ATLANTA — Four Northeast Georgians are among the 47 nominees being considered for an upcoming vacancy on the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears is stepping down June 30. She will be replaced by Justice Carol Hunstein.

To fill the vacant seat on the seven-member court, Gov. Sonny Perdue will select from among the lawyers, judges, prosecutors and state lawmakers that have been nominated.

Among the nominees are Superior Court Judge Lynn Akeley-Alderman of the Enotah Judicial Circuit, which serves Towns and Union counties.

Also nominated are two attorneys from Dahlonega, Bruce M. Edenfield and Steven Leibel, and state Rep. David Ralston, a Republican from Blue Ridge.

Among prominent nominees from elsewhere in the state are state Inspector General Elizabeth P. Archer; C. Wilson DuBose, chairman of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council; U.S. Attorney David Nahmias; Anne Proffitt Dupre, a University of Georgia law professor; Chief Judge Yvette Miller of the Georgia Court of Appeals; Stephen B. Farrow, a member of the state transportation board; and state Sen. Bill Hamrick, R-Carrollton.

Former state Attorney General Mike Bowers, who chairs the commission, has already declined his nomination.

The state Judicial Nominating Commission had set a Thursday deadline for nominations. The nominees have until June 22 to decide whether to formally apply for the position.

The commission plans to hold 20-minute interviews with each applicant on June 29 and 30 before sending a handful of recommendations to Perdue.