Fulton County and DeKalb County Judicial Election Results 2016

On May 24, there were judicial elections in the counties we work in: Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb and Fulton. This month we will take a look at the judicial election results in Fulton and Dekalb Counties. (We also threw in a fact about each of the elected Judges.)

Fulton Superior Court:

Kimberly Esmond Adams (I)* – No challenger, law degree from the land of the Fighting Irish, Notre Dame

Thomas Cox Jr. beat Gabe Banks 56%-44%** for a vacant seat, a former Legal Smarts columnist for the Atlanta Tribune.

Alford J. Dempsey, Jr. (I) – No challenger, began his legal career working on Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign.

Doris L. Dee Downs (I) – No challenger, she served as Chief Judge of the Fulton Superior court from 2004-2010.

Ural Glanville (I) – No challenger, former Commanding General, NATO Rule of Law Support Mission/Rule of Law Field Force-Afghanistan

John J. Goger (I) – No challenger, made national news for his ruling in a case involving pop star Usher

Shawn Ellen LaGrua (I) – No challenger, previously the Inspector-General for the Georgia Secretary of State

David Todd Markle (I) – No challenger, served as executive council under Governor Nathan Deal

Constance C. Russell (I) – No challenger, received her BA from Harvard

Gail S. Tussan (I) – No challenger, current Chief Judge and adjunct professor at Emory University

 

There will be two runoff elections on July 26 for 2 seats where none of the candidates reached 51% of the vote:

Belinda E. Edwards 41%, Sterling Eaves 35% Angelia Angie E McMillan, 23%

Eric Dunaway 47%, Gary M. Alembik 29%, Andrew Margolis 24%

 

Fulton County State Court:

Diane Bessen (I) – No Challenger, appointed by Governor Roy Barnes in 2002

Myra H. Dixon (I) – No Challenger, one of the first black women to work for the Fulton County Public Defender’s office

Susan E. Edelein (I) – No Challenger, she is active in Pro Bono work and enjoys getting her 3 kids to volunteer.

John R. Mather (I) – No Challenger, presided over a libel lawsuit by Richard Jewell, who was cleared of charges in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic bombing

Jane Morrison (I) – No Challenger, served as a board member of the Historic District Development Authority for the Martin Luther King Historic District in Atlanta.

Patsy Y. Porter (I) No challenger, an Atlanta native currently serving as Chief Judge of Fulton’s State Court

Wesley B. Tailor (I) – No challenger, Grew up in Fulton County and now lives there with his wife and two rescue dogs

 

DeKalb County Superior Court:

Gregory A. Adams (I) – No challenger, First DeKalb County Judge to have a building named in his honor: The Gregory A. Adams Juvenile Justice Center.

Tangela M. Barrie (I) – No challenger, youngest Superior Court Judge elected to the circuit, at age 35

  1. P. Boulee (I) No challenger, volunteered for the U.S. Army and served in the JAG Corps of the 101st Airborne Division.

Linda Warren Hunter (I) – No challenger, the first African –American judge to serve on a trial court of record in DeKalb County.

Mark Anthony Scott (I) – No challenger, Board Member of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, who works to ensure that each client with an assigned public defender receives good legal representation.

Gail C. Flake (I) beat Angela Brown 54%-46% – A descendent of generations of DeKalb residents.

Clarence Chuck Seeliger (I) beat Stephone Johnson 59% – 41% – Has served on the bench for over 35 years in DeKalb County.

 

DeKalb State Court:

Stacey Hydrick (I) – No challenger, founded SMILE, a mentorship program for young women interested in the Justice System

Mike Jacobs (I) – No challenger, prior to his seat on the bench, he served in the Georgia House Representatives for DeKalb.

Janis Gordon (I) – No challenger, first federal prosecutor in the country to use the federal racketeering laws to imprison pimps who profited from prostitution of children.

Wayne Purdom (I) – No challenger, proud father of three daughters, a lawyer, professor and neuropsychologist.

Dax Lopez (I) beat challenger R. Bridges 63% – 37% – the second Latino in the history of Georgia appointed to serve on a Georgia trial court.

 

Check out last month’s blog for information about Gwinnett and Cobb results.

 

*(I) – Incumbent

**Results are rounded to the nearest percentage point