Women's History Month: Georgia woman is the Southeast's first Asian American on a state Supreme Court

CARLA WONG McMILLIAN

ASAM NEWS

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has named Carla Wong McMillian to the State Supreme Court.

The state court of appeals justice is the first Asian American woman ever appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court.

“Obviously, there are more important things happening in the world right now, but this appointment is an honor and a proud moment for me and my family,” the judge said Friday to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “I am humbled by Governor Kemp’s confidence in me.”

According to the Citizen, Wong McMillian, 42, previously served in the state court of Fayette County and earlier had been a partner at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP. She graduated from Duke University and earned her law degree at the University of Georgia School of Law.

Former Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed McMillIan to the Fayette County State Court bench in 2010. The next year when she retained her seat, McMillian became the first Asian American woman judge to win a Georgia election. 

McMillian, 42, was appointed to the Court of Appeals by then-Gov. Nathan Deal and took that office on Jan. 24, 2013. She was the first Asian American state appellate judge in the Southeast, and upon her election in May 2014, she became the first Asian American to be elected to a statewide office in Georgia.

Her grandparents immigrated from China in the 1920s and her mother is from Hong Kong. McMillian was born and raised in Augusta, GA, where her grandparents settled.

“I don’t think my parents or my grandparents when they immigrated here had any idea they would have a granddaughter who would be a lawyer, much less a judge,” McMillian told the Florida Times-Union.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.