CATLETTSBURG, Ky. -- It didn't take George W. Davis III long to get started after being appointed as Boyd circuit judge for Division 1.

Davis, 42, an Ashland native, had served as a Boyd County district judge for 11 years before Gov. Steve Beshear appointed him to replace Circuit Judge Marc I. Rosen, who resigned and was placed on senior status.

"I've been reviewing the files since Friday," Davis said Sunday afternoon. "There are a great number of cases pending. Some of them need immediate attention."

Over the weekend, Davis began preparing to review about 1,000 cases that are pending in Division 1.

"I will have to review every one of those cases," he said. His court docket is being kept light this week to review the cases. "I was in the office about nine hours on Saturday, and I'm going back in this afternoon," he said.

He was sworn in Friday afternoon by Boyd Circuit Judge C. David Hagerman in case anything cropped up over the weekend that needed tending to. A formal swearing in is set for 11 a.m. Friday in the Division 1 courtroom on the third floor of the new Boyd County Judicial Center.

"I'm really looking forward to serving with him," Hagerman said Sunday. "He's smart, ethical and hard working. I have no doubt whatsoever he'll do a fine job."

Rosen will be appointed as acting district judge until Beshear fills that vacancy. He has been placed on senior status and will work about 120 days per year for the next five years. He can work up to 180 day if needed on senior status.

Davis resigned as district judge after getting word of his appointment as a circuit judge. The same committee that submitted his name to Beshear will accept nominations to fill the vacancy as district judge. The judicial nominating committee will notify the Boyd County Bar Association of the vacancy and then will submit three names to the governor.

The appointment of Davis will last through the general election in 2010. There will be four years remaining on the term at that time.

As district judge, Davis set bond and appointed attorneys in criminal cases, heard juvenile cases and handled traffic cases, among other duties. As circuit judge, he'll hear civil cases as well as criminal cases.

"In juvenile court, I was making choices that affects the lives of people," Davis said. "That won't change. I take every case seriously."

An Ashland native and a 1985 Paul G. Blazer High School graduate, Davis got his undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky and his law degree from the University of Louisville. He served as law clerk for Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Dan Venters, worked for the Kentucky Legislative Research Committee and worked in the state attorney general's office before returning to Boyd County as a lawyer. He also served as Catlettsburg city attorney and as domestic relations commissioner for former Boyd Circuit Judge Kelley Asbury.

His only regret in taking the circuit judge position is that he was in line to serve as president of the District Judges Association of Kentucky in October. "They're a great bunch of people," he said. "I would have enjoyed that."

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