SANTIAGO, CHILE - Governor Brian P. Kemp today, while on an economic development mission in South America, announced the following judicial appointments to the Superior Court of the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit: Veronica H. Cope, filling a vacancy created by the passing of the Honorable Deborah Fluker; and Kathrine M. Armstrong, who will be appointed in accordance with House Bill 1215 (Act 450) (2026).

Veronica H. Cope currently serves as a Judge on the State Court of Gwinnett County. Prior to being elected in 2020, Judge Cope practiced law for nearly twenty years, handling complex commercial litigation, insurance defense, felony criminal, and juvenile law matters.

Judge Cope has served as the President of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers (GAWL) and as a member of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys and the Gwinnett County Bar Association. Cope is also a member of the Gwinnett County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Gwinnett Section of the National Council of Negro Women. Cope is a recipient of the Nikki T. Randall Servant Leader Award and GAWL's Kathleen Kessler Award.

Judge Cope earned her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with distinction, and her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina Van Hecke-Wettach School of Law. She resides in Gwinnett County and enjoys spending quality time with her three sons.

Kathrine M. Armstrong currently serves as the Chief Judge of Gwinnett County Recorder's Court. A lifelong Gwinnettian, Judge Armstrong began her legal career in the Gwinnett County Solicitor-General's Office. Prior to her appointment to the Recorder's Court in 2019, Judge Armstrong worked in private practice, focusing on family and criminal law.

Judge Armstrong follows in the esteemed footsteps of her late father, Mark E. Layng, who served as a Gwinnett County Magistrate Judge, and her late grandfather, John C. Layng, who served as a Superior Court Judge in Northern Illinois.

Judge Armstrong earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Georgia. She earned her Juris Doctor from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School while working full-time as a legal assistant in the Gwinnett County Solicitor-General's Office. She is also a graduate of Leadership Gwinnett, Class of 2022. Judge Armstrong and her husband, Greg, have two children.