Kevin Christopher Armstrong | Atlanta Circuit, Post 30

Candidate Statement

For more than 15 years, my practice has focused on the direct review of criminal convictions. Most of the many cases I have handled have involved at least one claim regarding attorney competence. My experiences addressing such claims have informed the areas which most motivate me for running for the Board of Governors.

Support and enhance continuing legal education. To be effective one must not simply learn the law as it exists today, but learn when it changes tomorrow. As someone who conscientiously attempts to stay up-to-date on the state of the law, I know this is not always easy. (For example, back when I was a public defender, a coworker asked me about murder in the second degree, a charge she had never seen before. I immediately announced: “We do not have degrees of murder in Georgia. This is not New York.” But then, doing my due diligence, I learned that the Legislature had created such an offense—18 months prior.) I believe very strongly in the value of substantive and specific CLEs, and I know from personal experience the time and effort it takes to prepare such trainings. I intend to support, and do everything I can to enhance, the State Bar’s endeavors toward providing its members with the knowledge bases they need to be effective advocates for their clients.

Support for public defense and access to justice. I know how critical a well-functioning and stable public defender system is to our criminal justice system. I want to help the State Bar advocate for Georgia’s public defenders and for indigent defense generally from an institutional standpoint (rather than a case-specific standpoint) as someone who is no longer himself a defense attorney. I also want to support access to justice initiatives for resource-poor litigants.

Education

• University of Georgia—B.A. 2002 (History, English)
• University of Georgia—J.D. 2008

Personal/Family

Resident of Atlanta, Georgia

Professional Background, Bar Activities, Civic Activities

• Prosecutor: Office of the District Attorney, Atlanta Judicial Circuit
  • 2015 to the present
  • Currently the deputy district attorney supervising the Appeals Unit
  • Previously was in charge of attorney training
• Assistant public defender: Office of the Public Defender, Dougherty Judicial Circuit
  • 2009-2015
  • Handled the majority of all criminal appeals for the circuit
  • Also handled trial cases
• Member of the Atlanta Bar Association
  • Criminal Law Section: chair, 2018-19 and 2023-24; Board member, 2016-2025
• Member of the Stonewall Bar Association
• Former member of the Dougherty Circuit Bar Association
• High School Mock Trial attorney coach
  • Northview High School (John’s Creek, Georgia), 2018-2021
  • Lee County High School (Leesburg, Georgia), 2010-2015
• I have personally handled more than 200 motions for new trial, many of which have required an evaluation of attorney performance and competence, and a similar number of direct review appeals.
• I have presented oral argument to our state appellate courts on more than two dozen occasions.
• I have provided CLE trainings both to prosecutors and defense attorneys, and CJE trainings to superior court judges.

Main Issues Facing the State Bar/Position

• I believe the State Bar can enhance the education it provides its members as to changes in the law (both legislative and decisional) and as to the state of the law.
• I believe the State Bar should continue to advocate for the public defender system as a necessary component of our criminal justice system and should enhance Georgians’ access to justice generally.