Update: Judge Mark Murphy has now responded to a request for a statement from Polk.Today. It reads as follows:

“In the wake of Judge Lim’s voluntary decision to step down temporarily from his judicial duties, the work of the superior court in the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit must continue. There are many administrative duties that superior court judges must attend to behind the scenes when they are not in the courtroom. Some of those duties are assigned to the chief superior court judge. In the interest of the orderly progression of court business, all Superior Court administrative duties now fall upon me as the only active judge for the Circuit. The order I filed on Monday, July 13 was the most effective and efficient way to document for the court record and to inform the members of the State Bar, courthouse personnel, and the public that in the wake of Judge Lim’s voluntary decision to temporarily step down, I am officially embracing those duties assigned to a judicial circuit’s chief judge and that they will not go neglected.”

He added that “For the time being, Judge Lim’s court cases will be assigned by 7th Judicial Administrative District administrative judge Ralph Van Pelt to some senior superior court judges.”

Previously posted:

An order this afternoon made Judge Mark Murphy the head of the Tallapoosa Circuit Superior Court by his own signature after Judge Meng Lim has stepped aside for the time being.

Lim, who was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery under the family violence act on July 2, “has been voluntarily and temporarily suspended from judicial office indefinitely.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Lim’s arrest and the charge stem from a February incident that began over an argument of his stepson’s time on video games. He is alleged to have hit his wife several times, which she sent photographs of to a friend in Washington state that showed bruising and scratches, per the GBI’s previous release.

With the order, Murphy now sits as the lone Judge overseeing two counties. He recently took up a bid for a new four years in office without a challenger after being appointed following the retirement of Chief Judge Michael Murphy.

He’ll be hearing cases in both Haralson and Polk County for the time being.

Comments have been sought from Murphy about his order. More to come as soon as it is available.

Here’s the order in full: