Hon. Stephen Louis A. Dillard

Georgia Court of Appeals

Presiding Judge Stephen Louis A. Dillard was appointed as the 73rd judge of the
Court of Appeals of Georgia on November 1, 2010, by Governor Sonny Perdue. Prior
to his appointment, Judge Dillard was in private practice with James, Bates, Pope &
Spivey in Macon, serving as chairman of the firm's appellate practice group; served
as law clerk to Judge Daniel A. Manion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh
Circuit; and worked as an associate at Stone & Baxter in Macon, handling complex
civil matters.

In 2012 and 2018, Judge Dillard was elected by his fellow Georgians
to serve full six-year terms on the Court of Appeals. On July 1, 2017, Judge Dillard
was sworn in as the 30th Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Georgia for a twoyear
term, which ended on June 30, 2019. Judge Dillard is also an active alumnus of
Samford University, and is currently serving as president of the alumni association.
Most importantly, he has been married to his college sweetheart, the former Krista
McDaniel, for over 28 years. They have three children and are active parishioners at
Saint Joseph Catholic Church.