Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has appointed Sarah Stimac Japour to be the first District Attorney for the newly created West Georgia Judicial Circuit operating in 2025. The circuit covers Carroll and Heard counties.
Japour is a career prosecutor and the current Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney of the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit. Before working in the Tallapoosa Circuit, she served as a Senior Assistant District Attorney for the Coweta Judicial Circuit for a total of 20 years. She has extensive experience prosecuting complex cases including murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping, and child molestation charges.
Japour received her bachelor’s degree in communications studies for law from Florida State University and her law degree from Samford University. She and her husband, Justin, live in Carrollton and have two children.
In 2023, Japour was announced by The Judicial Nominating Commission of Georgia as one of two final candidates from which Gov. Brian Kemp was expected to fill a new judgeship created by legislation passed during the 2023 session of the Georgia General Assembly.
Coweta Judicial Circuit Chief Assistant District Attorney C. Jephson Bendinger was ultimately appointed as Judge of the Coweta Judicial Circuit.
The Georgia JNC had short-listed Japour in 2016 and again in 2019 for appointment consideration.
