Who will replace retiring Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Kristina Cook Graham will be decided by the voters of the four-county circuit in May of this year, but one thing is for certain – Judge Graham’s replacement will also be a woman. 

Judge Graham, who was originally appointed to the position by Georgia Governor Zell Miller in 1992, has served the residents of Catoosa, Dade, Walker and Chattooga Counties for 32 years.  She announced that she would be retiring and will not be seeking reelection.

Two Northwest Georgia attorneys – Melissa Hise and Ann Fiddler – have qualified to replace Judge Graham.

Hise has been practicing law for 30 years in the State of Georgia, with the last eleven being at Palmour Law Firm in Summerville, Georgia.  She started her career at Watson & Dana in LaFayette and moved from there to serve as the law clerk for the Superior Court judges for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit.

Fiddler has been practicing law in her father’s Rossville, Georgia law firm for fifteen years and is licensed to practice in both Tennessee and Georgia.  Fiddler says the majority of her work over the years has been in the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit.

The judge’s race is nonpartisan and will appear on the Republican and Democratic Primary Ballots on Primary Election Day – May 21, 2024.