COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) – Many public officials were in attendance on Friday as the Honorable David Ranieri was sworn in as Chief Judge of Recorder’s Court. Judge Ranieri will be assuming the role following the retirement of Judge Julius Hunter who has been part of the Columbus community for years.

Judge Ranieri, says he will maximize customer service and make it more efficient once he takes the bench.

“We’re looking to redo Recorder’s Court to make it as efficient as possible. We’re going to try to not have people sitting in court for long periods of time,” said Judge Ranieri.

Judge Ranieri will be joined by two other judges in Recorder’s Court, Judge Susan Henderson and Judge Alonza Whitaker, by the end of February.

Prior to assuming this new role, Judge Ranieri was over State Court for several years. He believes his experience in the higher courts will serve him well in this new role.

“I think it is a great opportunity because I have worked in State Court, and I’ve worked in Superior Court. All of these cases come here and then they’re funneled to those courts, so it is good to have those connections,” said Judge Ranieri.

Judge Ranieri is a veteran of the U.S. Army JAG corps. He has been practicing law for 34 years and during that time he worked in the District Attorney’s office and in private practice. 

“I feel like I can bring that experience to the people that I serve, and I look at it as a service. I’m given the responsibility of a public trust and that’s really the way that I look at this job, to serve the people of our community. I’m very excited to be doing that,” said Judge Ranieri.

Judge Ben Richardson held the swear-in ceremony and spoke about Judge Ranieri’s accomplishments throughout the years.

“Today is very important because it’s a transition. Judge Hunter did a tremendous job and David is going to do a tremendous job too, I should say Judge Ranieri is going to do a tremendous job also. That continuous process is important to our community because we want to make sure it is as seamless as possible and we’ll make sure that you have that consistency,” said Judge Richardson.