NORTH GEORGIA — The chief judge for the state’s largest federal trial court is retiring.

Timothy Batten, Sr. is the most senior of eleven judges in the U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia.

He is stepping down in May when he turns 65.

Appointed by George W. Bush in 2005, Batten has served as the court’s chief judge since 2021. The retirement gives President Trump the first opportunity of his current term to appoint a federal judge in Georgia.

Trump appointed four of the district’s eleven judges during his first term. The other six are appointees of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.