Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassandra Kirk.
Hi Cassandra, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Excellence in public service is in my DNA from my earliest memories of my grandparents and parents. I understood my family requirement of academic excellence was geared not just for me but for wherever God would send me to serve. I am a native Georgian, raised by Mississippi parents, in Decatur, Georgia. I attended St. Thomas Moore, Bob Mathis, Sts. Peter and Paul and Briarcliff High School before graduating from Williams College and Washington and Lee University School of Law. I began my over 25-year legal career at Stokes & Murphy as a management-side labor and employment attorney. From there, I served as a prosecutor (Newton and Fulton Counties), criminal defense attorney, Associate Special Assistant Attorney General, Child Advocate attorney, Supervisor and Interim Director, Director of Legal Services (Georgia Merit System), Court Administrator (Magistrate Court), and now am embracing ten years’ judicial service, first as an Associate Judge in Juvenile Court, where I spearheaded Fulton County’s first Juvenile Drug Court program, which was selected to participate in a nationwide Learning Collaborative, and now as Chief Magistrate Judge in the Magistrate Court of Fulton County, where putting people first has required substantial changes in how the Court functions.
In 2014 Governor Nathan Deal appointed me to serve as the first-ever Chief Magistrate Judge tasked with creating our newly independent and Constitutionally-required Magistrate Court of Fulton County. In May 2018, with the community’s support, I successfully defended my seat in a contested election to become the first-ever elected Chief Magistrate Judge of Fulton County. In this role, I have the privilege of appointing up to 30 judges and each is reflective of and chosen by a cross-section of our community. Transformation, empowerment and making communities whole form the basis of my judicial philosophy. And, under my leadership, while improving access to justice, our Magistrate Court team was recognized in 2020 with a Case Clearance Excellence Award for a three-year 254% clearance average. My professional life would be incomplete without demonstration of service. I support the community through service to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., North Avenue Presbyterian Church (Elder and Reconciliation Task Force member) and the Boards of Directors of The Atlanta Resource Foundation, EduHousing, the Southern Advisory Committee to Children’s Rights, Chris 180, Advisory Committee to The Community Boutique, and Street Grace, a non-profit aimed at eradicating domestic minor sex trafficking. Service keeps me connected and grounded.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Leadership is rarely a smooth road. The current form of our court was created by a state statute in 2013-2014 after a task force of stakeholders determined that Fulton County deserved a better way of doing Magistrate Court. Since that time, we have been working with our County Commissioners to carve out adequate and appropriate budgeting and staffing to manage our approximately 80,000 annual caseload. Despite these challenges, we strive daily to structure the court, provide innovative technology, and empower the community with needed information and access through traditional and non-traditional avenues.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have the pleasure of serving as the Chief Magistrate Judge of the Magistrate Court of Fulton County. Our mission is to inform, engage and empower our court users while ensuring that we are responsive to the community. I am proud of the reforms in our court from our team of judges, selected in a public and community inclusive format to our review of business processes that help our court run smoothly – our visual information center and brochures for our high-volume calendars allow people to see and break down the processes. We ensure continuous training for our judges to create a consistent experience for the public. As Chief Magistrate Judge, I created our first website, increased mediation opportunities, spearheaded the court’s Misdemeanor Mental Health Court with State Court Judge Patsy Porter, Solicitor Keith Gammage, and other justice partners successfully eliminated the court’s 30,000 small claims case backlog with our judges, and was one of four courts nationwide awarded a grant from the National Center for State Courts.
I am proud of restructuring our landlord-tenant calendars to no longer resemble “cattle calls.” Our court is built for the community and connected to the community. Our goal is to improve the way people are treated. In 2020, as we faced unmet needs in our landlord-tenant calendars, we continued our community outreach through a live Radio Town Hall, Community-Connected and NPU videoconference discussions and presentations and partnered with local non-profits to help landlords and tenants reimagine eviction as the default response for nonpayment. Specifically, we partnered with Star-C apartment eviction relief fund, City of Atlanta, Hosea Helps, and Urban League of Greater Atlanta to provide landlords with funds to supplement partial rental payments in qualified properties. We continued our Judicial education town halls with a Judicial Training on Transgender Competency and Implicit Bias, presented by Lambda Legal. The community has been kind in its honoring of my efforts in commitment to the community and the legal profession. I am pleased to have been honored as Judge of the Year (Rolling Out Magazine and Women Works Media Group) and Woman of the Year (ACHI Magazine), as well as being the recipient of the Power of Leadership Award (Black I Am Power and Entertainment Awards), Women of Strength Award (Shaquille Clark Foundation) and Unsung Heroine Award (Saving Our Children and Families, Inc.). Additionally, I was humbled to be recognized as one of 4 Judges On the Rise by South Fulton Lifestyle Magazine, named one of Atlanta Business Journal’s Top 25 Extraordinary Atlantans and honored with a 2020 Trailblazer Award from the Daily Report, a legal publication.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I approach the legal system as I do because it’s important to me that the people in our system, irrespective of status, are seen and heard. My parents experienced a generation where the law was not always just. This overreach and impact formed the basis of my activation and advocacy. I have experienced our legal system as an unwilling participant, a victim and as a litigant. I understand firsthand how difficult the language, the processes and the closed systems that appear to manipulate people and outcomes can seem. As a result, I am driven to educate and empower others pursuing their desire for justice.
Contact Info:
- Email: magistrate.admin@fultoncountyga.gov
- Website: www.magistratefulton.org
- Instagram: @fultonmagistrate and @keepkirkchief
- Facebook: Magistrate Court of Fulton County
- Twitter: @MagistrateFulCo and @KeepKirk
Image Credits
Branpreneur (Nick Nelson) primary photo; WAOK and Rashad Richey flyer; Court team photo: Nasir Ali with Fulton County; all others mine
