In a normal Georgia election year, Supreme Court Justice Carol Hunstein might be spending her spare time working on an inspirational autobiography, but this is not a routine election year. Hunstein has been singled out for defeat. And she is embroiled in a fierce contest against an ex-official of the federal Homeland Security Administration.

But that is life - and the latest ordeal for one of Georgia's more influential jurists.

One can understand why former Bush administration lawyer Mike Wiggins would seek new career opportunities outside Washington, but taking on Presiding Justice Hunstein seems an awfully tough place to start. Hunstein's life story reads like an Oprah Winfrey special.

Try this passage from the justice's campaign Web site:

"Born into humble circumstances, Carol contracted polio when she was two, survived her first bout of

bone cancer at age four, and lost her mother at age 11. Her adolescent years were marked by frequent hospitalizations for cancer. Carol's father discouraged his six children from pursuing an education beyond high school. She married at 17, became a mother at 19, and was abandoned by her husband by age 22. That same year, Carol lost a leg to cancer and was told by doctors she had only a year to live.

"Struggling to find work to support herself and her son, Carol soon realized the value of an education. She went to college on a state vocational rehabilitation scholarship and to law school on the Social Security benefits she received after her former husband died. There were times when Carol could not afford to eat. ..."

We'll let you look up the rest of the story. She went on to become the first woman elected to the DeKalb County Superior Court bench. Fourteen years ago, Gov. Zell Miller named her to the Georgia Supreme Court. She has run unopposed for re-election once before. Honored repeatedly for her good works, Hunstein's peers give her good marks for high intelligence and a work ethic unmatched in the recent history of the court.

Now, however, Hunstein finds herself in a curious political position. Leaders of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce have chosen to make her a target for toppling on Nov. 7. They say she is an "anti-business" judge, though her record (and the names of some of her backers) suggests that, if anything, she's a bit too cozy with big business.

The re-election - or defeat - of Hunstein could shape legal issues in Georgia far more profoundly than the recent debate over the Constitutional amendment on gay marriage and civil unions.

Challenger Wiggins says he is running to establish more "balance" on the Georgia Supreme Court.

"Some on the current Supreme Court do not reflect the conservative judicial philosophy the vast majority of our citizens embrace," he says.

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce earlier circulated a memo criticizing the opinions of Hunstein and two other justices up for reelection, Hugh Thompson and George Carley. Only Hunstein drew an opponent.

Sources say that Gov. Sonny Perdue actively sought a candidate to run against Hunstein. Those approached included Public Service Commissioner Bobby Baker and Fulton Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall. Both declined. Then along came Wiggins. His major supporters include Home Depot cofounder Bernie Marcus and Republican Congressman Lynn Westmoreland.

Hunstein has her heavyweight supporters too, including campaign cochairman Zell Miller, who appointed her, and Atlanta attorney Oscar Persons, a longtime influential Republican.

Persons says of Wiggins: "When he talks about ideology, it seems to me that he wants to be an activist judge."

Other Hunstein supporters include former Attorney General Mike Bowers and former Gov. Roy Barnes. Those strange political bedfellows co-chaired a fundraiser for her in Atlanta Sept. 20. Then, on Oct. 4, big-time banker Jim Blanchard and international insurance mogul Dan Amos hosted an event in Columbus in Hunstein's honor.

Despite the all-star cast of backers, Hunstein is far from a cinch to win re-election. Insiders say that Hunstein's opponents are already putting out rumors that she is Jewish, which

she is not, and that she is gay, which she also is not. (There's nothing like a high-road, issues-only judicial campaign.)

More important, Hunstein's opponents have set up a special "coalition," called a 527 under the current federal campaignfinancing law, named the Safety and Prosperity Coalition, to funnel legally unlimited sums into attack ads.

The insertion of 527 cash into the contest could make the race as expensive as any in Georgia history for a judicial seat. It also could set a precedent for judicial politics in the Peach State. Future races for appellate posts may turn into dollarsodden brawls between candidates sponsored by the trial bar and those backed by insurance companies. Such scenarios already are played out in Alabama and Texas. The results have not been pretty. They leave the impression that important judicial decisions have a "for sale" sign attached.