Fayette County resident Lance Hiltbrand, United States administrative law judge assigned to the Atlanta Office of Hearings and Appeals, has been appointed chief judge for the Oklahoma City Office of Hearings and Appeals.

He will have 13 judges and 80 support staff assigned to his office.

Hiltbrand is a Vietnam veterans and former commander of American Legion Post 105 in Fayetteville, and vice chairman of the Board of Trustees, First united Methodist Church.

In 1997, Hiltbrand was appointed to the Atlanta Office of Hearings and Appeals, having previously served as a state drug prosecutor and special assistant U.S. attorney.

He will be accompanied to Oklahoma City by his mother, Irma Hiltbrand, a resident of Azalea Estates in Fayetteville, and his wife of 33 years, Bobbie, and their son Lance-Karl, 16.