At just 34 years old and only six months into his tenure, Judge Scott McAfee has found himself presiding over the trial of a former US president.
The Georgia election interference prosecution of Donald Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators is by far the most legally – and logistically – complex out of four blockbuster cases against the Republican. To add to the pressure, it will be televised.
But at the opening hearing of the Georgia proceedings on 6 September, Superior Court Judge McAfee certainly was not playing to the camera.
Hearing motions from lawyers for two of Mr Trump’s co-defendants, he occasionally furrowed his brow or folded his arms, but did not seem to express any opinion beyond his eventual ruling for the day. To the uninformed observer, it might have looked like yet another ordinary day for him in court.
Judge McAfee has built an impressive CV over his relatively brief career. He has served as a local and federal prosecutor. He has worked with both Fani Willis, the Democratic prosecutor trying Mr Trump, as well as for the state’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp. Those who know the jurist have described him as a tough but level-headed figure.