For Michael P. Boggs, a law degree was a way to honor his father and serve the public. The Mercer Law School 1990 graduate has kept that close to heart throughout his accomplished legal career, including in his current role as chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.
Growing up in Waycross, Boggs saw a different side of the law through his father’s job as an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He also got a glimpse of trial lawyer work while accompanying his father on trips to south Georgia to testify in federal court cases. He learned about careers in the FBI from a neighbor who was an agent and told him a law degree would be advantageous in that field as well. These connections led Boggs to start thinking about law school for his future.
“We didn’t have lawyers in the family, and we didn’t come from the means that you would expect to send somebody to law school,” Boggs said. “So for me, it was really about trying to emulate somebody I respected in my dad and wanting to do something like what he did. So my interest in being a lawyer kind of grew over time.”

Boggs completed his bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology from Georgia Southern College (now Georgia Southern University) and put law school on hold for a few years following the death of his father, who was just 47. Boggs served as a legislative aide for Georgia Congressman J. Roy Rowland in Washington, D.C., an experience that opened his eyes to how a law degree could be used to leverage a career in public service and make a difference in the community.
The lawyers from Boggs’s hometown had gone to Mercer Law School, and he knew of the school’s reputation for graduating practice-ready lawyers. He also was familiar with then-Mercer President Dr. R. Kirby Godsey from his legislative work and wanted to attend a law school that was close to home. In the end, Mercer was the only law school to which Boggs applied.
“The academic rigor was a change for me that really helped me grow professionally,” he said. “The courses I took were all very important, and I had great professors and smaller classes than some of my friends who were at other schools. Probably most importantly, though, was my work with moot court.”
Boggs said his experiences with moot court helped him to gain oral advocacy and trial lawyer skills.
“I think what Mercer does best is help prepare lawyers to represent clients,” he said. “That really helped push me into being a trial lawyer, where in rural Georgia you really have to be interested in helping people with a variety of legal challenges.”
After completing his Juris Doctor degree in 1990, Boggs worked in Atlanta for two years before going home to Waycross. He represented clients as a general practice lawyer while also taking on roles as a county attorney, special assistant attorney general and development authority counsel.
Boggs was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2001, where he sat on the judiciary, public safety and governmental affairs committees and led the probate and election laws subcommittees, and as a Superior Court judge for the Waycross Judicial Circuit in 2004. As judge, he established a new drug court program, which provides treatment, intervention and support for non-violent substance abuse offenders. Boggs considers this one of his proudest accomplishments.

Then-Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Boggs to the Georgia Court of Appeals in 2012 and then the Georgia Supreme Court in 2016. He was re-elected to the Supreme Court in 2018 and 2024 and selected as chief justice in 2022.
“This idea of blooming where you’re planted is something that I’ve thought about a lot in my life. We’re all given opportunities to make a difference. For me, my passion has been to improve the systems that I’m in,” he said. “I’ve been pleased to have been engaged in some work that has been transformational and that has made a difference in the lives of people I’ve encountered.”
Boggs has been involved in extensive work related to criminal justice reform and issues involving substance abuse and behavioral health disorders. He currently chairs the Mental Health Courts and Corrections subcommittee for the state’s Behavioral Health Reform and Renovation Commission and the Judicial Council of Georgia, the policymaking body for the state’s court systems.
On a national level, he’s working on initiatives dealing with judicial security, challenges of generative artificial intelligence, and regulatory reform to improve legal access. Boggs was included in Georgia Trend’s 2025 list of “Most Influential Georgians.”
“We all have an opportunity to try to lead where we can, and I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by some really thoughtful colleagues and thought-leaders in this space,” he said. “They’ve helped fashion the direction I want to take as chief justice but also as a lawyer. With the privilege of practicing law comes the obligation to help others. I see lawyering as an opportunity to engage in public service, and that’s what I’ve tried to do with the bulk of my career.”
Boggs said he is proud of the courts across the state and his colleagues in the Supreme Court for their hard work and their commitment to supporting important causes. As a judge, he strives to elevate the importance of an independent judiciary and to help build public trust and confidence in the courts through thoughtful initiatives that help improve citizen access to justice. He said it’s vital that these initiatives have staying power and long-lasting effects that benefit citizens.
Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs is among the Mercerians featured in Mercer Illustrated: The Places, People, and Experiences of a Uniquely Impactful University. This coffee table book from Mercer University Press can be ordered online. Mercer faculty, staff and students can receive a 40% discount when they order by phone at (478) 301-2880.