DALTON, Ga. — The role of a judge in a republic isn’t to make the law, says Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Charlie Bethel.

“The role of a judge is to take the law as it is written and to apply it to the facts,” Bethel, a Dalton native, told the Dalton Tea Party Tuesday night at the Huff House.

Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Bethel to the Court of Appeals in November 2016, just a day after Bethel, a Republican, was elected to a fourth term in the state Senate. Deal swore Bethel into office that December.

Bethel said being a judge wasn’t something he’d planned. But he said in early 2016 he was approached by some leaders in Atlanta and told there would be some vacancies opening up on the court and they asked if he might want to serve on it.

“I always tell my children that when people you respect ask you to think about something you should think about it,” he said.

Bethel video

Bethel said there are 15 judges on the Court of Appeals, but most decisions the court makes are rendered by three-judge panels.

Bethel said the judges’ role is not to try cases again but to examine the written record of a case and make sure the law was applied correctly. Bethel said the judges examine the record and with the aid of staff write opinions. The judges then share their opinions and begin to try to form a consensus. If they can’t come to a unanimous agreement, cases can be decided by a 2-1 majority.

The Court of Appeals meets in Atlanta, and that’s where Bethel’s main office and his staff are. But he works part of each week in Dalton in an office in the Whitfield County courthouse.

Bethel says on average he spends 2.5 days a week in Atlanta but that varies.

“I’m really fortunate that the technology allows me to do that. All of my files, all of my cases, are online,” he said. “Thirty years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

Virgelia Meek said she learned a great deal about the appellate process from Bethel’s presentation.

“I thought judges wore robes and met together. I didn’t realize that it was largely them reading written documents,” she said.

Ginger Countryman said she also learned a great deal.

“He mixed facts with humor, and I really enjoyed that,” she said.

Bethel, who is also a former member of the Dalton City Council, is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law.