council of Superior Court Judges.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Judge Gosselin graduated from Southern Illinois University and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. She is a member of the Grace Episcopal Church and is involved in numerous community activities, including Teen Pregnancy Prevention, the Good News Clinic, and the Gainesville Rotary Club. She is married to William Galardi and has three children.

The Council of Superior Court Judges is composed of the state’s 202 superior court judges and more than 50 senior (retired) superior court judges. It was established by the state legislature in 1985 to further the improvement of the superior courts and the administration of justice in Georgia. The council seeks to identify and propose solutions to problems common to all judges and has adopted strategic planning to identify and pursue operational goals. Duties of the council include state superior court judges’ budget development and administration; initiating and responding to legislative issues involving the superior court; adoption of uniform court rules; preparation of bench publications, including jury charge instructions and benchbooks; certification of continuing judicial education; and panel review of felony sentence length.

The newly elected officers, immediate past president, and administrative judges representing the ten judicial administrative districts in Georgia comprise the Council of Superior Court Judges’ executive committee, which is authorized to manage the projects and policies of the council. The council’s central office is located in Atlanta.